Luna’s Road to Recovery
For those of you who may know me, you know that I have a strong love for all animals, especially when it comes to my own pets. For those of you who may not know me, may you connect with me for a moment for the love you have with your own pets.
It is with great sadness that I must share some unfortunate news about my seven year old cat, my beautiful little girl, my Luna. It was about a month ago I noticed she stopped eating as much as she normally would. She was beginning to show signs of lethargy, fatigue and was sleeping excessively. After a few visits to the vet it was determined she needed to go to the animal hospital for specialty care.
Luna spent a total of five days in the Pittsburgh Veterinary Specialty & Emergency Center. After countless tests and even more patience it was discovered that Luna had a number of issues at hand. An ultrasound had concluded that her liver had become fatty and her body was not able to dissolve nutrients as needed. This was caused due to her sudden weight loss that occurred over the past month; directly related to her lack of appetite. This is known as Fatty Liver Disease or Feline Hepatic Lipidosis.
Further testing that involved an endoscopy / biopsy of the intestines showed a concerning amount of mucus build-up within the intestine walls. We are currently waiting for confirmation on these tests results as these are more complex and take more time. The suspected culprit is Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Our suspicions are this is what caused her to stop eating in the first place which caused a chain reaction to her liver condition.
As bad as the situation already was at this point, it got even worse the next day. All of Luna’s tests and her body trying to fight for its life had caused her to become Anemic; this meant that her red blood cell count was at an unhealthy, low level. She would need an emergency blood transfusion before any major treatment for her diseases could be done. Luckily she has a common blood type and the blood transfusion was a success.
After Luna had recovered from the blood transfusion, treatment was to take place. A feeding tube, known as an Esophagostomy tube was surgically placed within her throat / stomach. The tube will remain and a special feeding treatment will take place anywhere from four to eight weeks. She will also receive five different kinds of medicine through the tube. I will be feeding her through the feeding tube myself here at home; while also trying to get her to eat normal food on her own. The goal of this treatment will be to get her nutrition levels back to normal; which in turn will also allow her liver to get back to normal. We also hope to see her appetite return to normal where she will eat on her own like before.
All of this treatment for her liver is our short-term goal; there is still a long-term goal we are keeping on our minds. Once we receive her intestinal endoscopy / biopsy results we will know more about possible long-term treatment. If it is Inflammatory Bowl Disease that she has, Luna will need to be on life long medication. As well as regular hospital / veterinary check-ups.
With all of this said; we are doing everything in our power to nurse my baby girl Luna back to health. For those of you who know me, you know how much love I have for my cats. I love them all more than life itself. I see Luna as part of my family and I am willing to do anything I can to help her. I did not wish for it to come
this far and get this bad, but sometimes life can come at you fast and we must adapt and overcome many challenges. I have faith that these hard times will eventually pass and that Luna’s life will be back to normal. Taking care of my precious little girl is something I am prepared to do; it is the financial situation that scares me most.
Asking others for help and depending on other people is something I’ve always tried to avoid in my life. I have always strived to be an independent person who when things need done, I pull up my “boot-straps” and get the job done. In the case of Luna’s medical bills and expenses, I have reached a moment in my life where depending on others for help may be my only choice. It took a lot of convincing and thought for me to actually sit down and create this Gofundme account.
I am asking for any amount of help that I and Luna can get at this point. Not only were her expenses up over the $7000 range but I am also concerned about her future follow-ups and treatment moving forward. I must pay the hospital the remaining balance of $3800 within 30 days or else they will not continue to see Luna for any follow-up treatment. I am asking for $5,000 to help with her current medical bill as well as any future treatments. This is especially scary during these trying times and around the holidays. If you could
please find it somewhere in your heart to offer me and Luna any kind of help possible it would mean the world to both of us.
In conclusion, this is the last thing I wanted to happen but when life gets tough sometimes tough decisions must be made. To anyone who will donate to Luna’s Road to Recovery, words could not express the shear gratitude, appreciation and overwhelming sense of thankfulness that I would have for you. With the bill being so large and the time being so short, every single dollar would help in the biggest way. If you could please maybe think of yourself being in this situation with your own pet and how tough it would be. If you could please find it within the kindness of your heart to help my precious baby girl Luna; not only would I be thankful beyond words but Luna herself will also be beyond thankful. Thank you to all for listening to Luna‘s Road to Recovery and especially thank you to anyone who will help donate to her cause. God Bless and Happy Holidays to all.
