Since so many people have been asking here is the Zuma Update:


She had gotten the splint/cast off: Obviously the foot on the right is the injured foot.
A close up of the foot.
Excessive redness and extremely swollen and lumpy, I don't know if this will go away or if this is how it will always be from now on.
Scabbing, I have hope that this will heal.
The foot on the Right is the injured foot. The incision was made on the inside of her foot. It is extremely swollen, lumpy etc.


Her foot is really bothering her.

The report from the doctor is that they are happy with the way that it is healing. But FOUR more weeks of inactivity ... that means CRATE ISOLATION. She's been HATING the crate. She desperately feels lonely, she cries and paws at the door anytime we leave the room. Her personality is really being affected by the isolation. She is depressed. Being sedated and placed in "Stress x-rays" again caused Zuma a huge amount of pain. For 3 days her leg quivered in pain and she wouldn't put it down on the floor and she didn't want to move out of the crate. As soon as the pain eases a bit she'll be back to hating the crate again and we will be heavily sedating her, of course.


We have to go in again for a check up in 4 weeks where they will once again sedate her and do the "stress xrays" and bend her foot in all sorts of directions to assure that the surgery is holding everything together. Remember, all of her tendons were torn away and all the tarsals (toes) dislocated, and that means that after all the cartilage was stripped out, the joint was fused, then two screws were put in and a figure-8 wire (called a collateral ligament) was put in and that is all that is supporting her foot. It is really important that it heals correctly because otherwise she won't have use of her foot.

Zuma has a long road of recovery. After the next check up, if she is approved for activity, they will be prescribing an activity regiment/routine to theraputically get her back into shape. She has had drastic muscle loss, in her thigh it is most noticeable, but it is all the way down the leg. See picture.


I have to have hope that Zuma will eventually be restored physically and emotionally to her pre-injury condition.

Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the relationships in the family. Don Small (and the Small family) have completely refused to respond to our many attempts to communicate with them. We have emailed multiple times and Mike has called, they have not responded at all to our attempts to resolve this matter regarding Zuma's care/costs AND the family relationships. It deeply saddens (and confuses) me why they would choose not to be part of the family and choose not to respond to our efforts to resolve this situation. I feel disappointment and a sense of loss of the treasured relationships with them because of what their apparent choice is. I don't understand. I thought family was more than this. Especially Christian family.

At least Zuma's prognosis is optimistic, even if now if VERY unpleasant for her to live through.