*****YES! We have extended our fundraiser past the deadline! But he needs to go in for surgery on October 21 so we need to get the full amount by the beginning of that!

This is Gleann, he is a 12 year-old Aussie/BC/Chow mix. This has been a rough year for him. In February he lost his 15 year-old "brother" Sachairi. Then in March "wellness" tests showed that his "sister," a 6 year-old Greyhound Gráinne, haschronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)....a scary diagnosis but for now she's doing okay *knockwoodx3* and is being monitored. At the same thime his "wellness" test turned up hypercalcemia. High calcium in his blood, which can lead to various problems including kidney failure.

We're Aaron and Saigh Kym. Aaron is a per diem EMT, working varying hours, and Saigh Kym is not working regularly due to health reasons as well as trying to get our homestead more productive and with current issues with our dogs has now put other business plans on hold due to time and money it would take to get it going. Therefore all the testing both these dogs needed has been dificult. We did get some through a fundraiser as well as selling some things, but it was diffcult.

We haven't even done all the tests on Gleann originally recommended, but finally were able to rule out lymphoma as a cause and then get an ultrasound for the most likely cause, which turned otu to be a good call as that is what it turned out to be ...

Hyperparathyroidism caused by a parathyroid nodule.

This needs to be removed. And urgently now as having taken so long his calcium levels are now geting close to the serious danger point and he's is now symptomatic (he was not when first diagnosed).

There are two methods.that we could go with, this is directly stolen from the vet's summary:

• Surgical removal of the parathyroid nodule: This is the recommended and most definitive therapy. It would involve anesthesia and surgical exploration of the neck. Post-operative monitoring of the calcium level in the hospital for several days after the surgery will be needed. Cost estimate for the surgery would be $3200-3500. Potential complications include bleeding and nerve paralysis; however, in the hands of an experienced surgeon these are unlikely.
• Ethanol ablation of the parathyroid nodule: This is a secondary option, as it involves more potential for complications or failure of the calcium to normalize. It would involve anesthesia and ultrasound guided injection of ethanol into the parathyroid nodule. The ethanol destroys the functional parathyroid nodule. Again, post-operative monitoring of the calcium level in the hospital for several days after the surgery will needed. Cost estimate for this procedure would be $2300-2600. Potential complications are failure of the ethanol to destroy all of the functioning tissue (resulting in persistence of the hypercalcemia) and nerve paralysis due to ethanol leakage into the surrounding tissue of the neck.

The second option is $1,000 cheaper, but far more likely to not work and need to be redone. Both have risks, but Dr. Tim Bolton, the internist at Peak Veternary Referral Center feels that the ablation is a bit more risky.

So we are aiming to quickly raise $3,500* in hopes that we can get this surgery done within the next two weeks. Time is running out!  But if he has this done, his prognosis is very good.

We are giong to be applying for help from a few places, but any of them only do partial cost and are more likely to help fill in the gaps if we do well fundraising here. We will be adding anything we get to our total.

So please, if you can help us with donations we would be grateful. If not, please SHARE widely! 


*if it turns out to only be the lower estimate, we may see about returning some money to a fund to help others or donate it to another animal cause.