Birthday Wish: Healing Herman

Rod Moser

Life is a series of challenging, sometimes sad events, interspersed with happy times. At the end of our days, we all hope that joyous periods exceed the sad ones. I firmly believe that the more someone loves a being, the deeper the pain when the life ends. Statistically, the longer we live, the more likely we experience those losses.

I will be 56 years old in a few days; considered "middle age", assuming I live to the ripe old age of 112. Since I don't think I will, I guess I am on my (hopefully, slow) journey down the other side of that proverbial hill. Personally, I feel young, but I am humbled; and a bit startled, when I see a white-haired man in the mirror.

I am in the 34th year of my clinical career and plan on working about nine or ten more before I transition into semi-retirement. I say "semi", since I plan on working part-time simply for enjoyment. That part-time work will include WebMD if they still want me.

Birthdays have never been a particularly happy time for me, even as a child. My mother never believed in birthday parties, or even gifts for that matter. I did have one birthday party in first grade. I invited my entire class to our basement for cake and ice cream. All the kids each brought me a dollar. As a six year old, having $25 seemed like a fortune. It makes me very sad to think what happened to that money. My mother took it to pay for the party and to buy me some socks. That unbelievable act of uncaring probably sat the stage for my usual birthday attitude.

This year, my wife went all out and bought me some wonderful gifts, including a GPS for the car that I have always wanted. When we got lost on the Southern California freeway system a month ago, she finally understood the practicality. Since I love to cook, she got me a new wok (for the grill) and pan to make scones. I got a cool novelty wrist watch for the kids at the clinic and a statue called The Tickle - a ceramic hand tickling a ceramic foot with a feather. I definitely needed cheering up this year.

If you have been reading the blog, you know that I am desperately trying to save the life of my canine companion, Herman (the Sheltie). As usual, he is lying behind me; on a towel. Herman was run over by the back tire of my truck about a month ago and his wounds are not healing, and are now very necrotic. Last week, the veterinarians recommended euthanasia. So far, I can't do it. He isn't in pain, but he is far from the happy, perky dog that he used to be. I really think the vets gave up on him too easily, so I felt it was up to me to try a few more last-stitch efforts.

If you are eating, or have a weak stomach, STOP READING NOW!

Much to the shock and horror of my office staff, a FedEx package arrived yesterday with a few hundred medical maggots. Yes, maggots. As unorthodox as this approach may be, it is more common than you think.

Medical maggots are referred to as Biological Surgery, and are used to debride wounds of devitalized and dead tissue. What would take a surgeon hours to do under an operating microscope, these little maggots munch away in no time. Hopefully, once this dead tissue is gone, the body will granulate new tissue in its place.

If Herman was a real human, he would be eligible for skin grafting, but for dogs, this is not usually feasible. Herman's wounds may be too extensive for him to ever heal, so I may only be prolonging the inevitable, however, I thought it was worth a try. In the next 48 hours, we will know if the maggot therapy was helpful.

Last night, after my 12-hour shift, my PA wife and I carefully cleaned his wounds and applied the maggots. It was not nearly as creepy as it sounds. They went right to work and wiggled into his wounds. It took about an hour to do this. Herman remained motionless on his back during this entire ordeal. Herman's mother, Maggie, watched patiently. Oddly enough, Maggie's nickname has always been "Maggot".

Finding an effective dressing that allowed air circulation and "maggot containment", and also fits a dog was another big challenge. This is where one must be very creative. After several failed attempts, Herman is now wearing pantyhose over a diaper that was cut in half. He doesn't have a tail anymore, but we had to cut holes for his vital parts. This is then topped with a fluorescent green canine safety jacket. Imagine a lion wearing a leotard.

Now, we wait.

Related Topics:

• WebMD Video: Maggie, the Hospice Dog
• Making a Gratitude Adjustment

Technorati Tags: alternative healing, pets, dog, sheltie, maggots, maggot therapy