Captain’s medical expenses
Donation protected
— UPDATE —
Captain had his surgery yesterday. The pinning of the femur went really well. However the surgeon believes he will need another surgery on his front paw. Captain appears to be doing okay. He is on a lot of medications to help with the pain. He is eating and drinking which is fantastic. They really want me to get him up and standing as much as possible (no big walking or stairs or anything) but he is still not willing to put weight on that leg. After 5 days of laying around with no function in that leg I can’t say I blame him! We are scheduled to fly back tomorrow. I’m nervous about it but hoping for the best.
Thank you all who have reached out and offered support, words of encouragement, and prayers. Captain is so loved!
I really hesitated setting this up but a few people have asked if they can help contribute or donate to Captain’s medical expenses. **Please please please do NOT feel obligated to donate or do so if you do not have the financial means to give at this time. The last thing I want to do is cause financial hardship for anyone.** I WILL be able to recover from this but it’s a huge blow, especially since I just started a brand new job (that thankfully is understanding so far). Just knowing that you’ve been thinking about us during this difficult time is plenty.
If you’re reading this, even if you don’t donate, I would love for you to send me a private message with your mailing address so I can thank you for your support.
On 8/1 Captain and I flew to Yakutat to start a new job after a month off work. That evening we spent hours on the beautiful beach exploring our new town. The next day was my first day on the job and unfortunately I had a complicated patient that required me to stay well into the evening to care for. Because I was staying late, someone offered to walk Captain and keep him company. I don’t want to go into any more details about what happened while I was away, but I came home around midnight to find Captain outside alone with obvious injuries and unable to walk. I brought him into the clinic and did some X-rays and found that he sustained two left front metatarsal (paw) fractures and a comminuted left rear femur fracture. With no vet in Yakutat, we consulted a tele-vet in regards to medications to keep him comfortable as we figured out the next steps to get him care. Juneau declined to see him due to the severity of the injuries so I had to get him to Anchorage the next day. My wonderful colleague graciously purchased us both a last minute flight to Anchorage and a selfless friend of a friend took me and Captain in once we arrived to Anchorage to avoid having to get a hotel and rental car. He was evaluated by the amazing team at Pet Emergency Treatment and given care for his paw injury but due to the severity of the femur fracture, he requires a specialized surgeon to pin the fracture. They are hopeful that he will not require amputation. Unfortunately he could not get the surgery until today, 8/7, meaning he has been dealing with this fracture for 5 days. I would not wish this trauma on anyone but Cap has been a champ through it all!
Without pet insurance (lesson learned!), this has been an expensive and emotionally exhausting experience. As mentioned, I have already had a lot of selfless help from dear friends, new colleagues, and complete strangers alike. With no vehicle or housing in Anchorage, I would not have been able to do this on my own without their unbelievable help. However, I have already spent over $2000 on his care and his surgery is expected to cost another $8500. He will certainly need a lot of care after his surgery but I am hoping to do this back in Yakutat, as I will have already missed a week of work at my brand new job.
As most people know, Captain is very special to me. He came to me during a difficult time in my life but has added nothing but love and joy to my life every day. I promised him I would always protect him and I failed. If I could take all this pain away from him and put it on myself I would in a heart beat. Those that have met Cappy know just how affectionate he is. He loves everyone he meets. I joke that he has no loyalty to me whatsoever; as long as you give him attention and belly rubs he’ll run away with you and never look back. It has been absolutely humbling and such a blessing to see how many people care about him, even those that have never met him. If you’ve seen my videos of him, it’s easy to see that he has an amazing personality and is always happy- happy cappy! His love language is most certainly physical touch. He doesn’t believe in personal space. He loves to be outside and active, playing with sticks, rolling in the grass or snow, and swimming in any bit of water he finds. We spent time off in Juneau doing over 120 miles of hiking and he loved every minute of it. My greatest fear is that this traumatic experience will change him and I won’t have my same Cappy when it’s all over. I don’t want to lose my best friend.
