Derecho's Medical Treatment Fund
Derecho is a Prairie Falcon brought in from the wild back at the end of September of this year. He's a little guy, but very sweet and very happy to be a falconry bird.
Training was going smoothly until the week of Thanksgiving. He was acting weird, so Robin took him in for an emergency vet appointment on 11/22.
The vet noted he had a lot of little signs that something was going on, and we sent off tests. We quickly found frounce in his gut (a nasty parasite) and started him on medication. From there he continued to go downhill fast. We knew something serious was going on, and balanced trying to keep him alive and trying to figure it out.
I watched as my happy little falcon went from working fiercely to barely able to stand, and we had no diagnosis in sight. The vets feared the worst. We started him on an array of medications and I started asking publicly for any help figuring things out. His symptoms were severe and atypical (things like sloughing his GI tract). I had my vet call almost every raptor expert and raptor vet I could think of asking for opinions. Meanwhile I was missing work and caring for a critical condition bird for weeks.
Finally, after medical trials, several tests, and many experts looking at his results, we concluded that Derecho likely has aspergillosis and airsac worms. Those are very serious diagnoses, but we decided to take them on. We wormed him and put him on antifungal medications. He has been watched and cared for literally every hour of every day.
He is currently being fed critical care formula for carnivores three times a day. He's given supplements and medicated twice a day. He also recieves seven injections a day to keep nausea down and keep food moving in his system. When he is not being taken care of, he is kept in a dedicated, pitch black quarantine room at home kept at 80 degrees and watched on a night vision security camera.
On this schedule, he has gone from critical condition back to weaning onto solid food as of today. He has gained over 50g (a huge feat for his size) and his breathing is solid. We finally got word from the vet that he is strong enough for an endoscopy to remove his airsac worms and help treat his asper granuloma. This procedure is not cheap, and we have spent nearly $4,000 in medical bills so far. The vet estimates this treatment to run about $1,500, with added cost for how long it takes to remove the worms and expensive medications to follow. Here is where we need your help. This fund will go directly to his medical bills - the ones we have paid already, and the upcoming big bill we are about to get.
If you want to help in any other way feel free to contact Robin on Facebook. This has been a lot of work and very draining on everyone. We appreciate every bit of help in getting Derecho well again!
