URGENT APPEAL UPDATE 19/09

1. URGENT APPEAL: After a hugely successful surgery, Reggie crashed on us on Tuesday with no warning signs at all, and was admitted to the ICU. Further investigations have revealed an infection on the brain - a shock to all as no warning signs of infection presented. We’re desperately appealing for help to get him through this time and fight the infection. The bill for this is currently at £3.5k and we are scrambling to get the funds together.

IMPORTANT: Reggie’s neurosurgeon believes Reggie has a real chance at life, and in the last 24 hours has shown clinical signs of real improvement. So we will continue to fight for our baby.

2. PROGRESS & ENDLESS GRATITUDE: We would like to say a massive thank you to everyone who has contributed and supported throughout Reggie’s journey - Your generous donations helped fund a life saving brain surgery! Reggie rapidly started showing signs of an improved neurological condition, prior to this weeks set back.

Thank you for any consideration, we can’t express our appreciation enough.

proof of previous transactions below. READ BELOW FOR FULL DETAILS.

Hello all! First of all we would like to say a massive thank you to everyone who has contributed and supported throughout this journey with Reggie - we have been amazed by all the love Reggie has received.

Reggie had the surgery on the 9th which went really well. It was a successful surgery with no complications and Reggie’s recovery was amazing. He was up a couple of hours after which none of us expected. As he did so well, he was discharged to come home to us only 3 days after the surgery. Immediately after, he was already showing signs that he was improving neurologically and the shunt was working. He was crate rested all hours of the day and the wounds were healing really well. We had no concerns at all.

On Sunday (15th September) his wound slightly opened and was discharging which was slightly concerning for us. We spoke to his surgeon who assessed, and whilst we were unsure of the cause of it opening, he was not concerned about a post op infection.

Tuesday 17th

We woke up to swelling all along his surgical site. This again concerned us so we took him in to see his neurologist. His surgeon did a full assessment of Reggie, all of his parameters were in normal limits and there was physically nothing on the examination that was concerning or could indicate anything grave. Due to this, we had to put the swelling down to microtrauma from his cone slightly rubbing the wound. Although we could not rule out an infection, there was nothing to indicate that he had one. So we continued with our day as Reggie had been given the all clear. Only 5 hours later we went through the most horrible experience ever. We brought Reggie out of his crate to have his dinner and he would not move. Anyone who knows Reggie knows this is not like him at all. However, when we lifted him out he did walk to the food and eat it so we thought maybe he was still a little sleepy. Immediately after finishing his dinner it all went downhill. He immediately started aggressively shaking and went rigid. We started to worry at this point so booked an Uber to get him to the QMH just to be sure. Then he just collapsed and went into a comatose state. We quickly realised that Reggie was not going to make the journey to the QMH so we had to redirect to the Beaumont (QMH sister hospital) as it was closer. On the ride we thought we had lost him. He became unresponsive and we noted that his heart was beating too fast, his pulses were weak and his gums were white. As we pulled up to the hospital we were minutes away from his passing away.

The staff there were amazing at treating him. They rushed to stabilise him and support us through the distressing time. We cannot praise them enough for staying hours past closing and desperately trying. The concern we had was that we were 40 minutes away from the QMH and Reggie was so critical that the vet was not happy to risk him travelling as he would have passed during that journey.

Then, after 4 and a half hours of stabilising, she rushed out to tell us Reggie had miraculously regained consciousness and was stable to travel but we had to leave that minute. She brought him out to us and put him in my arms and he literally was climbing all over me, wagging his tail and kissing me. It was honestly unbelievable that 4 hours before he was practically dead in my arms and now was like this. We did the journey and he made it through with no concerns, as we pulled up to the QMH he became flat and critical again. Initial investigations (ultrasounds, blood gas analysis, monitoring) was still not definitely indicating an infection so we could only assume there was an issue with his shunt. We left him in ICU with little hope he would make it through the night.

