The last six days has been gut-wrenching for everyone. Remi has gone from bad to terrible. His blood values have been the lowest we have ever seen in a dog that has had fourteen blood transfusions. For several days, we have watched his face swell, and his body react violently to all the steroids he had been given. He has been bleeding to death right in front of our eyes. Every Specialist we know of has been involved in his care. We all go to bed not knowing if he will be alive when we get up early the next morning. For several days, I was on the verge of stopping everything. We were pumping packed cells and whole blood into this amazing dog, and he was still bleeding to death. The only reason I kept going is because the Specialists kept reminding me that his condition is because of blood loss. If we can stop the blood loss before his other organs shut down, we can save him.
Two days ago, we did a surgical endoscopy. The first endoscopy did not show us where he was bleeding from; we had to do something different to get the scope down into his lower intestine and colon area without causing significant bleeding. It was now or never for this sweet dog. His face and all around are swollen so badly that we knew he would soon not be able to breathe. We put him on oxygen, gave him two more blood transfusions, got him stable and then proceeded with the surgery. We had to find out where he was bleeding from and repair the area, or he would die.
What they found was the most disturbing of all. The scope had to be manually manipulated into the lower GI area so they could see what was going on without doing more damage. The procedure was very delicate and risky but necessary. They did not find a specific area where he was gushing blood. His insides are so raw that he is leaking small amounts of blood from everywhere. The horrifying news (that we now believe is the reason he is losing so much blood) is that his lower intestine is loaded with hookworms. Massive amounts of hookworms are attached to the side of his walls causing bleeding and feeding on him. Everyone was shocked. Once he came to from the surgery, he was immediately started on a dewormer to kill the parasites along with supportive care to help him through the process.
I am happy to report that Remi's blood values are the highest they have been since we rescued him. He is holding his own and has wagged his tail for the first time in five days. He is not out of the woods but now has a chance at healing without all of the parasites killing him.
We have posted lots of pictures of his progress and lack of progress over the last three days. We have also posted pictures of his last procedure. Today is a good day in the land of Remi. I am a big believer that Life happens just the way it is supposed to. It is how you handle the hardships and what you learn that matters the most. We have all learned a lot from this horrible ordeal. What I have learned is that so many Vets do not know how to do proper, safe heartworm treatments. It is not one size fits all when it comes to animals. The American Heartworm Society has an entire website dedicated to educating people on heartworms. Dr. Jason King, one of our Neurologists, gave me a great web page they have added that tells you the safest way to treat your dog. This page is for any dog owner and also vets. Before you seek out a Vet, please, read over all the information they provide and learn about the process so you will know what has to happen. Remi should have had more tests, and he should have been on Doxycycline for 30 days before any treatment began. According to our Specialists, all of this could have been prevented if the Vet had followed The American Heartworm Society's guidelines. If you are practicing medicine and are not following them and don't know what to do in case of an emergency, you should not be doing heartworm treatments.
Thanks for helping us with Remi and being part of his amazing Journey. Remi will still have to remain in ICU for another week to make sure he fully recovers. Any donations are greatly appreciated and needed for his continued care.
Thank-you Charleston Veterinary Referral Center (CVRC) for your amazing Team of Specialists and Vet Techs that has spent countless hours looking after Remi and never giving up on him. We are honored to have you on our Team of Specialists that looks after our animals on a daily basis.
