Update
Rosie and I are beyond thankful for her new halo! She is still getting used to it, but it will be so nice to see her gain some of her confidence back! Thank you ❤
Backstory
Hi, my name is Rosie, a.k.a. RoRo! I’m a 9 year old chihuahua who lives in Phoenix by way of Chicago and I need your help! My life has changed forever, all in the matter of a week! I woke up last Sunday with 4/06/14 with a swollen face so my mom took me to the emergency vet and it turns out I had a broken, abscessed tooth! I was sent home with 3 medications until I could get in to see my regular vet. I woke up the next day on Monday 04/07/14 in a pool of blood, my mom was worried so we went right away to my regular vet who said I had a pretty bad infection and the abscess may have burst from the medication, but said he couldn’t help me, I had to go to a special doggy dentist!
My mom made an appointment for the very next day, Tuesday 04/08/14 and this would be the day that would change my life forever. My mom brought me in to the dentist and I’m not sure who was more scared, me or her! We met with the Dr. who said I needed to get a root canal of my 4th molar (a major chewing tooth) and there was also evidence of a slab fracture, but he could fix me up and I was going to get a new crown once everything was done so I would be good as new!
Once my mom left, I got hooked up to the machine that would monitor my vitals while I was sleeping and I was given a preanesthetic that’s when I ran in to trouble. My heart beat started to slow down and show signs of a heart block and my vitals started to drop very rapidly so the doc ordered an emergency blood draw which revealed that not only was I severely anemic from my red blood cells being dangerously low, but I had 0 platelets, had the procedure gone on, I would have bled to death.
The doc called my mom immediately to come get me and take me straight to the critical care animal hospital. I was in pretty bad shape at this point suffering from several critical issues including a heart arrhythmia and didn’t know if I was going to make it. I was evaluated by an internal medicine specialist who suspected that I had an autoimmune disease called Immune-Mediated Thrombocytopenia (IMT) along with Immune-Mediated Hemolytic Anemia (IMHA) which both are life threatening conditions where my immune system attacks itself in times of crisis like a major infection in the body even from a tooth!
My mom was so upset and heart broken not knowing my fate and having to leave me at the animal hospital, but she had faith in my doctor and knew she would do what was best for me. I received a blood transfusion that night in hopes that the “new” blood would trigger my body to start making new red blood cells and buy me time so I could receive Rosie and I are beyond thankful for her new halo! She is still getting used to it, but it will be so nice to see her gain some of her confidence back! Thank you ❤ suppressant medicine so my immune system would stop attacking itself and my bone marrow could sprout new platelets.
I stayed in the hospital 2 nights and by the time I went home on Thursday 04/10/14 my heart arrhythmia had normalized, my red blood cells had doubled and I had about 10K platelets, but I was told I should really have about 30k-40k so I still had a ways to go!
Right now I am resting at home with my mom and my sister, Sedona who is so annoying, but I was so glad to see her! I had a very long road ahead of me, I had to go and see my regular vet on Monday 04/14/14 to get my blood drawn and see how my levels are doing and we are praying that they have gotten better or at best, maintained! I am on a pretty strict regimen of medications including steroids, antibiotics and this awful medicine to coat my tummy so I don’t get an ulcer! I also have to be VERY careful not to get injured, bruised or cut while I am still recovering for the next 4-6 weeks.
The prognosis is still unknown, I may have to be on medication for the rest of my life and I still need to get this tooth situation taken care of surgically, but I have to be stable and well first. Once the tooth is taken out, this whole situation may reverse itself or it may be a chronic condition that can resurface at anytime… there is so much unknown at this time. One thing I do know is that my mom and I could use your help, she has spent every last dime she had to pay for my medical care and save my life this week.
Fast forward to almost exactly 2 years later, I had a few relapses even while on the immunosuppressant medication and almost weekly blood draws. Things started to stabilize and from around October 2014 to April 2015 I had not had any relapses and my vet strongly encouraged my mom to let me go ahead and get the surgery that was needed the year before. Although she was SUPER scared, the vet took amazing care of me and got that bad, broken tooth out and I came home that day like a new chihuahua, excited to eat!! By this time we had also been making decreases to my medication dosage, but the slow decrease to ensure I didn’t have a relapse would now have permanent long term consequences for me. As of July 2015, I was diagnosed with diabetes due to prolonged prednisone usage. My blood sugar was SO high, my first reading was over 550! So now I am on a daily regimen of getting insulin shots 2x a day! My poor mom hated having to give me shots, but we both knew it was for my own good and it became a regular routine. The diabetes has been very damaging to my eyesight, I now have developed cataracts in both of my eyes and can’t really see anymore.
Although I am now 11 years old and my eyes have changes with age, the cataract are what led to my blindness. I have a lot of spunk and life left in me, but my mom has run out of resources to help me regain my confidence back.
Over the past 2 years, the medical expenses between the critical care hospital, continued blood work, medications, the surgery and now insulin and needles, my mom has spent everything she had to save me and keep me well for the past 2 years. We would be beyond grateful if someone could help us get a halo to help me navigate and regain my confidence and independence back. I mean the world to my mom, but want to show her that we can overcome this hurdle too and she can stop worrying about me running into everything and possibly hurting myself. Thank you for taking the time to hear my story.
