Pixels Playhouse

I am doing lots better now.  My surgery is coming up soon.  I have to have surgery because I have a liver shunt.  My doctor said that a liver shunt is a congenital defect that keeps my blood from properly filtering through my liver causing toxins to flow throughout my body.  Because of my liver shunt, I have had seizures, haven’t been hungry and I am still really small.

 A liver shunt is easier to see after a puppy is done weening.  My doggy mommy helped my liver work before and now I need to be able to do it myself.  My parents came and got me when I was 8 weeks old and I had just gotten off weening a week before that.  My parents were worried about me so they took me to Dr. Wallace and Aunt Nic to get a blood test.  After that, I had a Bile Acid Test. For any other pups out there, be sure to tell your Breeder, Potential Parents or New Parents about a Bile Acid Test. It’s a simple, noninvasive procedure that can tell the doctors if your liver is properly functioning.  Dr. Wallace and Aunt Nic said that the test results showed I had a liver shunt, but to be sure they told my mommy and daddy to take me to a special doctor.  The special doctor did an Ultrasound. My tummy hair was shaved off, and I got to see what the inside of my body looked like. The special doctor said the Ultrasound showed an image of the shunt, and my parents set me up for a consultation with the surgeon.

My parents talked to the surgeon for a loooooong time.  My grandma was there too and she asked lots of questions.  I was getting really tired and bored until the surgeon took me out of my crate and picked me up.  He looked at me really funny and then told my parents that he thought I was too small to have surgery that day and would like me to go on special foods, medicine and grow a little bit before he did surgery.

The liver shunt surgery can have between a 70% – 90% success rate.   I heard my parents say they want a ring on my shunt.  This ring, called an Ameroid Constrictor, slowly closes the shunt, sending my blood through my liver at a slower rate, until it eventually closes off the Shunt.

I hope that helps someone out there! My surgery is scheduled for a little less than a month from now, and if you’d like to help us out, be sure to check out the new DONATIONS PAGE.

This morning I woke up and watched Mommy leave the house. It’s her BIRTHDAY so I got upset and started barking for her, but Daddy calmed me down. I wanted her to stay home with me to celebrate, but she’s a busy woman. After staring at the edge of the bed for 5 minutes, my Dad finally got up and fed me. I ate my yummy, new, diet food, and started running around doing the “Poopie Dance” until Daddy noticed. When he did, he ran me down the three flights of stairs and put me in the big green toilet.

I like to Poopie because afterwards my parents love me so much! I think they love me even more when I go in certain places, but I’m not sure…

Anyway, we ran back up the stairs to get Daddy ready for work, but right when Daddy set me down, I couldn’t move my body. The doctor’s say it’s a seizure, and when it happens my whole body is taken over. I stop functioning correctly and it’s no fun. When it happens, my parents give me some Nutrical or Honey, just in case it is caused by hypoglycemia, and then they hold me and cover my eyes from the light. This morning it lasted longer than usual, and I was suprised because I haven’t had one in a few days.

I am doing ok now, and just hope that I can get that surgery to make this all go away.

I was really sick for a while. I was having seizures and I didn’t know why. My mommy and daddy tried to make me better, but I wasn’t getting any better. My mommy and daddy took me to their Aunt Nic and Dr. Wallace to get my blood drawn. I hate when they do that! It hurts me!! They found out that I was really sick and needed to have surgery. I got to play with her doggies and cats. I had fun with them. Aunt Tina even let me take a chewie home!! When I got home to my mommy and daddy, I felt sick again. I threw up all night and scared my parents.
We decided to stay at Grandma Laurie’s house for the rest of the week. On Thursday, I had an ultrasound done. It was so weird because I could see inside my tummy! I didn’t know I looked like that. The doctor said that I have a liver shunt. The next day, we went back to the doctor and he was going to cut me open and fix me up. When the doctor saw me, he said I was too little. He wanted me to get a little bit bigger so he would feel better about the surgery. My mommy and daddy had to buy special medicine and food so I would get healthier and would be able to get fixed up faster after the surgery.
The food is yummy and I feel better now. I like to play with everyone who wants to play with me. Sometimes, I get tired and I think it is because of the special food, but I know I will be a really healthy pup after I get surgery.
My mommy and daddy want me to get better right away and they will do anything for me, but the surgery costs a lot of money. I hope they can get some money for me because I like feeling healthy and playing with my new family.

Hello To All Readers,

I will start off by introducing myself. My name is Pixel Diomampo and I am a Maltese-Poodle (Maltipoo) nearly 3 months old, currently weighing in at 2.24 lbs. Born a Pisces on March 10th, 2009, I certainly fit most of the description. I live with my new parents (Steven and Meliha Diomampo), and enjoy chasing their feet everywhere they go. I love to snuggle up and hide in tiny places when I get tired. And actually it is getting to be a bit late now, so I am going to bundle up under the coffee table and get a few more hours of rest before my Dad takes me to the doctor in the morning.

Thanks for reading and I will try to update my new blog with all of my latest happenings!!!

– Love Pixel ; )