Alfie's Medical Fund
Donation protected
The Story
Alfie, previously known as Dapper Dan, was found in the backyard of Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings Blake alongside with his two other siblings without their mother when they were 3.5 weeks old. Alfie and his siblings arrived at the shelter BARCS, all very weak and ill with common illnesses found in kittens rescued off the streets. They were nurtured back to health by their foster mom, Ara. During this time, Alfie thrived under her care and finally became healthy. When Alfie was 7 weeks old, we met him for the first time. Immediately besotted by his constant purring when we held him, we knew that we wanted him.
Alfie officially joined our family of three (us and our other cat, Abby, also originally from BARCS) on July 22, 2015 and we picked him up at BARCS after his neuter surgery.
Right off the bat, things started to go wrong.
Alfie couldn’t pass stool at all. Constantly in pain and always straining to go, we knew something was wrong. On July 27, we took Alfie to Charm City Veterinary Hospital and he was examined by Dr. Karbonik. Immediately, she knew that something was off.
Dr. Karbonik pointed out this was very unusual in kittens. She mentioned the possibility of a rare, congenital disorder in which Alfie may have a megacolon. Megacolon is the paralysis of the colon and the nerves in the colon don't fire. Quite simply put, he cannot pass stool. Instead, the stool gets packed up in the colon and eventually becomes really hard since the stool just stays there and water is absorbed out of the colon, making it even more harder to pass the stool. Because Alfie couldn't pass stool, he lost his appetite, vomited frequently, and became lethargic – he was no longer the playful and energetic kitten he used to be. Aaron and I spent countless, sleepless nights to take care of Alfie and to try make him as comfortable as possible.
As recommended by Dr. Karbonik, we tried a variety of different medications, including stool softeners and laxatives, and special food to help him regain his energy and most importantly, to pass stool. Unfortunately, none of that helped. He continued to be in pain and slept nearly all the time. On July 30, we brought him in for a sedated, manual evacuation of the colon. He was sedated and Dr. Karbonik then removed the stool.
It didn’t help. He soon became lethargic and couldn’t pass stool once again. We took him back to Dr. Karbonik on August 1st and she confirmed that his colon was distended and full again. We were advised to go to the ER.
At the ER, they decided that the best course of action for Alfie would be to keep him overnight for the weekend, so he stayed at the hospital for two nights, where he was given IV fluids to help combat dehydration and lack of appetite as well as a few enemas to help pass stool. Alfie was then transferred to Atlantic Veterinary Internal Medicine and Oncology and was examined by a specialist, Dr. Petrus. Dr. Petrus confirmed Dr. Karbonik's suspicion that it was most likely a congenital condition (Hirschsprung's Disease), although he couldn’t pinpoint the exact cause of the megacolon and why it was happening now. 68% of megacolon cases have an unidentified cause and can happen anytime. Both Dr. Petrus and other vets have all agreed that Alfie’s condition is most likely not related to the neuter surgery and just a bizarre coincidence. Essentially, his colon is paralyzed.
As advised by Dr. Petrus, we needed to exhaust all possible treatments before considering surgery since Alfie is still extremely young and so small, just over 2 pounds. He is not gaining weight due to lack of appetite. We were disheartened to hear this since we didn’t want Alfie to suffer anymore. However, the upside is that if he is a candidate for surgery, surgery in cats with megacolons or distended colons have a really good prognosis and lead healthy lives.
So, in an attempt to rule out every possible treatment, Alfie was sent home from the hospital on August 3rd with a new regimen of food and medication and we all hoped for the best that it would help him.
It didn’t help. Once again lethargic with no appetite, he was constantly straining to pass stool almost every five minutes. We were then advised by Dr. Petrus to get another sedated, manual evacuation. It was either to immediately go to the ER or wait until the next day to get it done at Charm City Veterinary Hospital like before. We opted to wait, although we did not want to. It would have cost $850 at the ER compared to $265 at Charm City Vet. Alfie was able to hang in there and he had his colon manually evacuated again on August 5th, today.
We also got a call from the surgical team today to set up a surgical consult, which was scheduled to be next week on August 12th, to our dismay. Aaron and I pushed for the consult to be bumped up earlier because we felt that Alfie’s condition was urgent and that this tiny, two-pound sweetheart was suffering. But they believed it was appropriate to wait and see how the manual evacuation goes, even though Alfie has already had one. But, as they said, they want to exhaust all options.
