Zeke Strong!

To know Zeke is to love him. Never have I met a dog with soulful a look as Zeke. Stranger or friend, he will immediately lean into your shins for snuggles, and stare deep into your soul. To call Zeke our "heart dog" feels like a cop out, because the impact he has had on our lives has truly saved us.

In fall of 2020, we lost our 13 week old puppy to Lepto, after trying to give him every chance at success through dialysis treatment at VSC in Buffalo Grove. Zeke came into our lives shortly after, when we weren't sure we were ready to open our hearts to a puppy. But when we met Zeke at 6 weeks old, he melted into our shoulders, and we knew we had a heart healer on our hands. He became our whole WORLD. Outside of enjoying everyday life by his side, we showed him in the conformation ring, and trialed with him in agility. He is pure joy to spend time with, and is happiest by our side. In June, he became a big brother to Beezer, and he is the most patient, perfect brother. He is set to turn 3 at the end of October, and has so much life ahead of him.

In late July, Zeke began to wheeze intermittently. We assumed he was struggling with environmental allergies, plus the air quality in Chicago was so bad. However, when the problem persisted, we scheduled an appointment with our vet. A few days before the vet appointment, Zeke stopped eating. Our vet said he was "perfect" on exam, but did chest and abdominal x-rays, as well as a blood panel, to help ease our minds and get to the bottom of his inappetence. Unfortunately, what the radiologist found was a large mass in his chest, reporting it was likely lymphoma or blastomycosis. We were, understandably, shocked and heartbroken at this news.

We reported to MedVet the next morning for an ultrasound of his abdomen to look for, and potentially biopsy, other enlarged lymph nodes, however, they did not find any. At his point, the doctors assumed it was blastomycosis, and sent off a urine sample to be tested while providing an anti-fungal medication to Zeke. Unfortunately, several days later, that test came back negative, putting us back at square one.

We called many vet hospitals, looking for an internal medicine appointment to investigate further, but we would have needed to wait several weeks. Instead, we brought Z back into the MedVet ER so we could hopefully transfer him to internal medicine. They did transfer him, first to IM, and then to critical care. They performed a CT scan and fine needle aspirate, which unfortunately came back inconclusive, assuming either a eosinophilic granuloma, or cancer. They were able to see that the tumor in Zeke's chest encompassed his trachea & pulmonary artery, putting pressure on his esophagus, heart, lungs, and other key organs. The next day they did a tru-cut biopsy to gather a larger tissue sample, which needed to be sent out to a lab to be read. The team at medVet was highly suspecting at this point that we were dealing with a cancerous process, instead of an inflammatory response.

In the meantime, we were able to transfer his care to University of Wisconsin-Madison, who has a renowned Oncology department. After several days of waiting, the tru-cut biopsy was also returned as "inconclusive", leaving us stumped, frustrated, and scared. The doctors still assume the tumor in Zeke's chest to be cancerous, but they cannot begin a treatment plan without a definitive diagnosis.

On Tuesday morning, he reports back to UW for a CT scan to map out his tumor and essential organs, and to potentially repeat the tru-cut biopsy, in order to plan and prepare for treatment.

At this time, we have completed a number of diagnostic tests (x-rays, ultrasounds, CT scans, blood work, urinalysis, fine needle aspirate, biospy) to get to the bottom of the large mass in his chest, undergone hospitalization, provided supportive care, and given him any relief we can while we wait for more information. We don't know yet what testing and treatment is ahead for Zeke, but we will continue to provide updates for his care. To date, we have spent approximately $10,000 on diagnostic testing and care. Unfortunately, Zeke's insurance plan (Nationwide) has shown us that coverage will be minimal, because they set default amounts to reimburse per incident, including a max of $1650 for diagnostic testing. Zeke deserves every fighting chance we can give him, and we could really use the support of our community to give him every opportunity to survive this.