Hi! My name is Kelsey, and I am the dog mom to Lincoln, a 5-year-old goldendoodle who you may know from his Instagram account, @the_life_of_lincoln.

 

 

 

 

Lincoln is typically a very happy, healthy, active dog, but everything changed on the evening of Saturday, February 19. Suddenly, Lincoln was experiencing mouth pain and stopped eating. When I tried to look inside his mouth, he loudly yelped and ran away from me to hide. The following day, I took him to the vet, and they recommended a comprehensive dental exam, including x-rays, under anesthesia to check for broken or diseased teeth as well as abscesses in his gums. He had the exam on Tuesday, February 22, and his teeth and gums were healthy except for a small gingival mass that was removed and biopsied. (We are still awaiting the results of this biopsy.)

 

 

 

 

However, Lincoln's pain seemed to worsen after the procedure, and he became even more lethargic despite the pain meds. On Wednesday night, he refused food completely (even licks of peanut butter, his favorite treat) and stopped drinking water. By Thursday, his breathing became very labored. He was admitted to an emergency specialty hospital Thursday night, where a CT scan found an abscess in his throat, near the back of his upper jaw. This was missed by the x-rays taken during his dental procedure because it was beyond the scope of dental x-rays.

 

He was taken into surgery to drain and flush the abscess and remove as much of it as they could. Its location made it a relatively complicated surgery, as they would have needed to remove part of his jaw to excise the abscess completely. Moreover, since dogs chew things that hang from their mouths, the surgeon couldn’t leave the drain intact to continue to drain the abscess post-surgery.

 

Fortunately, the surgeon was able to drain the abscess and prevent further swelling around his windpipe. If the 4 cm of swelling had gotten any worse, it would have completely blocked his airway. This surgery saved his life. Unfortunately, they did not find a foreign body that could have caused the abscess. This means that a foreign body (like a foxtail) could have migrated to another place in his body and may cause another abscess somewhere else. Or, it means there was no foreign body and the abscess was caused by a cut at the back of his jaw and bacteria got in.

 

After spending a second night in the hospital recovering from surgery, Lincoln was finally discharged to come home yesterday, February 26. He will be on pain meds, anti-inflammatory meds, and antibiotics for two weeks. He will also need to be fed through a feeding tube for the first week so that food does not get near his incision.

 

This has been an incredibly stressful and emotional week, but I am so very glad to have Lincoln home. There were many moments over the last week that I was not sure he would survive. And although he is not completely in the clear (I am still worried about a potential foreign body and the gingival mass he had removed on Tuesday), there is so much for which I am grateful--from the CT scan to the life-saving surgery to the incredible army of doctors and nurses he has seen over the past week to the wonderful messages of support and love and prayer from the people who love him.

 

Now, we focus on healing. And paying for the doctors and procedures and tests that saved his life. As you can imagine, this week has been very expensive. At this point, the x-rays, scans, tests, surgeries, and medications of this week total $11,931.79. Fortunately, I have insurance for Lincoln, and his plan should cover about $8000 of these costs. (I have submitted claims for these invoices and am awaiting a decision.) That leaves approximately $4000 that I still need to pay, not including future expenses, like his check-ups and suture removal. As a single dog mom and middle school teacher, this is not something for which I am prepared financially. Lincoln and I would so appreciate any assistance you can provide -- even if that is just sharing his story.

 

Hopefully, he will be back to his happy, active self soon.

 

Thank you so much,

 

Kelsey (& Lincoln & his little sister London)