This is Winston’s world and I’m just living in it. Winston is a 5 year old lab/husky mix who I adopted when he was about 4 months old. I know all dogs are angels, but Winston is a different type of angel, and if you’ve ever met him then you know exactly what I’m talking about. In late November, Winston had what’s referred to as ‘cluster seizures.’ Where he seized 3 times in just a 9 hour period, when he’d never had a health issue before in his life. After care at an overnight emergency vet, we started Winston on an anticonvulsant called keppra. Things seemed to be going fine until late February, when he unfortunately had 3 more cluster seizures in a 24 hour period. After another visit to the emergency clinic, he was then prescribed a drug called phenobarbital to help control his brain activity. Phenobarbital, in rare cases, can have negative side effects, so it was important to have Winston’s blood and liver values tested. Again, it seemed we were on the road to success when all of a sudden, Winston got very ill. I took him to his regular vet, where she tested his blood again, only to find that he had zero blood platelets left, meaning he couldn’t clot and was at risk of bleeding out. She immediately told me to stop the phenobarbital and started him on the steroid prednisone that would help his blood platelet count come back up. After about a week on this steroid, Winston stopped eating. I tried cooking him chicken, rice, sweet potatoes and lean steak to no avail. After a few days, he was so weak, he could barely even lift his head up, so back to the emergency vet we went. After testing his blood, his platelets were back in normal range but his glucose was off the charts and he was in diabetic ketoacidosis. Three hospitals later, I got Winston checked in to see an internist, where he stayed from Sunday to Wednesday. After speaking with the specialist, he informed me that Winston had a steroid induced diabetes and would have to be on insulin for the rest of his life. I will also have to take him for weekly stays at his regular vet so she can track his insulin and glucose levels until we get him on the right dose and once we’ve found that sweet spot, he’ll have to go once a month and then eventually just once every few months. And to make matters worse, the diabetes will cause Winston to develop cataracts and the specialist estimated Winston will be blind in just a years time. All a very unfortunate series of events, putting Winston on a drug to help an issue only for it to cause another issue. He can still live many happy years with me, as long as I manage his health issues. A big lifestyle change for both of us, but we’re both fighters and I know we’ll fight to the end! Obviously with all the testing, emergency stays and medications, my vet bills are through the roof, especially factoring in how expensive every day bills and life have become. I had to put my pride aside and ask for help, as I’m only able to work part time to make sure I’m home for Winston to receive his seizure meds and insulin at the appropriate times. If you know me, you know I hate asking for anything and will do whatever it takes to make it on my own, but when it comes to my baby boy, I have to do what I can to keep him alive and well, and at this time, that means asking for help. I appreciate everyone who took the time to read his story and any donation made will go straight to these vet bills. I’ve attached photos of the sweetest guy in the world, as well as a few of the invoices from some of his visits. My goal is only about half of the total costs because I just can’t bring myself to ask for more than that and I’m also not expecting to reach this goal, but this amount of money would help us both out tremendously. Hold your fur babies extra close because life is unfair and you never know what tomorrow will bring. Thank you all again, even if all you can afford to send are prayers and positivity!