FCE - Dog stroke in spine

Kahlúa is our 15 year old dog that we adopted from the Humane Society when she was four. She joined our family and has been with us for eleven years so far. This morning we found her laying on the carpet in the dining room and was unable to get up and go outside. After letting her rest for a few hours, I gave her some bread to eat and she got up. She was wobbly so I scooped her up and took her outside to go to the bathroom. She managed to remain standing for a few minutes, but was back down quickly. Her back legs did not want to support her even though she was trying to walk. By this point, she had begin to cry so I called the vet and they said to bring her in for an evaluation.

My kids and I tearfully wrapped her up in a blanket and drove to the vet. It seemed as if we were sitting in the waiting room forever. The vet told me that her heart, eye function, and lungs were great - also taking into consideration her age of 15! The problem seemed to be FCE - firocartilanginous embolism: which is most easily described as a stroke within the spinal column. While this is an unusual condition, it is more common in large breed dogs. (For more detailed info, see excerpt below.)

So now we are playing a waiting game. We brought her home and she was prescribed steroids to reduce swelling in the spine and increase her mobility. She has a 50/50 chance of regaining her mobility. While I know this illness in my dog is not as serious as other situations in the world, she does matter to me. So please pray for her recovery and our wisdom in the next few days.
Thanks,
Lamont and her crew

Spinal cord fibrocartilaginous embolization is caused by a small fragment of intervertebral disc material entering the spinal cord’s vascular system via the tissues attached to the intervertebral disc (see illustration below). Embolization is the sudden blocking of an artery by a clot of foreign material (an embolus). The tiny fragment of intervertebral disc material (embolus) results in varying degrees of damage depending on the portion of the cord supplied by the embolized blood vessel. Thus, the clinical signs are variable.

Fibrocartilaginous embolization of the spinal cord is the functional equivalent of a stroke to the spinal cord rather than to the brain. The events are acute, nonprogressive, and occur without any prior signs or warnings. Because emboli can occur in any portion of the cord, clinical signs can involve the rear limbs, all four limbs, one side of the body, or only one limb. The syndrome is not painful but can result in paralysis. After the initial spinal cord shock subsides, one side of the body frequently remains worse or is slower to show improvement.

In general, if deep pain perception is intact to the paralyzed limb(s), recovery will begin in two to three weeks with most clinical function restored by four months. In most cases, once the diagnosis and degree of clinical damage is ascertained, an accurate prognosis can be made.

Information from Southern California Vet. Referral Group