Help us help Bella fight
Donation protected
Hi, this is Bella. My five year and 5 months old Yorkie (or teddy bear) that came into my life to fill it with her love, cuddles, endless fetching sessions, and of course, soccer sessions too since she loves playing goalie. Just one week ago from today, she seemed perfectly fine and I could hear her little paws walking around my apartment. Today, she is hooked up to an IV in the critical care unit at the MedVet emergency hospital fighting for her life, and I am trying to help her fight too.
For the most part, Bella was always a healthy dog. She had been experiencing multiple UTIs over the past months but was very good at taking her antibiotics and never let it taint her spirit or bring her down. On the contrary, no one would've ever thought she was sick since she was as playful and sassy as ever.
On Wednesday of last week (1/10), when I came back home from work I found my little girl wondering around the apartment, her eyes were bulging out, it seems like she couldn't really see as she was running into walls, she seemed completely disoriented and failed to come to me when I called her (which was very rare since she is very obedient). I rushed her to the ER and it's been a roller coaster ever since. They discovered that she has a liver shunt, which from what I understand, is an abnormal blood vessel that doesn't allow her liver to get proper blood flow and, therefore, causes liver problems and doesn't allow the liver to process toxins, leaving free to roam around her body. It turned out that these toxins (ammonia in her case) reached her brain and started causing this neurological symptoms. She was hospitalized immediately and the treatments they gave her seemed to help and she regained her vision and awareness of her surroundings. However, this wasn't the end of it. Due to her aspirating some vomit while at the hospital, she developed aspiration pneumonia, which she also fought like a champ, and was able to pass the most critical phase without needed oxygen or breathing aids.
They let her come home with me on Sunday around noon. I was so happy to have my baby back and we sat down on the couch, with her on my lap, and watched movies making each other company. Then it's when I noticed that her legs were twitching a bit and I called the vet to see if this was normal. They told me to bring her over so they could check her out. She started seizing as I drove and by the time we got to the ER she was completely unware of her surroundings and was seizing a bunch. Since Monday (1/15), they have had her under sedation with Propofol giving her brain the chance to get a break from the seizures so it can recover.
My little Bella is fighting like the brave dog she is. I wouldn't expect anything else from her. However, in addition to the emotional pain that this has caused me, my family and all my friends that know and love her, it has also created financial problems for me as I keep on getting more and more in debt in order to keep her treatments going on. I have asked the vet multiple times if she is in pain, and the vet says that she is not. She has asked me if I want to stop treatment due to the financial burden, but other than the cost, there is no reason for us to stop treatment as she can go through this if I am able to come up with the funds to continue her treatments. So far I have more than $14,000 in vet bills, which I will get half of it through the Pet Insurance. However, the remaining half will be all on my own. In addition to this, they charge me $1,200 per day that she is hospitalized plus the medicines they give her, and after she has recovered she will have to be on multiple medicines for about a month until she is ready for her liver shunt surgery, which will fix the underlying cause of everything that is going on right now. This surgery will be around $4,500 - $5,000.
Therefore, I ask you to contribute what you can, any dollar amount will help a great deal, to help me get to $20,000, which will help me pay for a few more days of hospitalization and her liver shunt surgery. Just as she has fought through everything that has been going on with an unwavering spirit, I am not going to give up on her either and I ask that you help me make this happen.
Thank you so much!!
Note: All the money collected from your donations will go towards paying for Bella's vet bills and treatments. Please think through before you donate as all donations are final.
For the most part, Bella was always a healthy dog. She had been experiencing multiple UTIs over the past months but was very good at taking her antibiotics and never let it taint her spirit or bring her down. On the contrary, no one would've ever thought she was sick since she was as playful and sassy as ever.
On Wednesday of last week (1/10), when I came back home from work I found my little girl wondering around the apartment, her eyes were bulging out, it seems like she couldn't really see as she was running into walls, she seemed completely disoriented and failed to come to me when I called her (which was very rare since she is very obedient). I rushed her to the ER and it's been a roller coaster ever since. They discovered that she has a liver shunt, which from what I understand, is an abnormal blood vessel that doesn't allow her liver to get proper blood flow and, therefore, causes liver problems and doesn't allow the liver to process toxins, leaving free to roam around her body. It turned out that these toxins (ammonia in her case) reached her brain and started causing this neurological symptoms. She was hospitalized immediately and the treatments they gave her seemed to help and she regained her vision and awareness of her surroundings. However, this wasn't the end of it. Due to her aspirating some vomit while at the hospital, she developed aspiration pneumonia, which she also fought like a champ, and was able to pass the most critical phase without needed oxygen or breathing aids.
They let her come home with me on Sunday around noon. I was so happy to have my baby back and we sat down on the couch, with her on my lap, and watched movies making each other company. Then it's when I noticed that her legs were twitching a bit and I called the vet to see if this was normal. They told me to bring her over so they could check her out. She started seizing as I drove and by the time we got to the ER she was completely unware of her surroundings and was seizing a bunch. Since Monday (1/15), they have had her under sedation with Propofol giving her brain the chance to get a break from the seizures so it can recover.
My little Bella is fighting like the brave dog she is. I wouldn't expect anything else from her. However, in addition to the emotional pain that this has caused me, my family and all my friends that know and love her, it has also created financial problems for me as I keep on getting more and more in debt in order to keep her treatments going on. I have asked the vet multiple times if she is in pain, and the vet says that she is not. She has asked me if I want to stop treatment due to the financial burden, but other than the cost, there is no reason for us to stop treatment as she can go through this if I am able to come up with the funds to continue her treatments. So far I have more than $14,000 in vet bills, which I will get half of it through the Pet Insurance. However, the remaining half will be all on my own. In addition to this, they charge me $1,200 per day that she is hospitalized plus the medicines they give her, and after she has recovered she will have to be on multiple medicines for about a month until she is ready for her liver shunt surgery, which will fix the underlying cause of everything that is going on right now. This surgery will be around $4,500 - $5,000.
Therefore, I ask you to contribute what you can, any dollar amount will help a great deal, to help me get to $20,000, which will help me pay for a few more days of hospitalization and her liver shunt surgery. Just as she has fought through everything that has been going on with an unwavering spirit, I am not going to give up on her either and I ask that you help me make this happen.
Thank you so much!!
Note: All the money collected from your donations will go towards paying for Bella's vet bills and treatments. Please think through before you donate as all donations are final.
Organizer
Daniela Morales
Organizer
Chicago, IL
