Help Ella Walk Again
Donation protected
Ella Rose is our beautiful 5 year old Dachshund. She is the sweetest pupper you will ever meet, fiercely loyal, and protective of her two younger siblings, also dachshunds.
On Sunday, 03/18, we noticed her back was feeling sore. We put her on bed rest and limited her mobility, but over the next several days she continued to worsen. We took her to the vet on Wednesday, 03/21, who after review, thought Ella needed emergency spinal surgery. She quoted $5000 for the surgery and immediately transferred Ella to a Neurologist for an MRI and surgery.
At the Neurologist, they confirmed our fears that Ella would indeed need spinal surgery if she ever wanted to walk again. The Neurologist gave us a low estimate of $6700 and a high estimate of $7500 for spinal surgery. They held Ella overnight for observation, and waited for the surgeon to come in the next morning (03/22) to perform the MRI and surgery.
After a night of pain medication and limited movement, Ella's nerve damage worsened. She could barely feel her left leg and failed the pain test on her right leg. She has absolutely no feeling in her right leg. We were told this was a sign that she potentially has irreversible nerve damage. Unfortunately, the MRI showed an even worse fate than what the surgeon predicted. Ella has not one, but FOUR slipped discs.
Due to the severe nature of Ella's injury, the surgeon was no longer confident Ella will regain movement in her hind legs. We proceeded with the surgery, because at the least, it would alleviate the tremendous amount of pain poor Ella is in.
Ella went into surgery on Thursday, 03/22. Thankfully, the surgery went much better than we or the surgeon could have hoped. She was able to completely remove the swelling from the newest disc, and was able to clear the majority of the swelling/scar tissue from 2 of the remaining 3 discs. Ella is now in recovery, and we will get to visit her tomorrow.
We are asking for your help. Due to the unforeseen severity of Ella's back, her surgery costs are much higher than originally protected, and more than we are able to afford. But, Ella could not have afforded to not have the surgery, if we wanted any sort of quality of life for her. Given that Ella is only 5 years old and Dachshunds typically live very long lives, we wanted to give her the best chance to life a happy and mobile life.
We know our fellow dog lovers would have done the same for their fur babies. Any donation is very much appreciated, and I'm sure Ella would love to personally give you one of her famous wet, sloppy kiss if she could! Ella is stubborn and strong. We are confident she will come out of this surgery and go on to live a fun and active life, but we are not sure what that looks like yet.
Over the next 8 weeks, Ella will require strict crate rest. It is possible that Ella will also need a puppy wheelchair, but we are told she makes a great candidate for it, due to her amazing personality. Either way, this will require a major lifestyle change for Ella. The costs will not end with surgery. Any amount you can contribute, even just $1, will go straight to ensuring Ella lives the life she deserves.
Much love,
Ella, Kristin (mom), and Chance (dad)
We will update this with pictures of Ella tomorrow once we visit her. For now, please enjoy some pictures of our dorky Dachshund below:
Ella protecting her bones while taking her regularly scheduled 5th nap of the day:
Ella driving to Petco to pick up her favorite treats:
Ella hates the rain (which Dachshund doesn't?!), so she has the cutest rain coat:
She's also the life of any part, but don't put her in a hat. She hates that (but we love it):
She loves exploring:
And she loves cuddling with her little brother:
On Sunday, 03/18, we noticed her back was feeling sore. We put her on bed rest and limited her mobility, but over the next several days she continued to worsen. We took her to the vet on Wednesday, 03/21, who after review, thought Ella needed emergency spinal surgery. She quoted $5000 for the surgery and immediately transferred Ella to a Neurologist for an MRI and surgery.
At the Neurologist, they confirmed our fears that Ella would indeed need spinal surgery if she ever wanted to walk again. The Neurologist gave us a low estimate of $6700 and a high estimate of $7500 for spinal surgery. They held Ella overnight for observation, and waited for the surgeon to come in the next morning (03/22) to perform the MRI and surgery.
After a night of pain medication and limited movement, Ella's nerve damage worsened. She could barely feel her left leg and failed the pain test on her right leg. She has absolutely no feeling in her right leg. We were told this was a sign that she potentially has irreversible nerve damage. Unfortunately, the MRI showed an even worse fate than what the surgeon predicted. Ella has not one, but FOUR slipped discs.
Due to the severe nature of Ella's injury, the surgeon was no longer confident Ella will regain movement in her hind legs. We proceeded with the surgery, because at the least, it would alleviate the tremendous amount of pain poor Ella is in.
Ella went into surgery on Thursday, 03/22. Thankfully, the surgery went much better than we or the surgeon could have hoped. She was able to completely remove the swelling from the newest disc, and was able to clear the majority of the swelling/scar tissue from 2 of the remaining 3 discs. Ella is now in recovery, and we will get to visit her tomorrow.
We are asking for your help. Due to the unforeseen severity of Ella's back, her surgery costs are much higher than originally protected, and more than we are able to afford. But, Ella could not have afforded to not have the surgery, if we wanted any sort of quality of life for her. Given that Ella is only 5 years old and Dachshunds typically live very long lives, we wanted to give her the best chance to life a happy and mobile life.
We know our fellow dog lovers would have done the same for their fur babies. Any donation is very much appreciated, and I'm sure Ella would love to personally give you one of her famous wet, sloppy kiss if she could! Ella is stubborn and strong. We are confident she will come out of this surgery and go on to live a fun and active life, but we are not sure what that looks like yet.
Over the next 8 weeks, Ella will require strict crate rest. It is possible that Ella will also need a puppy wheelchair, but we are told she makes a great candidate for it, due to her amazing personality. Either way, this will require a major lifestyle change for Ella. The costs will not end with surgery. Any amount you can contribute, even just $1, will go straight to ensuring Ella lives the life she deserves.
Much love,
Ella, Kristin (mom), and Chance (dad)
We will update this with pictures of Ella tomorrow once we visit her. For now, please enjoy some pictures of our dorky Dachshund below:
Ella protecting her bones while taking her regularly scheduled 5th nap of the day:
Ella driving to Petco to pick up her favorite treats:
Ella hates the rain (which Dachshund doesn't?!), so she has the cutest rain coat:
She's also the life of any part, but don't put her in a hat. She hates that (but we love it):
She loves exploring:
And she loves cuddling with her little brother:
Organizer
Kristin Michele Foster
Organizer
Austin, TX
