Donation protected
Today we received the worst news of our lives. We discovered that our girl Ellie has IVDD (Intervertebral Disc Disease) and required immediate surgery.
This was a huge shock to us and came completely unexpected... Because it was only two days ago that she was zooming around the park chasing her brother like normal. But, early this morning we woke up to her not being able to walk or move her back legs at all and she was not showing any reflexes to touch. This is when we realized she was showing signs of paralysis from the waist down. We rushed her to the emergency vet where they first told us they think her symptoms are caused by IVDD, and she was then transferred to a neurologist specialist where she received an MRI that alone costed $5000. This is when they confirmed she had Stage 5 IVDD with a 50% chance of ever walking again IF she received a life saving spinal surgery. We knew she required this urgent surgery because her spinal cord was compressing on her nerves and arteries, which if left untreated could lead to permanent damage, where she would never be able to use her back legs again. This is when we made the obvious choice to fight for our strong girl and say yes to surgery without hesitation which on top of the MRI, is an additional $10,000-12,000 depending on how she does post surgery.
We are both students living in Ottawa away from our friends and family and due to Kennedy's school schedule she is not working, leaving Austin to be the primary source of income while balancing school himself. We will be taking on an extremely challenging post surgery recovery over the next 6-12 months with Ellie which will require extensive acupuncture, physiotherapy, hydrotherapy, and the list goes on. The costs of these therapies will add up very quickly, but will be crucial to Ellie's recovery in hopes she is able to regain use of her back legs. The total cost as of today we are looking at is already up to $15,000 if all goes well, without any of her future recovery treatment costs included... which we have not even gotten a minute to think about yet.
Ellie is in surgery as we write this. We are praying and hoping for the best as she is in great hands with the neurologist specialist here in Ottawa. We know it is a lot to ask of our friends and family to help out during these extremely trying times, but even if you could share this post and help bring awareness to IVDD. We know our Ellie bean will pull through and be on the positive side of the 50% and get back to her quirky, crazy, playful self in no time. We thank you again for reading this far and we will keep you all updated.
- Austin, Kennedy, Tyson and Ellie <3
This was a huge shock to us and came completely unexpected... Because it was only two days ago that she was zooming around the park chasing her brother like normal. But, early this morning we woke up to her not being able to walk or move her back legs at all and she was not showing any reflexes to touch. This is when we realized she was showing signs of paralysis from the waist down. We rushed her to the emergency vet where they first told us they think her symptoms are caused by IVDD, and she was then transferred to a neurologist specialist where she received an MRI that alone costed $5000. This is when they confirmed she had Stage 5 IVDD with a 50% chance of ever walking again IF she received a life saving spinal surgery. We knew she required this urgent surgery because her spinal cord was compressing on her nerves and arteries, which if left untreated could lead to permanent damage, where she would never be able to use her back legs again. This is when we made the obvious choice to fight for our strong girl and say yes to surgery without hesitation which on top of the MRI, is an additional $10,000-12,000 depending on how she does post surgery.
We are both students living in Ottawa away from our friends and family and due to Kennedy's school schedule she is not working, leaving Austin to be the primary source of income while balancing school himself. We will be taking on an extremely challenging post surgery recovery over the next 6-12 months with Ellie which will require extensive acupuncture, physiotherapy, hydrotherapy, and the list goes on. The costs of these therapies will add up very quickly, but will be crucial to Ellie's recovery in hopes she is able to regain use of her back legs. The total cost as of today we are looking at is already up to $15,000 if all goes well, without any of her future recovery treatment costs included... which we have not even gotten a minute to think about yet.
Ellie is in surgery as we write this. We are praying and hoping for the best as she is in great hands with the neurologist specialist here in Ottawa. We know it is a lot to ask of our friends and family to help out during these extremely trying times, but even if you could share this post and help bring awareness to IVDD. We know our Ellie bean will pull through and be on the positive side of the 50% and get back to her quirky, crazy, playful self in no time. We thank you again for reading this far and we will keep you all updated.
- Austin, Kennedy, Tyson and Ellie <3
Organizer
Austin Miller
Organizer
Kelowna, BC