Thank you for help with Jasper's with surgery!

 

 

Jasper came into my life in October 2020 as a rescue from Kitty Angel Team adoption. He had been born outside to a stray mamma who couldn't watch out for him. He was so shy and afraid that he hid wherever he could in the house for the first few weeks. But it didn't take him long to discover he loved affection, and he loved to eat. Before long, he felt right at home. I have two cats. My female kitty was adopted sometime earlier, and the two love each other very much. It is hard to believe he was so skittish and shy; he has become the most loving cat I have ever known.

 

On January 15th, he was playing --not roughly--and suddenly was hurt. I saw he was in terrible pain and couldn't walk. He held his right back leg up close to his body and just cried. The sound was heartbreaking. Rivers Edge Pet Medical Center got him in the next day. I had waited overnight to see if he would feel any better, but his pain was unrelenting. They gave him pain medication and took X-rays. His injury was serious. The head of his femur was snapped off the femur bone. It is an excruciating condition that can only be resolved with surgical removal of the broken off femoral head, or full amputation of the leg. The pet center couldn't schedule him for surgery right away; they were short on staff due to Covid-19. This was on a Saturday, and I was told I might get a call by the following Thursday!

 

Frantically, I began calling vet hospitals and clinics. Nothing was more important than finding him help. I couldn't stand knowing about his pain and I was desperate to find a doctor to help him. Dr. Lewis from Ark Animal Hospital in Philomath agreed to perform the surgery he needed. She completed his femoral head ostectomy on Wednesday, January 19th. Within just days of the surgery, he was feeling so much better! He was relaxed. He was able to get himself short distances without crying. I thought this was all behind us.

 

On Friday evening, February 4th, he was walking across a room toward me and suddenly fell. He cried out and curled up, trying to get himself into a safe place, holding his good leg up to his body. This couldn't be happening again! That's what I was thinking. There was no waiting overnight to see if he would improve. I got in the car at 10:30 p.m. and drove the 20 miles from my home to Willamette Veterinary Hospital in South Corvallis. They are open 24 hours. I was told it might be a six to eight-hour wait in the parking lot once we got there. There were five other emergencies ahead of us.

 

Jasper was diagnosed that night with Legg-Perthes Disease, or aseptic necrosis of the femoral head. It's a rare genetic condition that causes interruption of blood supply to the head of the femur. Starved of blood supply, the boney tissues begin to die and the bone collapses. Surgery, like the one he had two weeks before, is done to remove the fractured femoral head. The body then forms a "false joint" consisting of a cushion of scar tissue between the cut edge and the hip socket. The result is a pain-free kitty who can eventually return to good function and can live a quality life. With this disease, when one hip breaks, the other is most likely to break as well, and that's what happened to Jasper. It usually happens before an animal is four years of age.

 

A second surgery is our only option. Jasper is only fifteen months old and has so much life to live.  I wasn't quite ready for the cost of his first surgery, and now he needs  a second one. He will have the procedure on Wednesday, February 9th, with Dr. Lewis at Ark Animal Hospital, who did his surgery before.  A wise friend encouraged me to ask for help.  She said the hardest thing about getting help is asking.  I think she was right. 

 

Please consider donating if you would like to contribute to Jasper's medical care. A gift of any amount would help.

 

Jasper and I thank you.

 

Much Love.