On Thursday August 28th, Ryder Felicia's 4 year old husky mix dog was tragically struck by a car on Glenshire Drive. The car was going around 50mph. Felicia didn't see him get hit because they were down at a local river spot that they have gone to for 4 years with no issues. Felicia believes Ryder was chasing an animal because he disappeared quickly and made it across the road one way. After being hit he hobbled his way all the way back to her at the river. She realized he wasn’t okay and acted immediately and rushed him to the Donner Truckee Emergency Vet. Upon arrival he was in extreme shock and his vitals were not good. Once they were able to stabilize him, had to be transferred to 24/7 care in Reno at the Animal Emergency and Speciality Center as soon as possible. Ryder had supported oxygen the entire ride and made it to Reno successfully. He then spent 2 nights recovering under 24/7 care. He was diagnosed with severe lung contusions and a pneumothorax which is a hole in the lung that leaks air into the chest cavity. After those two nights Ryder was healing quickly and able to go home. We all couldn’t have been more thankful to receive this news! He needed to remain on pain medicine and extreme cage rest for the next 10-14 days.
The vet bill from this day totaled just around $8000 which was a massive financial burden on Felicia but was something she was prepared to take on with some assistance from some close family and friends and her own finances.
Monday September 8th, just under 2 weeks since Ryder had been struck by a car and had been recovering immensely well. Around bed time Felicia noticed he was extremely antsy, he then started throwing up and was showing intense signs of respiratory distress and overall discomfort. She immediately rushed him back to the ER vet in Reno. X-rays showed that he had a traumatic diaphragmatic hernia. Meaning there was a hole in his diaphragm and some of his vital organs were passing through and into his chest cavity. This is extremely life-threatening. The injury occurred on initial impact of being hit by the car but wasn't visible in x-rays because of the first injury, the pneumothorax.
Ryder needed emergency surgery as soon as one of the only 2 surgeons in the area could do it. The surgeon arrived early Tuesday morning and made the decision that Ryder was in the most critical condition and bumped him to the front of the surgery list. Ryder underwent surgery successfully and after another 2 nights spent in 24/7 care he is back home with Felicia under intense after-care instructions for the next two weeks, where he will remain in strict cage rest aside from using the bathroom.
This is what Ryder is recovering from
- An incision internally on his diaphragm
- A 7 inch external incision on his abdomen
- A small hole where the chest tube was placed
- Initial Lung Recovery
- He is on 6 different medications
Felicia & Ryder are now facing $16,000 in vet bills which hopefully won’t increase throughout this next month as multiple complications can arise. She has continued to miss multiple days of work to care for Ryder. This has become an extremely emotional, financial and physical burden that is too much for one person to bear on their own.
We are asking for any help to get this crew to a more stable place financially and emotionally. Anything helps and please, please share !!