Wednesday 18th

Reggie’s neurologist called us first thing, he had not done well overnight. He was now seizing and his parameters were still very abnormal so he was rushed in for an emergency CT to assess the shunt and his brain. We were told our best hope was that it all looked normal as that would indicate an infection and this was the problem that we could fight. His CT showed nothing abnormal, and a sample of his cerebrospinal fluid ( the fluid that had built up in his brain) showed a major infection. This was honestly a shock to us, and his surgeon, as nothing leading up to this episode had indicated any signs of infection. His heart rate was not stabilising so we also had to consider that the infection had spread to his heart. He was immediately started on a mixture of medications (pain relief, anti-seizure meds, antibiotics). We were told we needed to see an improvement with these.

Leaving him yesterday evening, our spirits were low and we had little hope that he would make it through the night. We had to discuss what we would like to happen to him if he passed and also if we would like to resuscitate him if he crashed. We made the difficult decision that we would like them to initially try, but stop immediately if it’s unnatural and if he didn’t respond to the emergency drugs. We couldn’t bare the thought of him going through a 40 minute resuscitation as they are so gruelling.

Thursday 19th

With little hope he would make it through the night, we expected the worst news at any point this morning.

However, our little miracle fought through the night and we were given some positive news. His cardiovascular parameters have stabilised ( meaning we can stop worrying about infection in the heart), his fever has gone and he has stopped seizing. All positive signs he’s fighting this. He’s about to have an EEG to check for seizure activity in thr brain and if this is all okay we can begin to reduce his sedatives to really assess his neurological state. It’s all we could have hoped for overnight.

Whilst we want him to survive this desperately, we would not want anyone to think we’re not thinking about Reggie in all of this. We will go as far as we can with Reggie fighting with us. We would not continue to hold on if we didn’t think it was worth it. His surgeon has advised we take it 12 hours at a time and assess him improvement each step.

He has a grave prognosis at this point we don’t want to sugar coat it. Our concern right now is that if he continues to improve, we would like to keep him going and fighting. However, our funds have rapidly been drained by this episode. We would like to do one final push to keep him in the ICU and fighting as long as he can. They have seen a patient survive this kind of infection before, although it is very rare it can happen and if anyone can do it it’s Reggie. With this final push we would use the funds to keep going with supportive treatment as long as he works with us. We want to make you aware if you do donate this point he may not make it. If this were to happen we would immediately close the page so there are no more donations and we would try our best to get the money back to people if that’s what they would like or alternatively we would donate the funds to a charity that can help provide emergency neurological treatment to other patients.

Please please if you can and are willing to, donate and continue to share this page. The next 24 hours are critical and will mean the difference of him surviving or not. We cannot express our gratitude for all the support so far❤️ we will keep you updated as we get updates. All our love, Ellie, Freya and our baby Reggiexx

UPDATE: 01/09/2024

Reggie is continuing to do really well on the steroids and we are making all the necessary preparations for his surgery. We don’t know how long he’ll spend in ICU after his surgery but we’re hoping we can bring him home as soon as possible!

We have updated the goal price as we would like to cover as much as possible for the cost of the surgery so we have the necessary funds left over for his ongoing recovery. Thank you everyone❤️

UPDATE: 25/08/24

A little update for everyone! After having his MRI and a diagnosis confirmed of severe internal hydrocephalus, we were left with a lot of questions. The main one being CAN WE TREAT HIM? The last few weeks have been difficult, there has been a lot of tears, pressure and hard work whilst we waited for this answer. Then we received a call with the amazing news that the doctors believe that surgery is a viable option for Reggie. When he was discharged, he was started on a course of steroids to help decrease the production of cerebrospinal fluid. Immediately after starting the steroids we noticed a dramatic change in Reggie. He was suddenly able to walk in a straight line, he could now walk for longer periods, he’s circling less, falling over less and is recalling a lot better. The surgeon told us that if Reggie had not reacted the way he did, they would not have opted for the surgery and instead suggested that it would be best for him to be euthanised. We even received the news that some of the damage may be reversible after the surgery.

