Help Maisy on Her Road to Recovery

Meet Maisy, who is part pit bull, husky, clown and goofball. She entered the lives of Tricia and her wife, Lissa, six years ago. Originally from Georgia, Maisy was brought to Maine to escape euthanasia. She found a beautiful life in South Portland with two incredibly caring moms who love her to bits, even when she’s being super naughty. She loves playing fetch, patrolling the yard, garage and trees for squirrels, sleeping in the human hammock and being a comedian.

Last October, Maisy began to experience pain and incontinence for unknown reasons. Her journey started with the Rehab Team at Maine Veterinary Medical Center. Despite their efforts, her pain couldn’t be pinpointed or controlled, and her incontinence worsened (she started sporting her super cute diapers at this time). In late December, she was referred to the Neurology Team when she didn’t show signs of improvement. In early February, an MRI revealed that Maisy had both a herniated disc and discospondylitis, an infection of the intervertebral discs and adjacent vertebral bones. Armed with pain medication, antibiotics, and instructions for rest, her moms hoped the herniated disc would heal without further intervention and that the infection would clear up with antibiotics.

Unfortunately, by mid-March, Maisy’s disc pain hadn’t improved despite heavy medication and strict confinement. Her incontinence persisted, indicating continued pressure on her nerves. Steroid injections were ruled out due to the infection, so after much consideration, surgery was deemed the best course of action. On March 29th, Maisy underwent an L7-S1 dorsal laminectomy/discectomy with a disc material culture for the discospondylitis. After several nights in the hospital, it was finally determined that she was safe to continue her recovery at home.

Maisy’s recovery involved strict bed rest/confinement in a 4x4 pen in her moms’ living room for 12 weeks. Despite the challenges, her moms managed to get through the recovery period, slowly tapering off her intensive (22 pills a day!) medications. By July, Maisy was finally allowed to engage in normal dog behaviors—going on walks, playing with friends, climbing stairs, and getting on the couch. The only thing off-limits was jumping, which she had loved to do before.

Maisy’s moms continued home exercises provided by the Rehab Team and started at-home acupuncture to help with pain relief. Although Maisy wasn’t always a fan of the e-stim, she tolerated the sessions.

Unfortunately, in August, Maisy began to show increasing levels of pain. For about two weeks, she struggled to get comfortable, constantly shifting positions, unable to stand for more than a few seconds at a time and often crying out in pain during routine movements. She was taken back to the Neurology Team, but everything appeared normal at her exam. Her medications were adjusted in hopes of resolving the issue (perhaps just a flare up was suspected). Unbelievably, but a week later, Maisy ended up in the ER with severe gastrointestinal issues. After spending most of a day in the ER, she was sent home with meds, only to return the next morning in severe G.I. pain and unable to keep anything down, including water. Maisy was admitted for two nights with a UTI and suspected Pancreatitis. Eventually Pancreatitis was ruled out and the cause of the GI upset remains unclear. Thankfully, Maisy has since recovered and is happily eating again, though she still needs to wear diapers as her urinary incontinence never fully went away. Maisy’s moms have been referring to this episode as “a very expensive tummy ache”. But were ultimately relieved thinking that perhaps the recent discomfort she had been experiencing was the beginnings of the GI upset. Unfortunately, the pain she had been displaying not only continued, but seemed to ramp up even more.

After a routine acupuncture appointment, it was recommended that Maisy get checked at MVMC as her vet thought the pain might be coming from her left hip. As a puppy she had been diagnosed with mild hip dysplasia, so the hypothesis was that it had gotten worse over time but was being masked by her back pain. The Orthopedic team, along with a consultation from her Neurologist, suggested that the best way to find out what was causing this pain was a sedated CAT scan. The scan showed that Maisy’s hip dysplasia is still considered to be mild, but that scar tissue had formed around the surgical site in her back and it was highly suspected to be causing the current pain. She also had a UTI and there’s potential that she may have an additional infection brewing in another spot near her spine. The recommended treatment was for a series of sedated, live x-ray epidural steroid injections given a couple of week apart, depending on her response to them.

This brings us to why we’re here today: The majority of Maisy’s medical expenses over the past year have been charged to Care Credit accounts (credit cards specifically for medical expenses with 0% APR for 1 year that then go to around 30% APR) and credit cards as the medical issues kept coming fast and furious without time for Tricia and Lissa to catch their breath, each time just trying to take care of what was hopefully the last issue for a while. While Maisy is insured, her insurance provider has deemed “pain” a pre-existing condition. Her MRI, CT scan, rehab visits and a large portion of her surgery is not covered due to this clause. With that said, Maisy has reached her max of $8,000 of insurance coverage for the year. Maisy’s medical needs in the past year have been extensive, and despite issues with coverage for pain, her expenses have far exceeded her coverage limit for the year:

November 2023 - August 2024:

Rehab, medications, and dermatology specialist (she has significant skin allergies): $5,155

Vet appointments: $980

MRI: $6,172

Surgery: $8,655

GI distress ER stay: $6,227

CT Scan: $2,580

First epidural procedure: $1,314

Second upcoming epidural procedure: $1,314

Possible third epidural procedure $1,314

Subtotal: $31,083

Future epidural procedures: $2,628

Insurance reimbursement: $8,000

Total: $25,711

This $25,711 is currently sitting on credit cards, as mentioned above. Maisy, showing success with her initial cortisone injection, will still need several more injections in the coming weeks in order to keep her on the road to being pain free. This means that Maisy’s expenses are only going to increase.

Maisy is a spunky, goofy, sweet soul who her moms love so incredibly much. They want her to live a happy, pain-free life and live a long and healthy life (she’s only six!) She has an Instagram account (@maisythecrazypup) where her true personality shines through. Tricia and Lissa are hardworking women, both with full-time jobs, who are struggling to keep up with Maisy’s mounting medical bills. They also have two cats, one of whom is elderly and has rather significant medical needs as well. They never ask for help but always want what’s best for their furry family. This past year has been incredibly tough, juggling Maisy’s needs and expenses, supporting an elderly parent, and enduring two unsuccessful IVF attempts.

I want to show Tricia and Lissa that there are people out there willing to come together and support them through crowdfunding. So, I’m reaching out to their village to see if accumulated small donations can create some breathing room as they continue Maisy’s journey. If you have $5, $50, or $500, please consider helping out this amazingly wonderful family. If financial donations are difficult, please consider sharing this page amongst your families & friends. Every little bit truly matters. Every little bit truly matters.

We will continue updating this page with Maisy’s progress to keep everyone informed. Should we raise more money than needed to cover Maisy’s medical bills thus far, the extra will go into an emergency fund for future ER visits, with any remaining funds donated to a local animal shelter.

Thank you for taking the time to read Maisy’s story and for considering a donation to help this family take care of their beloved pup.