Help Izzy Overcome Her Eye Removal & Recovery

Hello friends and family,

I am seeking assistance with Izzy's surgery for the removal of her right eye. Here is our experience thus far :

At the end of April, I noticed redness and a cloudy spot in Izzy's right eye (blue eye). We brought her into our vet and ran some tests but unfortunately, our doctor could not conclude what was going on, only that it was not glaucoma or cataracts. We were then advised to see an animal ophthalmologist. As there is only one animal ophthalmologist in Austin, we were put on a wait list and given some steroid drops from our vet in the meantime. We waited a few weeks with no improvement to Izzy's eye, which led to me calling and pleading the ophthalmologist to find a spot to fit us in, which they graciously did.

We made it into the ophthalmologist in late May and I remained hopeful that we would get some answers with the specialist. Our ophthalmologist could not conclude what was going on with Izzy's eye but she did send us home with some stronger steroid eye drops and we put Izzy on an oral steroid as well.

I continued to monitor Izzy's eye until her next appointment on June 10th. To my dismay, nothing seemed to be improving and her symptoms continued to worsen. Our ophthalmologist increased her oral steroid and put Izzy on an even stronger steroid eye drop.

We waited another couple weeks and my optimism began to quickly decline as the new eye drops were not helping either. Izzy's eye is so red and bloodshot it looks painful. It's constantly dilated and you can barely see her iris. On top of that, the steroids make her very hungry and thirsty and she's been having accidents in the house. I feel so bad for her as this has all been really tough on her.

Yesterday we saw our ophthalmologist again. My fears became reality as the ophthalmologist informed us that her eye had not improved, and had in fact, gotten even worse. The pressure in her blue eye was over double the pressure in her brown, healthy eye. Furthermore, she has now developed secondary glaucoma in that eye, cataracts, and even more concerning, it was not responding to any of the treatment we have done thus far. Our ophthalmologist informed us that we would now have to have Izzy's eye removed.

Unfortunately, we still do not know what is wrong with her eye, how it started, or what it could mean to the rest of her overall health. Our vet and ophthalmologist have told us that it is some sort of idiosyncratic autoimmune disease. So, essentially, her body is attacking that eye and we do not know why.

I am absolutely devastated that my baby girl is going to have to lose an eye. I am so worried about how this will affect her and her quality of life. I'm so worried about her day in and day out and wish this wasn't happening to her. I'm still adjusting to the idea of not seeing her unique bi-color eyes staring back at me. Regardless, she'll always be a blessing to me and the dog that has brought the most joy and happiness to my life and those that have the pleasure of meeting her. She's always been so well behaved, kind, sweet, gentle, silly, and just an absolute bundle of all things good in this world. I love her with everything that I am.

I don't feel super proud to be pursuing this avenue, however, we have already spent $1500 on all the vet visits, specialists visits, and her medication and we aren't out of the woods yet. I am graciously requesting assistance for covering the costs of Izzy's surgery and the doctor's visits that will follow. Unfortunately, I have had some unexpected expenses over the past year or so that's put me in a tight spot. Any little bit helps in getting the help that Izzy needs.

Izzy and I appreciate each and every one of you for taking the time to hear our story and are eternally grateful for any help anyone is willing to provide.

Thank you, everyone.

With Love,

Korri & Izzy