A diagnosis for Molly

By the end of the evening on Monday, Molly was totally blind. A flashlight didn't even get her attention. A flashlight towards Baby caused her to skittle away from a 6 foot distance, and they both used to react the same. Molly had no reaction at 6 inches.

Molly's vet called me back the following morning. She also felt it could be a brain tumor. She even mentioned vaccine-induced encephalitis, which I have to admit creeped me out a bit. She suggested I take Molly to first an ophthalmologist and then a neurologist. I said I needed to think about it for a while. I was in a bit of shock. Hasn't Molly been through enough?

I called back within a few hours to ask for the number of the ophthalmologist. I figured that to be a waste of time, since Molly was totally blind, but there are some blindnesses that can be reversed. I didn't want to leave any potential stones unturned if they could help Molly. I made an appointment for 2:30 pm today. My wonderful walking partner offered to assist. She has heard stories of Molly on Valium and figured it would be worse with a blind Molly. Very true, that. It was not easy.

The veterinary ophthalmologist did many tests on Molly. Some were simple - tossing cotton balls in front of her eyes. Others were a bit more complicated, but nothing was invasive or painful. The last one involved red and green lights, but I didn't see anything because I was trying to hold Molly still, which isn't easy when I am always feeling like I am moving.

Finally, the vet returned and explained it to me. Molly has SARDS. Suddenly Acquired Retinal Degeneration Syndrome. That means that Molly went blind very fast and there is nothing that can be done to give her back any sight. Nothing needs to be done at all. I have a totally blind dog and she will stay that way forever.

Molly is a bit depressed. I haven't been able to leave the house since Sunday afternoon, other than taking her to the vet today. I hope to be able to leave her for a short period very soon. I fear that if I stay with her too long it will make it harder for her to adjust. I fully intend for her to adjust. She gets around the home with eerie accuracy. She even jumps on the bed by herself at night and finds her favorite spot. She almost never bumps into anything at all, and if she does, it's usually Baby who doesn't yet understand that Molly isn't going to move for her any more.

Mostly, Molly finds me and stays by me. I am OK with that for now, but she hopefully will accept this new assault on her person and continue on using her other senses. It's a rotten deal, but we can try to make the best of it. I am not treating her much differently than normal, but I am watching her carefully to see if she has navigation issues any where here so I can lead her carefully around them a few times until she has them imprinted, however they do that. She can't navigate at all while on a high dose of Valium, so I am happy she finally calmed down and went to sleep.

She has already gone to the front door a few times and hit the servant bell to be taken outside. She hasn't done that for days, maybe longer. Baby goes so often that Molly just tags along.

If you are worrying about the illness, there are generally about 4000 pets a year who come down with it in the USA, so it's not very common. It's more common than Addison's. Early signs can be watched for - extra appetite and extra desire for water. Molly had those. It often happens overnight. It is irreversible, so an early diagnosis isn't really going to make a difference other than peace of mind for what it is. Since it's fast, the dogs often don't have time to learn their ways around without sight in their homes, and many get depressed and scared for a while. The pupils become very large and won't contract. Molly's did contract twice on Monday night, and she was able to see once for about half an hour, and again later for about 5 minutes. She spent most of that time looking at my face, which breaks my heart. She wants me to be what she remembers seeing best. It's how I knew she was seeing - she got perky, and ran up to me without error and looked at me - I moved my hands, and she followed with her eyes.

SARDS does not reduce a lifespan. We will be just fine as long as Molly doesn't go running off a cliff. Not too many of those around here.