Hi, I’m a First Nations woman who is currently articling in the area of Indigenous legal aid. I’m hoping to raise funds for my sweet baby boy Bean who is currently struggling with 3 concurrent neurological disorders and requires urgent surgery. While the work that I am doing is extremely fulfilling and important in terms of helping Indigenous people access justice, the compensation in this field in my current (mandatory) role is not at a level where I can afford the ongoing and extensive medical care Bean requires to live a happy and healthy life.
Bean is my 6 year old chihuahua, and I got him when he was 5 months old. Since then, he has run into many health challenges, including the reason for my doing this. I have never publicly spoken about these health challenges and have preferred to keep it private. His concurrent conditions have advanced to the point that I am under significant financial stress.
When I was in my second year of my program, Bean began showing symptoms that prompted an immediate referral to a neurologist. After he underwent MRI’s, he was diagnosed with hydrocephalus. Essentially, Bean cannot effectively drain the fluid around his brain to the rest of his body properly. We tried medical treatment for several months but he was not improving with medication. After many follow ups, second opinions and consulting other specialists in Toronto and Ottawa over the next months, a new treatment plan was created which included Bean having brain surgery to insert a Ventriculoperitoneal (VP) Shunt. The shunt was meant to assist in draining the fluid around his brain so that his neurological symptoms would lessen and improve his quality of life. This was placed in August 2019. At his post-surgery follow ups, he seemed to be improving on his neurological tests, or at least wasn’t getting any worse. As more time passed, Bean’s health began to decline again, prompting the need for further testing to uncover why he continued to experience extremely painful symptoms.
We moved to Guelph last year mid-pandemic and I moved his case to the Ontario Veterinary College. Following their examination of his previous scans, it was confirmed that Bean had hydrocephalus in addition to syringomyelia, which is essentially a buildup of fluid in sacs along the spinal cord that causes extreme pain.
In September 2020, Bean suffered a seizure. He was hospitalized and continued having tests and an MRI done. The neurologists couldn’t figure out the cause of the seizure because of the concurrent disorders and diagnosed him with MUE (meningoencephalitis of unknown etiology) and epilepsy. It was at this MRI that it was discovered that Bean’s hydrocephalus was progressing despite the shunt placement - or that the shunt was no longer working, and the buildup of fluid was progressively getting worse and causing neurological symptoms and pain.
Since then, Bean has been on aggressive medical treatment with anti-seizure, steroid and pain management medications. He began to do better on the medications. As his overall condition appeared to improve, the neurologists attempted to taper him off of the medications because of the significant side effects he was experiencing. Since tapering, Bean has had a few minor relapses, and a major relapse in March. The relapse included several emergency hospital visits and he was again put onto more medications to suppress his immune system.
Since Bean has been struggling for the past two years consistently, and with his unstable neurological condition, I made a decision in consultation with the specialists to hold off on having a necessary dental surgery. Holding off on the surgery gave Bean more time to recover from his relapses, however, the infection in his mouth/teeth has gotten to a point where it can no longer be delayed. His dental surgery is now urgent because of the risks of infection in his mouth spreading to his brain or aggravating his brain diseases. There is an increased risk of Bean developing a post-op blood infection which requires me to take time off work to closely monitor him. If he were to get an infection, the risk to his brain and life is severe. In order to monitor him post-op, I will need to be home and provide around the clock care and medications in addition to his follow ups. This has also delayed my moving plans because Bean will need to be in a stable environment resting post-surgery and will not be in any condition to travel more than absolutely necessary. Due to his fragile condition and the level of risk for his surgery, he has to go to a dental specialist and have the surgery overseen by a neurologist and anesthesiologist. For context, Bug recently had a complicated dental surgery but it was still able to be done by our family vet and cost under $2000. Due to the risk level and the specialists required, Bean’s surgery will be between $5000-$6000. His follow up procedures will include an MRI on his brain and spine ($4000-$5000) and close monitoring from his neurologist. The additional testing he will be required to undergo can range anywhere from $2000-$8000, bringing the total upcoming cost between $11,000-$20,000.
Over the last two years, I have been fortunate to be able to access loans and scholarships to assist in paying for Bean’s ongoing and extensive medical care. Bug, my 2 year old chihuahua, has also run into significant health issues in the last year. The cost of testing for Bug has been significant. In the time since Bean was diagnosed, I have spent over $35,000 of my own money on his medical care which has included brain surgery, emergency medical treatment and testing. This number does not include Bug’s recent health issues in the past year, which has totalled over $6000.
For those who don’t know me - Bean is the literal love of my life and soulmate. We have been together since he was a baby and he has been the emotionally supportive backbone of my life since I got him. There may be judgments over spending that amount of money on a dog, but there is nothing I wouldn’t do to help Bean live a better life while he is here with me. Though I wasn’t aware of his health conditions when I got him, I have no regrets about being chosen to be his mom. I love Bean with my whole heart, more than I love anyone or anything in the entire world. I feel insecure and vulnerable about posting this, but I am in dire need of assistance to continue providing Bean with the critical medical care he requires at this time. I am in the process of becoming a licensed professional with the hope that when this transitional year is over, my current financial constraints will no longer be an issue.
His condition is currently static, however, his multiple conditions and medications have made his life more challenging and he requires more care than he previously did. I do know that Bean requires immediate surgery (which will be July 15th) and his follow-ups will require a list of expensive testing. At this time, I have had to make difficult decisions around which testing he can have because of financial constraints, even though they’ve been strongly recommended. There is no worse feeling than reading his medical reports and seeing “owner has declined medical treatment/testing” due to my financial restrictions.
Anything you are able to contribute helps, whether big or small, and you would be supporting the sweetest boy in having the quality of life he deserves. If you are not able to financially contribute, I would very much appreciate you sharing the link with others or on social media. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
Miigwetch.