History: Quincy is one of those unfortunate Labrador Retrievers with congenital hip dysplasia. He had his first total hip replacement (THR) at 18 months of age and by age 4 he was back to being lame again. After the first THR, my very active boy first had "normal, wild-Labrador" activity levels then gradually showed signs of stiffness until he required long-term treatment with Rimadyl and finally a second THR on the same hip. Sadly, the implants had come loose. A second THR on the same hip is almost unheard of and extremely difficult to do successfully. After much soul searching, we proceeded with the surgery in March 2002. Surgeons cut a window in his femur in order to remove the old implant and bone cement and stripped the muscles from the femur and hip socket in order to remove the cup in his pelvis. They wrapped his femur in wires to hold it all together, sewed him up then told me he may never entirely recover and that what happened from here was up to me. My 90-pound boy was so fragile, held together by wires, cement and muscle sutures but still with the spirit and drive of a Lab. His leg hung limply at his side. I could not bear the thought that I had put him through this horrific surgery again and that he still might not be able to walk.

We came to Sheila Wells and Wellsprings for Massage and swimming 4 weeks post surgery after the 12 inch long incision site had healed. By now his leg and hip muscles had atrophied, he looked awful and was mentally stressed from lack of activity. As a medical professional, I knew how easily the femur could break, that the implants could shift and how carefully he would need to be handled. I was initially somewhat reluctant to place the fate of my dog in someone else's hands. Sheila immediately won my trust and confidence within the first few minutes of our session, as it became obvious that she was extremely knowledgeable, experienced and competent. Quincy's safety and well being were clearly forefront in Sheila's mind. I began to relax. Quincy had the time of his life during that first session: it wasn't exactly hard to get my water dog in the pool. I left that first session feeling very hopeful for Quincy.

In the weeks that followed, Sheila showed me how to massage Quincy myself and how to stretch him to increase his range of motion. Gradually, Quincy began to gain some strength in his leg, his muscle mass increased and he was much happier mentally. We have been seeing Sheila weekly and it has been almost 12 weeks since the surgery. There has been so much improvement!! I can barely believe it. Quincy can walk now! And run! We still have a ways to go yet but with Sheila's help, we will get there.

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Revised: 15 Apr 2006 14:48
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