If there’s one defining quality about our family, it’s our dogs. They are our bestfriends and a true part of our family. On Wednesday 12/3, our middle child, Maggie unexpectedly woke up sick. We knew immediately something wasn’t right. We rushed her to the ER vet where she underwent ultrasounds and tests. They found fluid in her abdomen and her intestines were distended. She was then transferred to a specialist, awaiting further testing and exploratory surgery. Once in surgery, the surgeon discovered Maggie had mesentetic torsions. Her intestines were twisted and dead. A life threatening emergency. The surgeon had to dissect the dead intestines and reconnect the healthy intestines. Her surgery was successful and she is recovering beautifully. We have been told by countless veterinarians and surgeons, truly how lucky she is. Another hour and her intestine's could have ruptured and she would’ve been gone. It is a miracle that this diagnosis was caught and treated as timely as it was. We are blessed that Maggie is doing well in recovery. We would do anything for our dogs. She is truly an integral and irreplaceable part of our family.

12/16 UPDATE: Well we are back at the vet. She was home for what seems to be the magic timeframe of 36 hours. Overnight she went downhill after not eating or drinking for 24 hours. She began vomiting and had horrible diarrhea this morning along with labored breathing. We are hoping this is from taking all her medicine on an empty stomach and an appetite stimulate will be the answer. However, hopes are low at this point. She looked so uncomfortable. When they came to take her from us, she did not want to leave us. I feel so awful for her. She’s so scared. Praying there is no decrease in her blood count and no fluid in her abdomen.

12/14 UPDATE: Maggie is home (AGAIN). We truthfully are so nervous to have her home but extremely happy at the same time. Overnight her PCV levels dropped from 27% to 22%. They did a quick ultrasound and did not see any fluid in her abdomen that would indicate bleeding. Her protein levels (which are also used to indicate bleeding) have remained stable along witn her heart rate, tempature and blood pressure. At this point, they assured us she is stable enough to come home. They think she may even do better at home with better rest and her family with her. She is still having diarrhea likely from the first surgery. She also is having low/moderate appetite so we are determined to get this girl some food. She’s lost so much weight. She seems alert and happy to be home but extremely exhausted. For now, we are taking it hour by hour and giving her lots of love

12/13 UPDATE: Yesterday the main concern was Maggie’s PCV percentage; the percentage of red blood cells in her body. Yesterday morning after surgery it was 18% when normal range for dogs is 37%-55%. If it dropped any lower she would need an immediate blood transfusion and would be a sign of continued bleeding in her body. Her PCV remained at 18% yesterday afternoon. Her 8pm labs finally showed an increase to 23%.

This morning her PCV continued to increase to 27%. This is really good news for Maggie. All of her other vitals have remained stable. Her main issue now is getting her diarrhea under control. The doctors wanted to send her home this morning but we pushed for her to stay and receive further monitoring. At this point I’m terrified to bring her home as we’ve brought her home twice throughout this whole process and had to bring her back within 24-36 hours. They are slowing weaning her off all the fluids and medicine she would only receive at the hospital to prepare her body to come home. I’m not sure when I’ll feel comfortable to have her home. But it definitely isn’t today. We are going to see her this afternoon to keep her spirits up. To everyone who has donated and been praying for her, thank you so much

12/12 UPDATE: Maggie survived her 2nd emergency surgery. She has made a few new nicknames at the ER such as Miracle Maggie and Million Dollar Maggie. One things for sure, she landed herself a 2nd miracle. Once again, the surgery was not what the doctors originally suspected. The doctors suspected the blood in her abdomen to be from the original incision site; stemming from either a leak in the original surgery or an abscess that formed at the incision site. Instead, they found a lemon sized tissue of blood no where near the original incision site. To quote the surgeon “I saw this and said what the fuck is that.” After careful dissection of the tissue, he found the lymph node that supplies blood to her intestines had multiple blown blood vessels that were “spraying like a sprinkler”. He stopped the bleeding and was confident that was the cause of her abonominal bleeding. The original incision site looked perfect. We were told that in the board certified surgeons 25 years of practice, he’s never seen anything like this.

This morning we were able to visit Maggie. She looked exhausted but comfortable. She remained stable overnight and was so happy to see us she finally ate for the first time since Wednesday night. She is not out of the woods yet. Her red blood count is extremely low. 18%. Normal ranges from 37%-55%. Because she is stable they suspect this is due to the amount of blood she’s lost. If her vitals drop throughout the day or her next labs show a drop in her blood count, she will go through a blood transfusion. However a drop could mean there is additional bleeding in her body. We are hoping for sustained stability today and are waiting eagerly for her next lab results. Quite literally cannot handle anymore bad news. Hoping for positive outcome this afternoon

12/11 UPDATE: This morning we had a repeat of her symptoms from Saturday. She suddenly began lethargic, rapid heart rate and pale gums. After additional ultrasounds, they found blood in her abdomen. There could be many different reasons for this and we were faced with the decision of another emergency surgery or euthanasia. We wanted to give our girl a fighting chance. The surgeon is hopeful for a positive outcome. She is currently undergoing her 2nd emergency surgery. Please pray for our strong girl. We are just heartbroken and want her to recover. We are doing everything in our power to help her. If you or anyone you know has anything to give towards her recovery, our go fund me can be found on my Facebook. We are desperate to help her. Cmon Maggie girl

12/9 UPDATE: Maggie came home Tuesday afternoon. They could not determine what caused her fever but all of her ultrasounds and labs remained normal. She was much more alert than the 1st time we brought her home and was so happy to see her family again.

12/6 UPDATE: Maggie is back at the ER vet. She spiked a high fever last night and began acting lethargic. The doctors can’t determine the root cause at this time. Her labs don’t indicate an infection or pneumonia. The main concern is sepsis which they cannot confirm or deny still. There is some fluid in her abdomen but not enough to get a sample to test for bacteria. The fluid could be left over from her original injury or a sign of sepsis. She will be staying overnight again for continual monitoring. Please keep our girl in your thoughts. This has been the most crazy stressful week. She is fighting so hard