Dr. Eavers from Charm City Veterinary, who did the manual evacuation today, was very concerned about Alfie. She noticed that Alfie’s stool was even harder than the last time they manually evacuated him, a likely indicator that the new medicines are not working. They also took x-rays and his colon was even more distended than last time. The more distended the colon is, the more likely the colon experiences permanent damage. Dr. Eavers then called Dr. Petrus and the surgical team and urged them to move up the appointment to August 10th, Monday.
So this is where we are now. We will see how Alfie fares today and the next few days from his second manual evacuation and are waiting anxiously for the surgical consult on Monday to see what we can do and how we can help this little guy.
It has been extremely hard for us to see Alfie in pain and be so uncomfortable. In the fifteen days we have had Alfie, we have only seen him pass stool once. The only way to get rid of the stool is through manual evacuations and enemas at the vet and hospital.
This is not a way of life Alfie should have nor does he deserve that. We strongly feel that such pain and suffering should not be prolonged. We will continue to be a voice for little Alfie and will not take no for an answer. If Alfie does not fare well after this manual evacuation – which, at this point, will be likely – the only humane option is either surgery or euthanasia. Of course, we are pushing for surgery.
If you’ve taken care of sick animals before or have pets of your own, then you probably know what such an experience like this is like. It is gut-wrenching and you want the best for your pet. This experience has already taught us so much – it’s brought Aaron and I closer (even though we felt like strangling each other during the middle of the night taking care of Alfie and being sleep deprived all the time) and we now no longer care if there’s poop (from the enemas/manual evacuations) or vomit all over us.
Already, the vet bills are piling up. If you want to help Alfie, then we thank you from the bottom of our heart. We have already spent $3,238.18 on Alfie’s treatments and the cost of surgery is expected to be in the thousands as well. The goal is to raise as much money as we can towards the current bills, which is reflected in our GoFundMe’s goal. This does not include surgery…yet. Please keep Alfie in your thoughts and share his story with others.
We've included the vet bills below.
First visit and initial diagnosis - July 27;
Second visit for sedated manual evacuation - July 30; Third visit to be sent to the ER - August 1
ER and hospital stay - August 1 - 3
Specialist consult for internal medicine and surgery - August 3
Fourth visit for second manual evacuation - August 6
Alfie, previously known as Dapper Dan, was found in the backyard of Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings Blake alongside with his two other siblings without their mother when they were 3.5 weeks old. Alfie and his siblings arrived at the shelter BARCS, all very weak and ill with common illnesses found in kittens rescued off the streets. They were nurtured back to health by their foster mom, Ara. During this time, Alfie thrived under her care and finally became healthy. When Alfie was 7 weeks old, we met him for the first time. Immediately besotted by his constant purring when we held him, we knew that we wanted him.
Alfie officially joined our family of three (us and our other cat, Abby, also originally from BARCS) on July 22, 2015 and we picked him up at BARCS after his neuter surgery.
Right off the bat, things started to go wrong.
Alfie couldn’t pass stool at all. Constantly in pain and always straining to go, we knew something was wrong. On July 27, we took Alfie to Charm City Veterinary Hospital and he was examined by Dr. Karbonik. Immediately, she knew that something was off.
Dr. Karbonik pointed out this was very unusual in kittens. She mentioned the possibility of a rare, congenital disorder in which Alfie may have a megacolon. Megacolon is the paralysis of the colon and the nerves in the colon don't fire. Quite simply put, he cannot pass stool. Instead, the stool gets packed up in the colon and eventually becomes really hard since the stool just stays there and water is absorbed out of the colon, making it even more harder to pass the stool. Because Alfie couldn't pass stool, he lost his appetite, vomited frequently, and became lethargic – he was no longer the playful and energetic kitten he used to be. Aaron and I spent countless, sleepless nights to take care of Alfie and to try make him as comfortable as possible.
As recommended by Dr. Karbonik, we tried a variety of different medications, including stool softeners and laxatives, and special food to help him regain his energy and most importantly, to pass stool. Unfortunately, none of that helped. He continued to be in pain and slept nearly all the time. On July 30, we brought him in for a sedated, manual evacuation of the colon. He was sedated and Dr. Karbonik then removed the stool.
It didn’t help. He soon became lethargic and couldn’t pass stool once again. We took him back to Dr. Karbonik on August 1st and she confirmed that his colon was distended and full again. We were advised to go to the ER.
