Kaia's Health Crisis: Survival Funds Needed

Update as of 12-19-24: Im heartbroken to report that I will have to put Kaia to sleep today at 630pm. The WSU emergency program was "at capacity and understaffed". Her vet made a recommendation that she go to their internal health and medicine branch of the Teaching Veterinary Hospital in Pullman. That branch said the soonest they could see her was mid-January. I explained that she has refused all food and barely drinks water over the last 48 hours and they said my vet could talk to their Dr to see if she could be seen sooner, but I would have to apply to all of these grants to see if I am eligible for funding since we have no money left after the last 2 months of vet visits every week. So I've had to make the hard decision to give in, let go and put her to rest. I cant keep watching her be in so much pain just because I dont want to say goodbye to my babygirl. Thank you so much to everyone who loved her, shared her story, held me, donated, watched over her and helped me spend more time with her before she inevitably has to go. I love this dog so much and I am beyond grateful for your help in trying to keep her.

Update as of 12-17-24: I'm sorry this has taken me a minute to update, I'm still having trouble processing how this can be happening. Kaia's vet called back to let me know that the samples they took from the cysts on her back paw came back inconclusive. I quote "the cells were too broken up to tell what they were, just that she's fighting an infection". (No, DUH!) She also came back with the fact that "On the radiologists final report of the Xrays, he did note that she has small lumps on either her ribs, or they could be on her lungs." Great. Yet after 2 blood tests, a thyroid test, an ultrasound, and a sampling of the cysts on her paws, they still dont know what is killing her. Their best guess is the IBD/Lymph node theory and hope the steroids help her continue to eat/heal. I asked about her pain, the fact that her front paw is now openly bleeding and the claw on it is barely hanging on. They suggested another Xray on the front paw to see what it is. Which solidified that I need to go to someone else. For $2300 of tests and medicines at their vet alone, they have no answers for me and Kaia. & now, she's barely eating and is starting to get lethargic again, quickly.

I am going to reach out to WSU's Vet program after this update to see if they are able to help us on payment plan or charity, because help or payment plans are my last hope at this point. I have no money left for more tests or "lets try this" and Kaia is running out of time. I dont want to put her to rest, I dont want to continue to shove pills down her throat that aren't helping, I dont want to continue to watch her whither away and I quite frankly, don't know what to do. This all feels so unfair and Im so angry that I cant stop crying. I wish I had a happier update for everyone who has rallied to help her. I will update again as soon as something changes. Until then, I'm going to be unavailable by socials/phone. I have no energy left.

Update as of 12-9-24 @10pm: Kaia is finally home after a grueling weekend of being in the emergency vet's 24 hour care. She was eating a little bit while there and the dr's said if we could get her to eat more, then she could go home and treatment could be followed up with her regular vet.

Kaia is now on 4 different medications at different times for the next couple of weeks and will have to have a follow up ultrasound on her stomach to see if the steroids are taking away the inflammation in the lining of her small intestine and stomach. She has been using all 4 paws and is much more coherent than she's been in the month and a half of dealing with this illness. She is eating a bit more than before and has to continue to be on science diet foods to keep her IBD down. The vet said she could live years, depending on diet, how her body takes to the steroids and if she can keep food and water down. So far all of that has been happening without vomiting, so thats a good sign.

She still has cysts on her paw and chest that are concerning, but we wont be able to take care of that until she's healed up a lot more and we get this IBD under control. They did take samples of the cysts and are supposed to be getting me those results by the end of this week. So thankfully, things have been seemingly turning for the better. Now all we have to do is make sure we can afford her next ultrasound by the time it is needing to be scheduled.

I will never stop saying it, but thank you all so much. It is solely because of all of the sharing of this link and donations made to her, that she is even able to have this chance at life again. She was truly dying right before our eyes and we are so thankful, blessed and indebted to all of you who helped because it literally saved her. We would not have been able to pay the $3861.73 that this weekend ended up costing, let alone the costs that are still to come in this treatment plan. So thank you so much and please continue to share if you can. Everything helps, and hopefully Kaia will be running and playing again soon.

