Our Worst Nightmare!

I am still in shock about witnessing the horror of watching Payton get hit by a car last night. I am not in a position where I can give details, but Payton has been in doggy ICU since 6:00 last night. She doesn't have any broken limbs but she has internal damage, fractured ribs and some internal bleeding which seems to be better since last night. Her biggest problem was going into shock and labored breathing. She was in such bad shape when I got her to the emergency 24 hour vet that they couldn't stabilize her to even take any x-rays for a couple of hours. She went into an oxygen tank and was hooked up to a couple of IV's, one with fluids, and one with an opiate for her pain. She also got an injection of something to help with her protein levels. We were able to go in and visit her before we left for the night and it broke my heart and gave me hope at the same time. Her tail started wagging (slowly) when she saw us. They opened a little door so that we could reach in and pet her and she put her muzzle out the opening while resting her head on our hands. She looked me right in the eyes and seemed to say "I'm sorry, I'm going to be all right". Mark and I both were in tears when we left.
We got a phone call last night that was one of those good news bad news calls that left us with mixed emotions. The Vet told me that if the internal bleeding didn't stop and they had to do surgery that Payton might not make it due to her weak breathing. I was dying. I had been the one that had to keep my head on straight and get her to the vet, which seemed like a million miles away, and comfort Payton and Mark. After I got that phone call I lost it for a little bit. I had been saying over and over "She's so strong. She is going to be fine" and now I was crying and questioning what I could have done differently and blaming myself.
This morning she is doing better. From blood work it looks like the internal bleeding has stopped and she won't need surgery. Her body temperature is coming up and her breathing is not so labored. She is breathing at 95% inside the oxygen tank but only 75% outside. Right now she needs to be able to breath at close to 100% before they take her out of the oxygen tank. She will probably come home tomorrow unless she doesn't improve.
It's so quiet around here this morning without Payton. She has a lot of positive energy and every morning she wakes up stretches and gives us some really vocal yawns as if she's saying "Good morning world, here's Payton". I missed all of that fun energy this morning. Taryn and Kylie even seemed a little less exuberant to start their day and have breakfast.
We will visit her this afternoon. It's probably more for us than for Payton. She is crashed out on pain meds, but we just need to see her and touch her and let her know we are thinking about her 24/7.
I'll keep you posted on her progress.

Peace,
Jamie