Auggie's Palate Repair

I adopted Auggie back on January 5th from All About Cats in Freeport, Long Island.  At the time, it was thought he had a cold and that I would take him home and nurse him back to health.  A few days after I got him home, I noticed blisters on his tongue, a swollen frenulum (at top lip) and a scab on his nose.  I looked in his mouth and discovered a large,  gaping hole in his palate.  

My vet referred us to Dr. Lisa Fink, Staff Dentist & Oral Surgeon, Cornell University Veterinary Specialists.   At that time, Auggie only weighed 2 pounds at 4 months old and couldn't eat food as he could aspirate.  Cornell inserted an e-tube into his neck and I proceeded to syringe feed him 3-4 times a day to get him healthy for his upcoming surgery. The palate surgery was done on 1/29 but due to difficult circumstances turned out to be unsuccessful.

I was then referred to Dr. Alexander Reiter, Head of the Dentistry and Oral Surgery Service, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine.  I was told a mold of the hole could be made and an obturator would be fit in his mouth (see pics).  This surgery was done on March 8th and stayed in place for approximately 3 weeks.  On March 29th, the obturator fell out and Auggie had to go back to UPenn to have another procedure and the obturator replaced.

At this point, Dr. Reiter has suggested that we do a cartilage graft procedure in early May.  This surgery is estimated to cost an additional $6,000. The rescue has donated $7K for the first two procedures and I have added an additional $5k for the last 2 procedures.  

We love Auggie so much as he is such a love bug.  He sleeps curled up in my neck every night and I can't imagine not having him in our lives.  If you would please consider donating to this cause we would be very grateful.

Regards,

The Mehler Family