I will continue to update as she (hopefully) continues to progress.

Update as of 12-6-24 @ 8pm: Kaia has been transferred to the 24hour emergency vet clinic in CDA. The Xrays showed no abnormalities, but her abdominal ultrasound showed serious signs of inflammation in her small intestine and her stomach lining. She's bleeding slightly from her rectum & this explains why she has dropped 13 pounds in almost a month. They're administering steroids as well as the previously mentioned pain meds/IV. She is coherent but clearly lethargic more than anything. She will be kept there until she can eat food and shows signs of being okay to go home for continued treatment.

The vet thinks she has Gastrointestinal disease or something called Lymphocytic-Plasmacytic Gastroenteritis. Which is a more extreme version of the disease, where the inflammation is primarily due to the infiltration of lymphocytes and plasma cells into the intestinal wall (so her lymph nodes may not be excreting correctly, as an abnormal immune system response to the inflammation.) She will just need a strict diet change and steroids for the rest of her life, if she recovers.

I have had to move the goal way farther out than I ever imagined this would cost. Today's vet visit cost $2295 for everything, add on top of that, it was a $750 deposit for her to be transferred to the emergency vet. I have to have (direct quote) another $750 tomorrow if she recovers quickly and gets to go home, or up to $1300 more dollars if she has to stay over the weekend/continue to be seen.

I didnt realize how truly life or death this was for Kaia. We took her to the vet the moment we saw something wrong with the way she was walking; but she's been diagnosed with so many things (early epilepsy, vestibular disease, "some kind of seed that got stuck in her paw that caused the cysts" & "fighting some type of bacterial infection"). She has gone through so many medications and so much pain and nothing worked. Now that we have (seemingly) found out whats wrong with her, I'm praying that she finally starts healing & we can afford to save her/that we caught this diagnosis in time.

I thank you all so much for keeping up with Kaia's story and reaching out to your friends and family to help her as well. I would not have been able to give my dog this chance at more years of life without your continued support.

I will continue to update this and my facebook as I am updated.

Update as of 12-6-24 @ 9am: Kaia was supposed to go into surgery today to remove the cysts on her paw. Her vet took her weight and my notes of her not being able to keep water down and refusing to eat the night before (12-5) as a sign that something more serious than her paws is going on. So, they hospitalized her and put her on IV fluids, 2 antibiotics, pain medicine and they're going to sample her cysts and send them off. They are also going to do a wider panel of blood work, do chest Xrays, and an abdominal ultrasound if the chest Xrays don't show any abnormalities.

If she has to be hospitalized over the weekend, she'll be moved to the emergency vet clinic in CDA to be put on fluids/meds until they can get some answers and get her strength up/her eating again.

Backstory:

Kaia is only 6 years old and has been rapidly declining in health since the beginning of November, 2024. As well as not being able to use her back right paw for a month because of cysts, she is now unable to use her front left paw and it is also showing signs of developing a cyst (swollen paw, super painful, red/swollen digit.)

She is rapidly losing weight, can't walk or get off of the couch/bed, and has been struggling to eat much, if we can get get her to eat at all. We still have a week left of antibiotics/carprofen and now have her scheduled for surgery on December 11th at 9am. This surgery is where they will send off the contents of her paws and the cyst on her chest, to see if we are dealing with Cancer, some kind of infection or a life long condition that we need to prepare for.

I have exhausted every dollar/credit I have to take care of my 4 animals and their health concerns over the last 1.5years. Kaia is having to deal with so much pain & misery because I couldn't afford to give her this surgery in the beginning of all of her ailments. Now we are required to do surgery or make the impossible decision to put her to rest to ease the pain.

Please help me fight for Kaia's health & help me get her back to the sweet, energetic & loving dog she has always been. She deserves at least another 6 years of life and I will do anything to help give her that.

Thank you for your time in reading this & thinking good thoughts for Kaia.