Captain had his surgery yesterday. The pinning of the femur went really well. However the surgeon believes he will need another surgery on his front paw. Captain appears to be doing okay. He is on a lot of medications to help with the pain. He is eating and drinking which is fantastic. They really want me to get him up and standing as much as possible (no big walking or stairs or anything) but he is still not willing to put weight on that leg. After 5 days of laying around with no function in that leg I can’t say I blame him! We are scheduled to fly back tomorrow. I’m nervous about it but hoping for the best.
Thank you all who have reached out and offered support, words of encouragement, and prayers. Captain is so loved!
I really hesitated setting this up but a few people have asked if they can help contribute or donate to Captain’s medical expenses. **Please please please do NOT feel obligated to donate or do so if you do not have the financial means to give at this time. The last thing I want to do is cause financial hardship for anyone.** I WILL be able to recover from this but it’s a huge blow, especially since I just started a brand new job (that thankfully is understanding so far). Just knowing that you’ve been thinking about us during this difficult time is plenty.
If you’re reading this, even if you don’t donate, I would love for you to send me a private message with your mailing address so I can thank you for your support.
On 8/1 Captain and I flew to Yakutat to start a new job after a month off work. That evening we spent hours on the beautiful beach exploring our new town. The next day was my first day on the job and unfortunately I had a complicated patient that required me to stay well into the evening to care for. Because I was staying late, someone offered to walk Captain and keep him company. I don’t want to go into any more details about what happened while I was away, but I came home around midnight to find Captain outside alone with obvious injuries and unable to walk. I brought him into the clinic and did some X-rays and found that he sustained two left front metatarsal (paw) fractures and a comminuted left rear femur fracture. With no vet in Yakutat, we consulted a tele-vet in regards to medications to keep him comfortable as we figured out the next steps to get him care. Juneau declined to see him due to the severity of the injuries so I had to get him to Anchorage the next day. My wonderful colleague graciously purchased us both a last minute flight to Anchorage and a selfless friend of a friend took me and Captain in once we arrived to Anchorage to avoid having to get a hotel and rental car. He was evaluated by the amazing team at Pet Emergency Treatment and given care for his paw injury but due to the severity of the femur fracture, he requires a specialized surgeon to pin the fracture. They are hopeful that he will not require amputation. Unfortunately he could not get the surgery until today, 8/7, meaning he has been dealing with this fracture for 5 days. I would not wish this trauma on anyone but Cap has been a champ through it all!
Without pet insurance (lesson learned!), this has been an expensive and emotionally exhausting experience. As mentioned, I have already had a lot of selfless help from dear friends, new colleagues, and complete strangers alike. With no vehicle or housing in Anchorage, I would not have been able to do this on my own without their unbelievable help. However, I have already spent over $2000 on his care and his surgery is expected to cost another $8500. He will certainly need a lot of care after his surgery but I am hoping to do this back in Yakutat, as I will have already missed a week of work at my brand new job.
As most people know, Captain is very special to me. He came to me during a difficult time in my life but has added nothing but love and joy to my life every day. I promised him I would always protect him and I failed. If I could take all this pain away from him and put it on myself I would in a heart beat. Those that have met Cappy know just how affectionate he is. He loves everyone he meets. I joke that he has no loyalty to me whatsoever; as long as you give him attention and belly rubs he’ll run away with you and never look back. It has been absolutely humbling and such a blessing to see how many people care about him, even those that have never met him. If you’ve seen my videos of him, it’s easy to see that he has an amazing personality and is always happy- happy cappy! His love language is most certainly physical touch. He doesn’t believe in personal space. He loves to be outside and active, playing with sticks, rolling in the grass or snow, and swimming in any bit of water he finds. We spent time off in Juneau doing over 120 miles of hiking and he loved every minute of it. My greatest fear is that this traumatic experience will change him and I won’t have my same Cappy when it’s all over. I don’t want to lose my best friend.
Organizer
Chelsie Coffman
Organizer
Juneau, AK