Since last Thursday, Quinn seemed to take a downhill turn once again in leg strength and his ability to walk. For the last part of the weekend Steve pretty much carried TOWD anywhere he needed to go and the rest of the time helped him settle into a comfortable lying position where he would stay for hours. When he moved of his own volition, it was swimming on his belly and usually only as far as the water dish. It was a weekend of worry on Quinn's behalf.
Last night we were cleaning out the wound on his right rear leg (the one where the foxtail weed seed had to be removed). It has been very slow to heal and TOWD has had both oral and topical antibiotics to prevent infection. Steve wondered aloud if the fact the wound was still open and so deep could be a source of immense pain to our boy...so much so that it affected his ability to stand on it.
As an experiment (knowing we were to see Dr. Julia today) we packed the hole full of antibiotic cream, trimmed away the leg fur, and snugly covered the sore with gauze and tape. It seemed to help Quinn's ability to stand a bit.
This morning at the vet's office we unwrapped the leg and suggested maybe he might need to have a few stitches. Dr. Julia pointed out stitching wasn't possible since it was a hole and there were no pieces to put together but she suggested we try a sugar bandage...packing the wound with sugar and wrapping the leg tightly from knee to ankle. I was skeptical but found out in my research that sugar has proven to be very effective.
Healing through the use of sugar is an old-time tradition that has been used by both Native Americans and different tribes in Africa. In 2009, a series of tests were conducted in British hospitals to determine whether there's any truth behind the idea that sugar can be used to treat wounds and ease pain. After a series of tests, the Daily Mail newspaper in England reported that the treatment had been a success.
Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/96076-use-sugar-heal-wounds/#ixzz249VKV0Uq
Decades ago, surgeon Richard A. Knutson, MD, published his experience using this old-fashioned approach to wound care in the Southern Medical Journal (Nov. 1981). We spoke with him and he told us he resisted his elderly nurse’s recommendation at first. “When we started I thought it was absolutely nuts.” But his experience with more than 5,000 patients convinced him it was useful to speed healing.
Recently, scientists compared honey and sugar as wound dressings. They concluded that honey is somewhat more effective than sugar in reducing bacterial contamination and promoting wound healing (Journal of Wound Care, July, 2007).
Amazingly, by this afternoon Quinn was struggling to his feet on his own! He is walking...just a bit, not far, but he is up on all fours and in motion. He must go back tomorrow for a recheck and redressing of the wound...and a laser treatment. Steve is convinced that a big part of Quinn's troubles has been pain we were unaware of in his right leg. This could even be true for some of his manic-ness. We are more hopeful than we have been in days and even Quinn seems to have more sparkle in his eyes once again.
