Thursday, March 23, 2006

The Adventure Begins

Mickey is my 2.5 year old Harlequin Great Dane. Mickey has been diagnosed with Wobbler Syndrome, or Cervical Vertebral Instability. On Thursday, March 30, Mickey will be visiting with Dr. Terry Durkes, DVM to have the Gold Bead Implant procedure done.

A nice summary of what Wobbler Syndrome is:
http://www.upei.ca/cidd/Diseases/musculoskeletal/wobblers.htm

The Gold Bead procedure involves implanting gold plated magnets under the skin with a special needle. The procedure is based on the ancient art of Chinese acupuncture which follows the philosophy that certain points on the body can be stimulated to restore balance to the body's energy force, Qi or Chi(pronounced Chee).

From Acupuncture.com "The ancient Chinese believed that there is a universal life energy called Chi or Qi present in every living creature. This energy is said to circulate throughout the body along specific pathways that are called meridians. As long as this energy flows freely throughout the meridians, health is maintained, but once the flow of energy is blocked, the system is disrupted and pain and illness occur. Imagine rivers that flood and cause disasters or an electrical grid short-circuiting that causes blackouts. Acupuncture works to “re-program” and restore normal functions by stimulating certain points on the meridians in order to free up the Chi energy".

Here is some information on Gold Bead Implants, including a paper written by Dr. Durkes:
http://lochvale.freeservers.com/Durkes.html

Another good summary on Gold Beads:
http://www.wholepetvet.com/goldbead.php

And here is my favorite Wobblers success story about a Doberman named Sylvia who with Gold Bead Therapy was able to compete in agility once again:
http://hometown.aol.com/clcw/index.html

So this is just the beginning of our adventure. I will take as many pictures as I can, and give daily updates once surgery day is near.

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