Emma's Surgery

On July 30th I returned home from work expecting to be greeted by Emma's butt wiggles, tail wags and fearless smile. Instead, there was my Emma, previously able to walk, now pulling herself across the floor to greet me, unable to use her back two legs.

We took Emma to OSU’s emergency veterinary service where they ran a physical exam, blood and urinary tests, and x-rays. After 6 hours of waiting, they had eliminated some possibilities but could not get an exact diagnosis which lead us to scheduling an MRI for Monday morning. Emma was released to us on Saturday night wearing a harness that allowed us to support her back end. We made a bed on the living room floor and spent the night together there.

The next morning I had to rush her back to the emergency room as she was no longer able to use the potty by herself. During this visit, they had to expel her bladder, and recommended that I admit her over night to be monitored and given a steady stream of IV medications.

On Monday morning Emma was put under anesthesia and received an MRI. After another day of waiting for answers, the doctor finally called and was able to give us some answers. Emma has been diagnosed with Osteomyelitis, which has infected her spinal cord, surrounding bone, and muscle.

In order to get rid of the infection, Emma will need to have surgery to remove and flush out as much as possible. By decompressing the area she will be able to regain motor function in her legs. Following surgery she will be put on a long-term antibiotic regimen, and will need physical therapy.

By waiting to do the procedure we run the chance of her completely losing feeling in her legs, and the infection worsening resulting in no chance of recovery.

We have been absolutely blind sided over the last few days. Emma went from being her usual, upbeat self, to suddenly losing mobility of
her back legs entirely. We are confused, and we are scared. We have depleted as much financially as we possibly can to cover the first two
days of hospital time.

**I want to make sure that everyone knows that their donation is 100% being used for all medical expenses.**
If there happens to be any left over, it will go to the next few months of medication, any post-surgery equipment/care, etc.
So far this incident has cost us $3,300 which has included the first set of tests, the MRI, an expensive supportive harness, and the
overnight stays at the hospital. The surgery itself will cost $3-4,000, and will include a 2-3 day post-surgery stay. The length of time she
will be in the hospital depends on her recovery time. If she needs to stay longer it is roughly $500 a day. Once she is released she will be on a high dosage of antibiotics that could also be pricey, and will need physical therapy to help her walk again. 

If you know Emma, you know she has always been the most outspoken, spunky, and compassionate girl. Even at 6 weeks old she displayed the biggest personality. Emma has been with me through my college years, and my time living in the city. We have celebrated our happiest moments together and she has been my loyal shoulder to cry on through the most painful tears. Emma is my rock, my right hand woman, and my best friend, giving me the sweetest, most unconditional love along the way. I am the luckiest dog owner in the world to have Emma by my side.

I am so thankful to everyone who has ever been a friend to Emma. She adores each and every one of you more than you know. I will never be able to thank you all enough for your donation to help save Emma.