Help Gertie recover and come home

Hi everyone. I come to you hat in hand asking for financial help with Gertie's second hospitalization this month. This year has been particularly challenging for our family personally and professionally, and we've been financially strained for the last few months. But this little nugget has been a constant source of joy and comfort and I need to do right by her and give her a fighting chance. So here we are asking for your help so we can help her recover and be the sassy, sweet, cuddly girl I love with my whole heart.

$10k is the low end of the estimate to keep her hospitalized for two nights – however, she may need additional nights which are $3-6k each. I have paid via high-APR credit cards for the first night (8/18 at $5,907.27) but we are waiting on an updated estimate for the second night of hospitalization (8/19) based on the results of tests. All funds will go towards her current hospitalization costs. Pet insurance isn't an option as her heart condition is "pre-existing."

I would be immeasurably grateful for any amount anyone could donate – I know times are tough and you have your own financial priorities so I understand if all you can do is send positive thoughts or share with your networks. I hope to be able to repay the favor in the future if ever you are in need.

SHORT STORY

Gertie was admitted to the ER yesterday (8/18) in severely critical condition for the second time in a month. After a series of tests and a little bit of good luck, the current hypothesis is that she had a UTI which quickly developed into a kidney infection. Because her kidneys weren't operating properly, one of her new heart meds developed to a toxic level in her bloodstream which was causing her extreme lethargy, anorexia, vomiting, etc.

Gertie will require several nights of hospitalization as they try to balance out fixing her kidneys with her congestive heart failure. Nightly costs are anywhere between $3-6k.

LONG STORY

Late July, Gertie experienced congestive heart failure and was retaining a lot of fluid in her lungs and abdomen. After a 2-night hospital stay, she was on a new slate of meds, had an updated care plan, and was vastly improving. Her follow-up visit was excellent and she continued to gain strength and playfulness. Those bills were approximately $12k and I maxed out CareCredit and put the rest on a credit card.

The past few weeks, she's blown us away with how much she's recovered. She's so much like her old self. This is Gertie playing with a new toy a week ago:

On Tuesday this week (8/16), Gertie started to not feel well – she wasn't eating, she was having frequent accidents in the house, and her energy levels were dropping rapidly. We took her to the vet with a suspected UTI. But after a day of no improvement with antibiotics, increased lethargy, and fluid beginning to accumulate in her face, we took her back to ER at Blue Pearl in Midtown to be checked by the cardiologist on staff.

When Gertie was admitted, the vet said she was near death. Her blood pressure was 50 – it's normally around 100. Her initial prognosis was not good and we were preparing to say goodbye. I was in shock by how quickly and suddenly she had declined.

However, Gertie is nothing if not a fighter. While they were running more tests, we went to see her in the ER. As I was petting her, her heart rate did something abnormal and unexpected on the EKG – a type of fibrillation that is often fatal and wasn't previously detected. The vet immediately took notice, manipulated her carotid artery so it self-corrected, and switched her meds. Additionally, blood tests revealed she was in kidney failure, which would explain why she was accumulating fluid again even if her heart was strong.

The current hypothesis is that she had a UTI which quickly developed into a kidney infection. Because her kidneys weren't operating properly, one of her new meds developed to a toxic level in her bloodstream which was causing her extreme lethargy. This can also cause the unusual fibrillation they noticed while we were visiting her.

With this new set of information, we are more hopeful than yesterday that Gertie can come home and still enjoy a high quality of life for however long we are blessed to have her. However, she's still in critical care and requires additional testing and treatment. It's a delicate balancing act to treat the kidneys with congestive heart failure as the body cannot dispense of excess fluid if the heart isn't working properly – but they need to flush the meds from her system and repair her kidneys with fluids. She needs to remain hospitalized at least another night as they slowly make progress on both fronts.

I've had a very honest conversation with her vet team that I don't want to be selfish and unnecessarily try to prolong her life if her body has reached its limits. However, because her recent decline was so sudden and likely based on kidney issues (and her heart is still strong), we agreed it's worth the additional steps to try and help her recover. Her vet promised to tell me if she feels that we're treating her unnecessarily and the better choice was to compassionately end her pain. So for now though, she continues to fight!

ABOUT GERTIE

I rescued Gertie in April 2020 from Shelter Chic – she's a pandemic pup! At about 10 years old, she acted a lot younger than her age and has proven to be the goofiest, sweetest, most happy girl. Every day she makes us laugh and brings us immeasurable joy. And of course, she has an Instagram: @gertrudevonwigglebum

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Thank you all!