Emily OH1162

Hi! Meet Emily... Emily is approximately 11 years old and she and her bonded mate (Baxter) came into the Jennings household about a year and a half ago. They were made forever fosters because of advanced age and health issues. Emily is normally a very sassy little lady. She had a large mast cell tumor removed a few months ago and we thought that her health would be pretty stable for awhile.

Approximately 2 weeks ago Emily started to have discomfort in her neck. It was painful for her to put her head down very far and she yelped if she moved it too far down. We took her to the vet and they diagnosed her... to the best of their knowledge, based on symptoms... with either bulging disc or pinched nerve in her neck. Emily is not a surgical candidate because of her age and because she has a pretty significant heart murmur and it’s extremely risky to put her under anesthesia for long periods of time because it could put her into sudden heart failure. We started her on pain meds/anti-inflammatory meds and we were hoping rest would resolve the issue. About a week after going to the vet Emily woke up at 4:00 am CRYING in pain and yelping.  She ended up falling because her leg gave out and she could not do anything but cry. I sat with her trying to massage her neck/shoulder area which finally relieved her enough that she stopped crying, but she shivered and panted pretty badly so there was no doubt she was in pain.  She fell 2 other times that day and cried in pain.

Knowing she was not a surgical candidate I thought I was going to have to ask the rescue coordinators to get permission to help her cross the bridge  because at that time she seemed to be miserable. I kept thinking what other options there might be. Emily started walking better that day so I knew there had to be something we could do. I looked into a pet chiropractor and found a couple in the area. I took her that same day for an evaluation and they did a laser treatment and massage on Emily and scheduled her for her first adjustment the next day. I was AMAZED by what the next day brought... after just 1 laser treatment and massage Emily was acting, and ambulating, like her normal sassy self (she hadn't been this good in almost 2 weeks). She got her adjustment the next day and they adjusted her pelvis, her digits/toes on one paw and her neck. She was out of alignment at the level of the C1 axis (the very base of the skull and very top of the neck area) and also at the level of C6 (towards the bottom of the neck). The doc said this is most likely the cause to her pain and periodic weakness in her back leg. They suggested an adjustment and a laser treatment and massage weekly for 4 weeks then they will reevaluate her to see how often she should go.

Because of the issue she will likely need to continue with maintenance visits for a laser/massage and an adjustment periodically to help her stay feeling better. They said she has so much inflammation in her neck...they recommended a couple of supplements for her to help with inflammation,  but they highly recommended using an "Assissi Loop" on her. This device was originally developed to help women who had breast cancer that had to have a mastectomy with reconstruction (its extremely painful). The device uses pulsed electromagnetic fields to help stimulate the body's natural anti-inflammatory process which decreases inflammation.  This occurs by increasing the nitric oxide production which increases the healing time of hard and soft tissue injuries.  The device is great for an injury like this and it's an FDA approved device proven, through studies, to be very effective in decreasing inflammation and pain much more quickly. The doctors at Med vet use this device all the time and they can attest to the success/benefit of using this device. You just lay the device on the injured area or loop a leg through it or it can go around the belly or neck.  You can see a picture of this device among Emily's photos. 

Emily is pretty sore right now since her adjustment which is completely normal as she has never had an adjustment before... but only the occasional Yelp. Her neck is actually warm because of the inflammation she has in the neck. We would like to get this device for Emily because she needs to get the inflammation decreased to get her feeling better long term. The device is a little pricey, but it would be a huge benefit/therapy to help Emily.  We are asking for some help raising money to purchase the device ($250) and help with some of the medical bills for the adjustments/laser/massage treatments ($250).  Emily would be most appreciative if you would be willing to donate to her care so she can feel better... no amount is too small! Thank you all for your consideration!