June 3rd 2006 7:12 am
[ Leave A Comment ]
Thank you to everyone who tried to save me. I love all of you very much and live a wonder life with the best mother and brother and sister. Unfortuantly, I did not pull through and this is my last diary entry. I know it was the hardest day ever for my mom, so please if you see her please lick her on the cheek or in the ear for me.
Ta ta weo weo weo weo!!!
I took those old records off the shelve, na na na na na na by myself!!!!
June 2nd 2006 10:46 am
[ Leave A Comment ]
I'm too sick to write right now but my loving mother and Columbus Top Dogs are helping me through all this. Please read what they have written below and you will see my story unfold through thier words and love.
I'm making a very special appeal to assist one of our Columbus
Top Dogs, Rhonda Burnaugh, in raising funds to help offset extrordinary
emergency medical expenses for her precious canine companion, China. As
many of you may already be aware, China is currently being treated in
the ICU at Ohio State. This beautiful baby is too sick for surgery and
she is awaiting additional testing until her fragile body can
successfuly undergo surgery.
Please take a moment to read Rhonda's heartfelt diary of this
painful ordeal. If you would like to make a contribution to help
China, please make your check payable to The Ohio State University
Veterinary Teaching Hospital. Be sure to write in the memo section "For
China - companion pet of Rhonda Burnaugh" and mail to:
The Ohio State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital
601 Vernon L. Tharp Street
Columbus, Ohio 43210
As an additional show of support, I will match dollar-for-dollar
all cash contributions up to $250.
As always, thanks in advance for your kind consideration. With
your prayers and support, we are hopeful China will make a full
recovery.
Mary O'Connor-Shaver
Pet Consultant #462
Cell: 614-271-8248
Columbus Top Dogs
www.columbustopdogs.com
First, I want to thank all of you for listening and
being supportive of China and I. OSU called a while ago to say that her
last test shows what we expected and that it is operable, once she
stabilizes. It is still touch & go, and she is still in Intensive Care
at OSU. If you have pets, you understand she is my baby. Below is her
story, if you want to know what is going on: It's been a very stressful
week.
_______________________________________________________ ___
On Saturday, my tiniest Chi, China Doll, began walking
as if she had a sore back leg. By Sunday, she would walk a few feet,
then lay down. Monday was Memorial Day, and being a holiday, my vet's
office was closed. She was still eating and drinking water, but just
didn't seem right to me. At this point, she could stand and walk, but
not climb the stairs or get up or down off the chairs, etc. So, at
7:30 in the morning, I packed her up and took her to MedVet, which is an
emergency vet hospital. The vet there thought it was a sore luxating
patella, and I told him that she had never had a problem with it. He
sent me home with Tramadol for pain and said if she didn't seem better
or started vomiting, not eating, drinking, etc, to bring her back.
Monday night she was unable to get up at all and had not gone potty all
day. I called them back and was told that perhaps the Tramadol had made
her too groggy and don't give her anymore.
Tuesday am she could no longer stand at all. By then, I
was beyond it. I decided not to take her back to MedVet and on advice
of a friend of mine, took her to Annehurst Hospital in Westerville.
They immediately admitted her and began a series of tests. Her liver
enzymes were 830... Normal ALT is between 20-107. Her BUN levels wer
low and she had glucose in her urine (which they had to express because
she was unable to do so on her own). Spinal X-rays came back normal.
At that point, they were trying to determine if we were dealing witht 2
issues: neurological and liver, or if they were tied together. The
only thing everyone was sure of is that she was very, very sick. Next,
they asked permission to do an acid bile test. This confirmed that it
was her liver. Annehurst strongly recommended that I take her as an
emergency to Ohio State Univ. small animal hospital. So, I packed up
all 6 lbs of her and off we went. Once there, they did an ultrasound
and had her seen by a neurologist. Neurology tests came back within
normal, except some reflexes were off due to her overall weakness and
lethargy. They admitted her to ICU and started IV's. They did an
ultrasound, and it appears that she has something called a 'liver
shunt'. What that means, if I understand it all correctly, is that when
she eats and digests food thru her intestinal tract, there is a portal
vein that attaches to her liver so that everything goes thru her liver
to be detoxified. In China's case, there is a vein that 'shunts' around
her liver, so that this is bypassed and instead of being detoxified as
it should be, all the toxins get dumped directly into her tiny body.
So, every time she eats, toxins are poisoning her system.
Today she will have an imaging test to determine if it
is only one vessel or several vessels. Once she gets her levels down
and stabilizes, they can do surgery to close off this vessel. If it is
several vessels that transpose her entire liver, then we have a much
more serious situation. I was told this happens in small dogs more
frequently. They can be born with this or it can develop over time. In
her case, they think she was born with it. China turned 1 yr old in
Feb. Maybe some of you have seen or heard of this before, but I wanted
to let you know, just in case, you ever see these symptoms. They asked
me if she had ever had seizures, which she hasn't. But she did have a
fainting spell in december. The vet thought she might have had low
glucose or had vertigo (dizziness) from an inner ear infection. I
talked to him yesterday, and now we realize this was probably gradually
building up. They also asked if she ate, then became lethargic. Yes,
sometimes, but not always. These are all things to look for if liver
problems are developing. Because of all this, she also has developed
ammonia stones in her bladder, but that can be treated. She has a mild
bladder infection. Several times I've questioned why her usual perky
ears suddenly droop down like a bassitt hound. Now I realize she does
that when she is not feeling well. I have learned so much.
Today they are going to sedate her and inject a dye to
see which way the blood flows thru these vessel(s). They have to do
this in order to perform the surgery in a couple weeks.
Right now she is too sick for surgery. She is on
seizure precautions. OSU just called me and said she had a good night
and ate some breakfast. I remain hopeful. In 4 days, we have
accumulated $800+ in bills, and I know the surgery will cost around
$1500. She remains in ICU, which is $200/day. Things will be rough for
awhile, but if I have to take a second job to pay for all of this, I
will. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers. Since my divorce a few
years ago, my two little girls (Ginny & China) have been my best
companions. I have cried all week.
As if that weren't enough, as I was leaving the hospital
yesterday, there was a car parked next to mine in the parking lot with 3
little min pins locked inside. They were barking and panting and
obviously in distress. The windows were all rolled up and it topped 91
degrees in Columbus yesterday. I immediately went back inside and got
help. When the owner came out, I couldn't help myself. I stood and
screamed at her and told her she should never be allowed to have a pet,
and in my opinion, should be arrested. Then I got in my car and cried
all the home.
________________________________________________________
So there's my story. Please pray for my family and friends as well. I can't give them kisses right now. Thank you for reading my story, and say a prayer for all the dogs that need help just like me!
China
|
