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Tuesday February 18th started as any other day. Zac and I got up, got ready for work, played with the puppies (Sophie and Annie), and went on our way to work. I came home that night, and as always Sophie and I went for our small walk, played with her toys, feed her, and waited for Zac and Annie to come home from work. A little while later, Sophie began to walk to her now empty dog bowl. I took a few pieces of dog food out of the bag and began to feed her piece by piece out of my hand. Just seconds later she began vomiting everywhere. This is when everything took a change for the worst.
I called the vet and asked what to do, I was told to keep her away from food and water for the next 24 hours and then gradually give her some rice and yogurt after that. The next day when I came home from work, Sophie jumped out of the chair to greet me like she does everyday, but this time it was different. When Sophie jumped out of the chair, her legs began to wobble and she nearly fell to the ground. I broke into tears and called Zac to tell him I was taking her straight to the Vet. I then called my mom and dad to come pick me up for I was too upset to drive, I KNEW something was terribly wrong. My dad called Fort Russell in Edwardsville, the Dr. told us to meet him there and he would take a look at her. Once inside this Dr. pushed on her tummy and told me everything was fine, she probably swallowed something and she would throw it up in a period of time. He also told me she was hydrated and there was nothing to worry about. He then told me he would be traveling out of town the next day in the afternoon and that if I needed anything to call before 1. I walked out of his office that night crying and told my parents, "I know my dog more than anyone and I know there is something else going on."
After getting Sophie home that night, 20 mins later she began vomiting again, only this time it began to get much worse. Zac worked from home Thursday to keep an eye on her and to make sure she was drinking water to stay hydrated, which she no longer was. At 9:00 A.M, I called Fort Russell to tell him she was still vomiting and no longer keeping water down, he told me to keep an eye on her and to call back around noon if she was still not keeping water down because that's when he would get worried. I called his office at 11:45 and go no answer nor a returned call. At 5:00 P.M.that day, Zac called me in a panic that he was taking her to Hawthorne, Sophie began to have a seizure due to becoming hypoglycemic. Zac then put syrup on the roof of her mouth causing her to come out of the seizure, but then vomit everywhere.
After getting her to Hawthorne, we were told Sophie was severely dehydrated, weighing in at 3.2 lbs, and listed in critical condition. The Dr. came in, and within 30 secs of pushing on Sophie's stomach, she knew something was wrong. She did X-Rays and Ultrasounds on Sophie, and informed us that Sophie's uterus was four times the size of her bowels, which is supposed to be smaller than the bowels. We were told they were going to do a rush of antibiotics and fluids and she would be prepped for emergency surgery within the next hour. Because Sophie was so sick, she was kept in ICU on fluids for an additional 12 hours before they could get Sophie's levels to stable enough to preform the operation. These next 12 hours felt like a lifetime.
Sophie had a full hysterectomy done. 14 staples all the way down her tiny little belly. 4.5 days in ICU and $2,600 later, Sophie was clear to come home!!! Because Sophie was still not up to eating on her own, due to the amount of vomiting she had down making her throat sore, we had to syringe feed her every 2 hours in order make sure she was maintaining her glucose levels on her own (In ICU, her glucose was dropping to a 10 when taken off her sugar drip). Just as we thought everything was getting better, it all took another turn.
As Sophie began to eat real dog food, she began vomiting again, only this time it was only when she ate and everything was coming up in a tube like shape. About 15-30 secs after she began eating, she would begin to dry heave, choke, and then spit everything up. During her surgery the Dr. took biopsies of her stomach which were sent off and came back showing a form of bacteria that was causing the finger-like structures that force food down the throat and tummy were not working, and a scope would be the only way to see where this was located. These labs were an additional $175.
We are now at day 34 and just had a scope place down Sophie's esophagus to take pictures to see what is causing this. After getting 1/3 of the way down her esophagus, the scope could go no farther. This procedure alone was another $600.
The next step: We will be meeting with a heart specialist in St. Louis to have a ultrasound done of her heart. For this procedure alone, we are looking at another $450.
As long on the aortic arch does not loop over her esophagus, then they will place a balloon in her esophagus to dilate it. If the aortic arch is looping over the esophagus, then they would do surgery to reroute the arch which I would not have done, we would simply liquefy all her foods and she will be a healthy girl that way:) please say a prayer that her esophagus is clear of the aortic arch and get this girl back to herself!!
Right now our bill is aprox. $3,825, this is without the balloon procedure if able to do so and any other medications she is placed on.
Thank you to everyone in advance for all the thoughts, prayers, and donations to help us get this baby back to herself again!!! Every single dollar helps our baby girl, and again, thank you everyone!!
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