Get well Fiffy!!

Hello friends,

On 1/7/19 my brother-in-law came home from work to find our beloved family dog, Fiffy who has been with us for 15 years, bleeding from a lump that grew on her abdomen. He took her to Fiffy’s usual vet at Banfield in Sterling, VA on Wednesday to have it checked out. Upon doing a skin impression, the attending Dr found presence of mast cell which indicates the possibility of it being a cancerous mast cell tumor. That day, she went home with antibiotics to prevent infection of the wound and instructed to take Benadryl. The earliest they could schedule the mass removal surgery was 1/15/19. Thinking that everything will be resolved, we anticipated for the surgery day. On the 15th, Dr. Robison at Banfield informed my brother-in-law that he could not proceed with the surgery, even though the blood work and any pre-op vital checks were showing normal, because Fiffy’s mass, from the Dr’s point, looked too aggressive and the wound looked too irritated. Dr. Robison made a medical decision that by removing the mass, it may worsen Fiffy’s condition.

Fiffy was then referred to the Board Certified Specialists that have more experience with canine cancer treatment and equipped with more advanced medical equipment. My brother-in-law could not take any chances of waiting any longer as Fiffy’s condition was getting worse very quickly, and so we decided to take Fiffy to The LifeCentre in Leesburg, VA that same evening via emergency.

First night in upon dropping Fiffy off, we were on standby to hear from the surgeon to see if Fiffy was a good “candidate” for the mass removal. They had to do ultrasound of the abdomen to make sure there weren’t any internal spreadings of the cancer going on. The next day, my brother-in-law received a call from Dr. Erika Friedrich on how severe the situation was...for one, Fiffy’s blood count dropped from a normal 36% down to 24% overnight and how this will require aggressive treatment and more stay and care than initially planned; hence a significant increase in cost from the initial estimate. We knew that it wasn’t Fiffy’s time to go yet...she was an energetic and playful 15yo dog always looking for food prior to this event. So my brother-in-law asked the Dr to please proceed with the plan.

Over the next few days, Fiffy had to get two blood transfusion, nutrients through IV, be on pain medication, antibiotics to name a few and receive hyperbaric oxygen therapy to help reduce the swelling on her left leg and chest area due to the mass. She went through A LOT.

Some people may not agree with the decision we made, and to spend this amount of money on a pet. But Fiffy is a big and important part of our family, and we’re determined to treat her as one and do the best to save her.

The administrative and medical staffs at The LifeCentre led by Dr. Erika Friedrich, Dr. Polly Glover, and Dr. Glynis McCorkle truly treated our Fiffy with love and best medical care possible. We couldn’t be any happier with the decision we made.

On 1/19/19, after 4 days of stay, Fiffy was discharged from The LifeCentre and is resting at home. She still has more to go for recovery including hyperbaric oxygen therapy sessions to help her with the swelling, and some medications. Depending on the pathology report of the mass that was removed, they may even suggest chemotherapy...and we are praying that is not the case.

While this story is a successful one, it comes with a rather big financial cost that we need help from friends.

We would really appreciate your support towards to the fundraising for Fiffy!!