Sammy (Samantha) with Degenerative Myelopathy

Written by Stephen Lawn

Sunday, July 10, 2011

As I sit here on the couch with my little girl Sammy, she is sound asleep. She sleeps a lot more now, showing more and more signs of getting old. She is after all going to be 12 years old in about 3 months. Looking at her could be a sad reflective moment, but all I can do is smile. I smile because I am so happy that Sammy was able to become an “old dog.” I gently rub her head and she wakes up, looks at me for a moment then goes right back to sleep. She is my little girl and I just enjoy sitting beside her!

Sammy, a Pembroke Welsh Corgi, was diagnosed with a disease called Degenerative Myelopathy (DM) in December of 2007.

This disease attacks the spinal cord, progresses over a short amount of time and eventually leads to paralysis.

The first signs of DM in Sammy came in September 2007 when her left rear leg started to give out. She would wobble when she walked at times, even falling occasionally. Trips to her vet over many weeks and cycling through different medications yielded no positive results. She was getting worse and began falling more often. X-Rays taken showed nothing wrong. The initial direction pointed toward Intervertebral Disk Disease, so she was taken to a specialist. A mylegram was performed and unexpectedly came back clean. There was relief that surgery would not be necessary, but there still was no diagnosis for what was wrong with her. The next referral was a neurologist. This was where I learned about DM, a devistating and progressive spinal cord based disease for which there are no preventions or cures. DM is a diagnosis of elimination and most other possibilities had been eliminated, so based on her otherwise clean bill of health, Sammy was “diagnosed” with DM in December 2007. Typical progression of DM, I was told, was generally 6 – 10 months from the time of diagnosis and maybe up to 1 year if everything went well. By then she was expected to be completely paralyzed. I was heartbroken for Sammy; she seemed so young to have her life cut short by something so horrible and the worst part was I kept hearing over and over that nothing could be done for her. I refused to accept that nothing could be done for Sammy and continued to explore other avenues.

This led me to an alternative veterinarian that was familiar with dogs that had DM and was eager to work with Sammy. The first appointment was wonderful, as he had nothing but positive things to say about how holistic and natural methods would not cure her, but could maybe slow the progress of the disease and most importantly improve her quality of life. I will admit that at first I was a bit skeptical, but I was willing to try anything to help Sammy and attempt to keep her the happy little girl she had always been. Sammy began weekly appointments in a program that has included a variety of treatments, including acupuncture, laser pulse stimulation, hydrotherapy and herbal supplements.

As her treatments continued I became a full fledged supporter of these methods. I saw first hand how after just a few weeks, the DM progression slowed down and most importantly Sammy was her happy self again. Granted she had some limited mobility, but she was still happy and able to adapt as the disease progressed. As the months went by and her treatments continued, the DM continued to progress at a much slower pace than expected and she made it past her initial 1 year prognosis, still with good functionality in her 2 front legs and even one of her back legs was still somewhat useable. Through the months following her 1 year milestone, the disease progressed and each leg slowly became worse until becoming paralyzed, but with her treatments continuing she kept adapting. Her birthdays continued to come and go. Through it all she has remained a happy little girl.

As I write this today, it has been almost 4 years since the original signs of DM appeared in Sammy. She has now lost all function in her four legs. DM has taken away her mobility, but thanks to the wonderful treatment and care she has received, it has taken far longer than first expected to get to this point. DM has not taken away Sammy’s spirit. She now “owns” a spot on the couch and while she cannot move other than her head and neck, she orchestrates my wife and I from her stationary spot. Never a talkative dog before, she has adapted and tells us when she needs something.

So as I sit on the couch and I look at my little girl as she sleeps. I am truly happy that she has had the opportunity to become an old dog. I know this never would have been possible if I did not put her in the caring hands of an integrative veterinarian. I hope Sammy’s story will help others see the very real benefits of natural, holistic and integrative methods of care; she is proof that they work. Because of the wonderful care and treatments she has received, while she is now immobile, I cannot help but feel that Sammy has in a way, beaten DM. I don’t know how much longer she has left with us, but I am forever grateful that I was able to spend at least 4 more years with my little girl! Most importantly, she was able to remain happy and to simply grow old. That is all I have ever wanted for her.