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December 27, 2004
This is what Pam had to say today about our special
guy: "Polar is a terror. I see such a difference in his attitude without that leg. It
is incredible! It must have really been bothering him. He is like a puppy again.
Crazy!" The stitches came out today! So, Pam will be heading off to Long Island,
New York on Wednesday morning (the 29th) around 4am, as Marty wants Pam and her guy there
bright and early. He will be spending the entire day solely with Polar, fitting him and
shaping his final prosthesis. And, Pam will be taken care of in style by Mary Jane, her
Golden Gus, and her huge kitty menagerie. Her ragdoll cat Larry loves on Gus all the time
so she is eager to see if he gets up close and personal with Polar upon his return.
Take Me Back for More
December 17, 2004
 Pam called today to tell me how proud Polar
was of himself. As hard as Marty worked to build this harness and temporary postsurgical
prosthesis, our boy managed to chew the entire thing free from his body. And, then what
did he do, you ask? Well, what any good, self-respecting retrieving guy would do — he then proceeded to put it in his mouth and swing it about, challenging
mom to try to get it from him. My response was, of course, way to go Polar, what took you
so long? Seriously, though, Marty did warn Pam that it could come off and it was good that
it did remain for at least a few days to help cut down the swelling. This photo shows
Polar standing with his prosthesis before he decided to go legless and fancy-free. But,
the most appealing part of this image is the positive spirit that this guy continues to
display. Is he something or what?
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December 16, 2004
Pam and her three
babes are all home, safe and sound. Dr. Dave felt Polar was doing well enough to be on his
way on December 14th. His Golden take on things has definitely served him well! Pam
reports that Polar now seems to be doing better with respect to pain and is trying to
stand some on his temporary post-operative prosthesis. It looks like Pam will be heading
back to Long Island for the development of Polar's permanent prosthesis on December 29th.
Take Me Back for More
December
13, 2004
Well, today
was the day for Polar's surgery. I have heard from Pam that he is just waking up (4pm) and
doing fine. The photo below was taken two hours following surgery. Both Dr. Da ve and Marty are reportedly very happy with the results. Polar is in
the hospital and depending on his continuing progress (fever coming down, etc.), he may be
released tomorrow to go back home. He will need to be kept relatively inactive for the
next 10 days until he returns to have his stitches removed. It is hoped that Polar and Pam
will be heading back to Long Island near the end of the month for a stay at Mary Jane's
while a permanent prosthetic limb if formed and fitted. Right now Polar has a
post-operative prosthesis, which Marty fitted him with following his surgery today.
Marty was actually in the operating room today while the
surgery took place. In fact, according to Pam, it was
standing room only as there were other veterinary
surgical specialists on hand as well. Dr. Dave wanted
every base covered and therefore there were many
professionals involved in this procedure. He was very
taken with Marty's expertise and is hoping that his
particular skills can be learned by some folks in their
hospital system so that such a team approach can be
utilized in the future for other dogs facing an
amputation.
Take Me Back for More
December
2, 2004
 Polar has been scheduled for his
surgery, which will take place early Monday morning, December 13th. His surgeon is David L. Diefenderfer, VMD, Ph.D., who works as a research associate in the
Department of Clinical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania's Matthew J. Ryan
Veterinary Hospital. Although clinically an orthopaedic surgeon, Dr. Dave (as Pam refers
to him) is also conducting research involving bone marrow stomal stem cell biology with an
interest in steroid effects of these and other bone-forming cells as related to
osteoporosis.
Marty Mandelbaum will be present at the surgery and will be attaching a post-operative,
temporary prosthesis directly following the amputation. This will remain for a few weeks
as Polar heals. Then, he and Pam will head back to Long Island for a 3-4 day visit, at
which time a permanent prosthesis will be developed and fitted. [pictured to the right:
Marty, Polar & Dave]
Take Me Back for More
November
17, 2004
A Note Fro m
Rochelle Lesser
Polar has added a new dimension to
Pam's life that she didn't even know was there before! She has loved him with all her
heart and will always be there for him no matter what his life turns out to be. He has
developed into a marvelous therapy dog, inspiring many disabled children to persevere as
he has in the face of adversity. But, he has been beset by continuing medical problems.
One of his back legs became diseased from infection and despite a complex surgery and many
months of antibiotics, unrelenting Osteomyelitis in that leg necessitated its
amputation. I did some investigation on the
internet and came up with the most incredible practitioner to construct Polar's limb. It
turned out he wasn't far from Long Island, NY Golden pal Mary Jane Rizzella, so she had
Pam come up to stay at her home this past weekend so that she could check him out. His
name is Marty Mandel baum, and he is the President and Founder of New York's
M. H. Mandelbaum Orthotic & Prosthetic
Services A very big dog lover himself (with a Black Lab named Maggie), Marty met
with Pam, Mary Jane and Polar (of course) on Sunday. In fact, he opened up his huge lab
that morning just for this appointment, actually spending a couple of hours interacting
with Polar, explaining the process, and giving the gals a tour of his facility. And, I
just learned that Marty is indeed a man of many talents, and obviously very good with his
hands. Just go to to his
gallery of
woodturning creations and you will see for yourself!
Due to the huge expense for this
amputation, hospitalization, limb replacement and continuing rehabilitative therapies, I
established The
Polar Fund and the fund's Holiday Raffle. Just
click here to check out our special holiday event. We actually put
together 40 prizes at a total worth of $2,050. Pretty amazing, huh?
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