Frida’s Chylothorax Surgery

Hello lovely people,

My name’s Elliot and I am asking for your help on behalf of our beautiful dog Frida. Unfortunately she has recently been diagnosed with a rare disease called Chylothorax. This horrible disease is causing her chest to fill up with a liquid called chyle which compresses her lungs and makes it increasingly difficult for her to breath.

About Frida

Frida is our 2 year old Swedish Vallhund. She is the most wonderful dog an owner could hope for. She has the most friendly and gentle temperament and it’s not an exaggeration to say that almost everyone who meets her tells us so. Those of you who’ve met her will know just how loving and affectionate she is. Her favourite things are giving kisses, playing with her brother Magnus and friends, chasing bees, doing her feisty little bunny jumps and helping in the garden (she’s a great digger!) . She had also started swimming which she has grown more confident doing !

frida helping with gardening

Frida is too good at catching bees

Frida also holds an extra special place in our hearts as at 8 weeks old I surprised Rachael by turning up home in the middle of the day with a beautiful little pup with an engagement ring on a bow round her neck. Depending on how you look at it she was either the best possible engagement present or an incredibly shrewd bribe.

From that moment on Frida and Rachael have been totally inseparable.

Frida’s Chlyothorax Diagnosis

We first noticed there might be something wrong just a couple of weeks ago when she got back from a walk and was breathing unusually heavily. We took her straight to the vets who listened to her chest and throat but couldn’t pinpoint the issue. They told us to keep an eye on her and come back if anything changes.

A few days went by and Frida’s breathing didn’t improve but no other symptoms presented themselves until one morning she shunned her food. We took her straight back to the vets who checked her over and rushed her away for emergency surgery. They removed a staggering 750ml of a liquid called chyle from her chest. It was the first time our vet had ever seen this in their 10 years of practice.

We were referred to a specialist in Birmingham and given an appointment for November. However Frida’s chest filled back up at an alarming rate and every day she got weaker, more lethargic and her breathing more of a struggle. With the help of our local vet we managed to get the appointment expedited. But even with the appointment moved forward the wait was horrific. My wife and I took turns to stay up at nights watching her breathing to make sure she survived the night. The entire time Frida was exhausted as she could barely sleep as it was a constant struggle to breath.

Fortunately she did survive and on Monday (24th October) she saw the specialist vet in Birmingham who took a CT scan, a heart scan, blood and chyle samples and drained her lungs again. Despite having been drained just 5 days previously Frida had another 850ml of chyle drained from her chest.

The results of all the investigations lead us to the confirmation that Frida has Idiopathic Chylothorax and due to speed that the chyle from her lymphatic system is building up in her chest she needs open chest surgery to resolve this quickly. Every time we have to drain the fluid there is an increased risk of infection which we obviously don’t want to risk.

Our Fundraiser

In order to fix our sweet Frida she needs open chest surgery which unfortunately costs more than we have left on her insurance so we are asking for your help to fund this life saving surgery.

The cost for all the tests and the surgeries to drain her lungs so far has cost £5000. Fortunately, we have insurance for Frida which pays for up to £7000 of her vets bills. However, the problem is that the surgery she needs to fix the problem and stop the chyle building up in her chest is estimated to cost between £6000 and £8000 (on top of the we’ve £5000 already used). As there is only £2000 left on the insurance we will need to fund the £4-6k difference ourselves somehow which is why I’ve created this page.

Frida is more than just a pet to me and my wife Rachael; we love her as if she were a human member of the family. Losing her just isn’t an option so we will do whatever it takes to get her through this. We will make sure she gets the surgery and any additional care she needs.

Anything you can donate however large or small would be so appreciated to help us fix this sweet girl who still has the whole of her life ahead of her !