Dr Hsu's diagnosis is that Bob's inability to walk well probably stems from brain damage that affects his balancing motor skills. The only way to theoretically confirm this is through an MRI. Brain damage could either have been caused by a viral infection in the past or simply a genetic problem in his brain development. Alas, even with a diagnostic test like an MRI, brain damage cannot be cured through medication. Bob also no longer needs to take Neurofort nor another course of antibiotics as this will not help him any further than they already have.
Dr Hsu consulted for Bob pro bono so there was no charge and our Veterinary Fund was not used for his visit today.
As for acupuncture treatment, the only veterinarian at The Animal Clinic that practises acupunture is Dr Poon and she has recently left the clinic to set up on her own. We have contacted her to see if she can do a private consultation for Bob and acupuncture sessions with him if she believes it will help. We are still awaiting her reply as to whether she is available privately and what her rates will be. She is currently out of town and we will update when she replies.
As for other alternative treatments, we will focus on: supplements, herbal remedies and aromatherapy massages.
For supplements: we are going to start Bob on Vitamin B and Magnesium.
For herbal remedies: we will be putting Bob on St John's Wort and Skullcap
The magnesium and herbs will be arriving in a few days, here is a copy of the invoice -
We will also massage Bob's legs daily with a blend of essential oils of geranium, lavender and frankincense in a carrier oil (cats cannot use essential oils undiluted).
The prognosis is that Bob might never fully regain a normal sense of balance or full motor function in his legs. We will monitor how he improves and when he reaches a stable state where he can function well enough and when we understand his limitations intimately, we will be looking for a forever home for him, one that will accept him for perhaps losing his balance from time to time or not being able to land on his feet. In the meanwhile, we hope to improve his condition as well as we can so that we know that every practical means to rehabilitate him has been tried.