At the ER, they decided that the best course of action for Alfie would be to keep him overnight for the weekend, so he stayed at the hospital for two nights, where he was given IV fluids to help combat dehydration and lack of appetite as well as a few enemas to help pass stool. Alfie was then transferred to Atlantic Veterinary Internal Medicine and Oncology and was examined by a specialist, Dr. Petrus. Dr. Petrus confirmed Dr. Karbonik's suspicion that it was most likely a congenital condition (Hirschsprung's Disease), although he couldn’t pinpoint the exact cause of the megacolon and why it was happening now. 68% of megacolon cases have an unidentified cause and can happen anytime. Both Dr. Petrus and other vets have all agreed that Alfie’s condition is most likely not related to the neuter surgery and just a bizarre coincidence. Essentially, his colon is paralyzed.
As advised by Dr. Petrus, we needed to exhaust all possible treatments before considering surgery since Alfie is still extremely young and so small, just over 2 pounds. He is not gaining weight due to lack of appetite. We were disheartened to hear this since we didn’t want Alfie to suffer anymore. However, the upside is that if he is a candidate for surgery, surgery in cats with megacolons or distended colons have a really good prognosis and lead healthy lives.
So, in an attempt to rule out every possible treatment, Alfie was sent home from the hospital on August 3rd with a new regimen of food and medication and we all hoped for the best that it would help him.
It didn’t help. Once again lethargic with no appetite, he was constantly straining to pass stool almost every five minutes. We were then advised by Dr. Petrus to get another sedated, manual evacuation. It was either to immediately go to the ER or wait until the next day to get it done at Charm City Veterinary Hospital like before. We opted to wait, although we did not want to. It would have cost $850 at the ER compared to $265 at Charm City Vet. Alfie was able to hang in there and he had his colon manually evacuated again on August 5th, today.
We also got a call from the surgical team today to set up a surgical consult, which was scheduled to be next week on August 12th, to our dismay. Aaron and I pushed for the consult to be bumped up earlier because we felt that Alfie’s condition was urgent and that this tiny, two-pound sweetheart was suffering. But they believed it was appropriate to wait and see how the manual evacuation goes, even though Alfie has already had one. But, as they said, they want to exhaust all options.
Dr. Eavers from Charm City Veterinary, who did the manual evacuation today, was very concerned about Alfie. She noticed that Alfie’s stool was even harder than the last time they manually evacuated him, a likely indicator that the new medicines are not working. They also took x-rays and his colon was even more distended than last time. The more distended the colon is, the more likely the colon experiences permanent damage. Dr. Eavers then called Dr. Petrus and the surgical team and urged them to move up the appointment to August 10th, Monday.
So this is where we are now. We will see how Alfie fares today and the next few days from his second manual evacuation and are waiting anxiously for the surgical consult on Monday to see what we can do and how we can help this little guy.
It has been extremely hard for us to see Alfie in pain and be so uncomfortable. In the fifteen days we have had Alfie, we have only seen him pass stool once. The only way to get rid of the stool is through manual evacuations and enemas at the vet and hospital.
This is not a way of life Alfie should have nor does he deserve that. We strongly feel that such pain and suffering should not be prolonged. We will continue to be a voice for little Alfie and will not take no for an answer. If Alfie does not fare well after this manual evacuation – which, at this point, will be likely – the only humane option is either surgery or euthanasia. Of course, we are pushing for surgery.
If you’ve taken care of sick animals before or have pets of your own, then you probably know what such an experience like this is like. It is gut-wrenching and you want the best for your pet. This experience has already taught us so much – it’s brought Aaron and I closer (even though we felt like strangling each other during the middle of the night taking care of Alfie and being sleep deprived all the time) and we now no longer care if there’s poop (from the enemas/manual evacuations) or vomit all over us.
Already, the vet bills are piling up. If you want to help Alfie, then we thank you from the bottom of our heart. We have already spent $3,238.18 on Alfie’s treatments and the cost of surgery is expected to be in the thousands as well. The goal is to raise as much money as we can towards the current bills, which is reflected in our GoFundMe’s goal. This does not include surgery…yet. Please keep Alfie in your thoughts and share his story with others.
We've included the vet bills below.
First visit and initial diagnosis - July 27;
Second visit for sedated manual evacuation - July 30; Third visit to be sent to the ER - August 1
ER and hospital stay - August 1 - 3
Specialist consult for internal medicine and surgery - August 3
Fourth visit for second manual evacuation - August 6
Organizer
Allysa Dittmar
Organizer
Baltimore, MD