[GORE] Luckiest Bastard in the World- Severe Head Trauma Case
[Not a vet, not advice seeking]
On June 21st 2024 my family's one year old (probable) border collie pup, Gus, had a freak accident and was severely injured. Wanted to share that story and case and shout out all the incredible people (listed at the end) who helped him, especially since it has a very happy ending.
We have a small acreage, and we have a large solar array in the pasture that Gus and his twin, Lizzie (found dumped in the desert), love breaking land speed records in. My dad was sitting out on the porch as the dogs played at 4:15pm on a stormy friday, when he heard a loud CLONK noise. There was no yelp, but he looked out into the field and saw Gus staggering around and shaking his head. We later figured out that Gus had sprinted under the solar array and clocked his head so hard on one of the metal support struts that he shot the protective plastic cap over an inch into the strut (pictured) and cracked his skull open.
Dad called Gus over, and immediately screamed for my mom because he saw the worst injury he's ever seen (and this man has seen a lot. Even my mom, a trauma ER nurse for lots of her career, was shaken). They bundled Gus into the car and sped to our local vet, calling them on the drive to warn them an emergency would be barreling in.
Our local vet did an incredible job, stabilized him, got him on antibiotics and pain meds, bandaged, and my family rushed to get him to the nearest emergency vet, normally an hour and fifteen minutes away. Our vet did warn us that the prognosis was very bad, but we were determined to give him a chance. Broke our own land speed records on the way, mercifully there was a break in the severe flooding of that morning and night, no cops, and mom's old junker didn't break down.
Emergency vet immediately administered an anti brain swelling medication (sorry, don't know which, they didn't have an itemized receipt and it's very blurry) and did a small wound lavage. Unfortunately the local ER vet, while consulting with a more experienced vet hospital, was only really equipped for less extreme injuries, and wasnt open through the week anyway. Luckily I was still in the nearest vet teaching hospital's records from my days as a student in a different department at that college, and they were able to get us in.
A white knuckled drive across the rockies later, we arrived at Colorado State University's Vet Teaching Hospital in Fort Collins. Gus tried to greet the statue of the dog by the entrance, and wagged for all the intake staff.
We had a two amazing weekend emergency vets on his case, who walked us through the initial plan, estimated prices, the works, all while reassuring my mom and I (my dad and bro stayed home for the other animals). They called in staff to do the CAT scan as an emergency, because the location and the severity of the injury made them very worried for his brain and his eye.
When the scan results came back, relief was palpable. Somehow, somehow, this damned miracle dog missed everything important, the injury was exclusively to his left sinus cavity. Because he was stable and his pain well managed, they slotted him for surgery that Wednesday, mom and I stayed in a nearby hotel. We were allowed to visit him once, but he was so happy he nearly yanked out his IV, so we were nicely asked to stay away until discharge. However, the staff and students were so incredible, the main student assigned to him called us frequently with updates and sent us photos and videos of him. Everyone there professed to falling in love with the goofy and sweet boy- and he definitely loved all of them.
They did a couple wound cleanings and debridements before his surgery, but mostly just packed and bandaged it well and left it be. They did have to stitch the bandage to his head in order to secure it with his eyes clear, but he preferred that to having an eye obscured.
The surgeon and lead vet on Gus's case during the week was wonderful, walked us through everything as well, and did a really clever procedure. I don't remember all the details, but he cleared out all the smaller bone fragments, wired the largest to the stable bone, and, if I recall correctly, took a muscle from towards the back of Gus's head and pivoted it to go over the wound before closing it up. I swear to god that man could be a plastic surgeon, the scar perfectly follows the line between black and white on Gus's face, and you have to look extremely close to see it at all.
Gus had a bit of a stressful drive home, exactly one week from his injury date, but we got him a probably ill advised celebratory kids vanilla ice cream cone halfway over the mountains and he spent the rest of the trip napping. I, however, whiteknuckled my way through the heaviest rainstorm I have ever seen.
Gus had a mostly smooth and easy, if long, recovery- he was headshy while wearing the cone, and was very annoyed about having to stay on leash and not run and play during his healing. Mom visited our local vet with some cookies as a thank you soon after we got home and Gus was so happy to see them all, and they to see him. Many floorsitting tears and puppy hugs were had.
Now, Gus is totally his funny, goofy self. He loves cuddle naps, his face kissed, vet visits, walks on public lands, and still breaks land speed records with his sister in the field. He doesnt seem to have any pain, and hasn't had a single of the sinus infections we were warned would be a likely side effect. We fenced off the solar array (the next day actually) and did a traumatic injury potential sweep of the property, and Gus is careful to keep his head low when running under things (like trees) now.
Behavior/training note: best skills to recommend your clients train all their puppies to do, that came in clutch for this whole adventure: "Leave it" and "Enough" ("drop what's in your mouth" and "stop that behavior," respectively), and being calmly and comfortably held and carried around.
Thanks for reading, and a huge huge thank you to everyone involved in Gus's care. You all were so wonderful and I'll be grateful to you for the rest of my life.
(In approximate order, sorry I didn't get tech and nurse names, but I'm so thankful to you all as well.)
Alta Vista Animal Hospital, Montrose Colorado
- Dr Maria Zayas DVM
Animal ER of the Western Slope, Grand Junction Colorado
- Dr Bebe Hoang DVM
Colorado State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Fort Collins Colorado (incomplete list, I believe the interns and residents both at CSU VTH are DVMs so I'll list them as such)
Dr Hannah Wedig DVM (intake vet, I believe intern)
Dr Kate McCaw DVM (surgical resident in charge over the weekend)
Katie May (4th year student assigned to his case- thanks for being so communicative Katie!!)
Dr Kazushi Azuma DVM (surgical resident (?), took over Gus's care on Monday)
Thank you again to everyone who took care of Gus over that crazy week. You all were so incredible and I truly cannot express how grateful I am. If you're reading this and happened to be involved in his case, please feel beyond free to reach out to me, I'd be so happy to add you to this list or write you a review or recommendation anywhere. Because of you, Gus has a chance at a long and healthy life.