For Nino

We are raising money for our friend Nino (@bonjournino ) who is not feeling too well right now. Nino and family have been so active in raising money for FBRN (French Bulldog Rescue Network) and helping the Boston Frenchie Crew that we wanted to pay it forward.  We all know how expensive vet bills can be, so anything you can donate will help.

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Nino was taken to see the vet due to a change in his breathing pattern, it was more rapid than usual, even at rest. We've been down this road before and he's been diagnosed with an upper respiratory infection, and after a few days on prednisone he's as good as new. Our vet today did an x-ray and it showed that his heart is enlarged and rounded, that there was fluid build-up around his heart (pericardial effusion) and that he also had soft tissue nodule in his right caudal thorax. The next plan of action was to get him off to see a cardiologist ASAP for an echocardiogram, ultrasound, the works, in an effort to see what was causing all of these issues inside dude's lil body. 


So off to Tuft's small animal hospital in Grafton, MA we went. The doctor there was immediately concerned with Nino's heart, and breathing. He immediately went in for some more x-rays and some oxygen and medication to help with the fluid in his lungs that they saw. This is where we really realized how serious his condition was, and the doctor didn't sugar coat it for us. Heart failure was a possibility. So while our heads spun and the tears flowed, Nino was chilling like a villain in his fancy oxygen suite. The good news was that he was digging it in there, so this has given us some hope. We visited with him for a bit, and Tufts said that the cardiologist would let us know their findings after some more tests. They had already booked him a room to stay overnight due to his condition, so he was going to move to another oxygen suite in the hospital after his testing. 


The cardiologist got back to us, and the diagnosis was severe pulmonary hypertension. Damn. The plan for now is to keep him in the oxygen, as it's the only way he's breathing ok, to continue medication to see if it has any effect, and to get some more x-rays in the morning. While we are optimistic about him pulling through and beating this thing, the doc brought us back to reality as we discussed the possible need for a ventilator, and CPR. Damn. So now it's just a waiting game to see how he responds to the treatment tonight, and then we'll know more tomorrow. 


We are sure he feels all the love that is coming his way from all over, and we do too. 


Peace and love, Mike & Lauren