Max’s Recovery Timeline
Month by month — what actually happened
A timeline of Max’s recovery journey. The plateaus, the frustrations, and the breakthroughs.
September 23, 2023 — Day of FCE
Morning walk. Drunken gait. Home. Collapsed to floor. Emergency vet. Suspected FCE based on clinical presentation. Prescribed gabapentin and prednisone — used sparingly over a few days. Immediately started Voltrex and Lumbrex.
September 2023 — Week 1
First signs of improvement: returning deep pain response in both feet (left weaker than right). No urinary or fecal incontinence. Confirmed this was likely FCE. Began researching rehab options. Joined FCE Dogs Facebook group.
October 5, 2023 — Rehab begins
First PT session at Animal Rehabilitation Center of Michigan (ARC Rehab). First of 7 acupuncture sessions also begins. Max is not a fan of acupuncture — by the end of the month, we’ll discontinue it; the stress of the sessions outweighed the benefit for him specifically.
October–November 2023 — Months 1–2
Most dramatic phase of improvement. Underwater treadmill, manual therapy, passive ROM, balance work. At home: PROM exercises, assisted standing, bicycling legs, wobble cushion. Max begins to stand with less support. Hind paws beginning to flip forward on their own.
December 2023 — Month 3
Approximately 80% recovered. The big milestones: puppy bow without collapsing, sitting up in “thank you” pose (wobbly but there), left leg making better contact with ground during walking.
January 2024 — Month 4
Progress slows to incremental. Approximately 5% improvement per month. This phase is harder emotionally — the dramatic early gains are gone, the plateau can feel like regression.
February 2024 — Month 5
Increased sessions to 2x per week — didn’t help. Not enough recovery time between sessions. Returned to 1x per week. Approximately 85% recovered. Begin noticing forward-compensation posture and front-leg dominance. Start experimenting with solutions.
March 2024 — Month 6 / End of formal PT
Approximately 90–95% recovered depending on the day. Formal PT course concludes. Continuing home exercises. Introduce donut cone during walks for posture and weight redistribution.
Spring–Summer 2024 — Months 7–12
Incremental continued improvements. Slow walking gait still slightly awkward (fast trot and running looking good). Monitoring gait carefully.
2025 — Year 2
Added chiropractic care. Noticeable improvements follow. Body is still adapting, nervous system still reorganizing.
Late 2025 / Early 2026 — Most recently
Added homeopathy. Further improvements noted. Today Max is at 98% function. You would not know unless you watched his slow-walk gait very closely. And I only know because I have been watching for two years and seven months.