He will be going to the QMH on the 4th for an echo - due to his grade 2 heart murmur the staff would like to do this so that they are in the best position they can be in for the procedure. Then on the 9th September he will have his surgery. The surgery involves drilling a hole into his brain where they will then place a drain. They will then make a second incision in his stomach where the end of the drain will be passed down and placed into. There are a lot of risks and complications associated with the procedure, but obviously the risk of not doing it is greater. We have a long road ahead of us, and the recovery is going to be intense so we will both be taking time off work to be with him at all times.

Receiving the news that we had a date for the surgery gave us overwhelming emotions. I think we cried for a while haha. We physically could have not got this far without the generosity and kindness of so many friends, family and strangers. We desperately ask you to continue donating and sharing towards Reggie’s case to aid with the costs of the procedure. We have been estimated £6000 for the procedure. You do not understand how much it helps! Thank you!

All our love,

Reggie, Ellie and Freya.

UPDATE 14/08/24 Reggie was admitted to the hospital this morning for his MRI which will take place tomorrow! Unfortunately, we had a call this evening to let us know that Reggie has a heart murmur which the staff would like to do an echo for adding £400 to the estimate. However we are focusing on the costs of the MRI currently. He has been super brave and is receiving lots of love from the staff and students at RVC who are sending us many updates! Let’s keep pushing guys, we’ve almost covered the cost of the diagnostics. Thank you everyone ❤️

UPDATE 11/08/24 Step 1 Achieved! Reggie has been offered an appointment to see the neurologist on the 2nd September as this is their next routine appointment. However, Reggie is on every cancellation list they have and we are phoning every morning to check if he can be seen sooner! We did it though guys Reggie will be seen in the next few weeks to have a consultation and an MRI. We cannot thank everyone who has shared his story and contributed enough, he has a chance now which is more than we ever thought we could do for him. Please continue to share his story and contribute where you can so that he can also have the other tests the neurologist recommended on the phone. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts! - Ellie, Freya & Reggie x

UPDATE: After a 10 hour round trip to Chesterfield and no answers, we have now had the opportunity to speak to a neurology clinician at the qmh who has estimated us 4-5 thousand for everything Reggie needs. This covers the consultation fee, a range of blood tests, the MRI, a cerebrospinal fluid tap and ophthalmological investigations. We understand this is a huge goal to reach, but even if we can raise the money for half of the tests it still puts us in a better position than what we are in now. Reggie is being booked in for the next available appointment with the team so they can assess him and give us a definitive treatment plan and estimate (which we will upload on here the moment we get it).

As we’ve said before any donation helps and even sharing the link so that this page finds as many people as possible is so helpful to little Reggie. Thank you to every single person who has already shared and donated. We are truly so lucky, he has so many guardian angels out there!!❤️

Hello my name is Ellie, I am a registered veterinary nurse.

Reggie was surrendered to my housemate, who is also a veterinary nurse, on Monday as he was set to be euthanised! He is a 4 month old bull terrier who is believed to have hydrocephalus.

From the moment we met Reggie we fell in love with him and knew we needed to do whatever we could to save this little man.

Reggie is suffering from many clinical signs that are making day to day life for him quite hard, although he doesn’t show it as he continues to act like a puppy and give so much affection. He has difficulty walking and standing up straight without falling over. He repeatedly circles and has a head tilt to the right. He also has difficulty seeing unless you’re super close to him. Due to all of these symptoms, Reggie is repeatedly falling over and bumping his head a lot.

Whilst Reggie’s clinical signs indicate a hydrocephalus, without imaging this cannot be confirmed. We would like to raise money to get this imaging for him before he is written off. Imaging would allow us to get a better idea of what is going on in his head and if there is anything we can do to save him.

As he is displaying clear neurological symptoms he would need to see a neurologist team at a referral hospital and have an MRI to see what is going on in that little head of his.

He is such a happy puppy who doesn’t seem to be fazed by his clinical signs. He is only 4 months old and doesn’t deserve to be euthanised without being given the opportunity to have treatment. We refuse to accept a grave prognosis without a diagnosis!

If you can help in any way at all this would be greatly appreciated as we fight for this amazing little man❤️