Help Levi, rescue doberman, with Physical Therapy
Donation protected
Update 2/2/2022
Hello friends! Levi here! Sending out my love and gratitude again to all of you! I am doing great with my PT and Lazer therapy. In the next 8 weeks, I will be starting hydrotherapy! You have all been very generous, and I am hoping you can help me with my final $400 that I anticipate needing, to complete my physical therapy. This is based on one session per week, for 12 weeks, with a physical therapist. Each session is $80. I would be so very appreciative.
P.S. My eye catching photo of a doberman in the hydro tank is courtesy of :
Stacy Crowell Laird
JJ getting his workout in this morning
Levi is a doberman who has had incredibly bad luck. He was imported from Germany, as a pup, 5 yrs ago. He resided in Detroit, with his loving owner, until she became acutely ill, was then hospitalized for a month, and died. Levi was left to fend for himself. Squatters (drug users) moved into his empty home, tossed him outside in the cold, with a bag of cheap dollar store food. He was abused, and starving to death. All ribs were showing, and hip bones. Some neighbors were feeding him, but he was too weak to even come to get the food. A plea for assistance went out, so a couple of middle aged ladies stepped up to save him.
After securing Levi, it was discovered that he was not simply weak, he had acute ruptured vertabrae in his back. A wonderful family stepped up to adopt Levi, and share their home and female dobe with him. We didn't know about the ruptured discs yet.....
Fast forward a month, to Dec 16th. Factor in ventral slot surgery on his vertabrae, Grand Mal seizures, and Von Willebrand Disease. Over $20,000 paid to MedVet, help from so many, but us middle aged ladies still need some help. Levi is too weak to go home, so he was transferred to Wilson Animal Hospital, and read on....
I finally have some good news to share! Levi opened his eyes today, and responded to his name, as he was being transferred to Wilson Animal Hospital! He also licked one of the children's hands. We are thrilled! None of these miracles occurred until he was out of the MedVet clinic. We really wanted him to go home today, but alas, he couldn't yet. He still can't swallow, so he can't be given oral meds. He is also very weak, and still on a catheter, as he obviously can't walk. We also just found out today he has not been given any IV nutrition during his nearly 9 day hospital stay, only hydration. He needs nutrition, so he can regain strength. As you are aware, the bills at MedVet were astronomical, so we couldn't leave him there any longer. The family made the decision to transfer Levi to Wilson Animal
Hospital. (586-752-6217)
UPDATE: MEDVET PAID IN FULL!
To cover his remaining care, his family has an outstanding bill of $3487 with MedVet. The entire statement is 6 full pages long, and I am happy to send a copy to anyone who wants to view the itemized bill. I am changing the GoFundMe to that amount, and we have about 3 weeks to make that final payment. Any donation will be gratefully accepted. The adoptive family still owes $5500 additional on their own credit cards for Levi's expenses, and I owe $3000 on my personal credit card for Levi.
Below, please see the estimate from Wilson Animal hospital, 5-7 days of treatment for $2200 to $3330. They will accept direct donations, or this GoFundMe is active. I closed the original by accident, but you can find all receipts and details in the first one.
We are grateful for any help
New fundraiser for Levi, the rescue doberman! Previous back surgery paid for in full, so past campaign closed out, after $11,900 paid. Levi sends his love.
This is the deposit put down today, December 11, 2021, to cover Levi's setback on December 10th. He made it home, was doing very well for a few hours, and then he started seizing. At midnight last night, he was taken back to MedVet, after he had several smaller seizures, and then he had another Grand Mal seizure. Levi is currently being treated with IV Medazolam, to prevent more seizures. He will be transitioned to phenobarbital, and clorazepate. He will also be sent home with an intranasal Medazolam. He he also on gabapentin and Keppra
For those not familiar with the story, I will post a link back to the original fundraiser. This fundraiser is now read ONLY!
Only use to read background, no longer active.
Let's hope that works!
Now, today's newest update (Dec 10), Levi is on his way home! We are hopeful he will begin a full recovery. He will be treated with Clindamycin, gabapentin, and steroids. In approximately a month, we should have a good idea of how well his recovery is progressing. As of today, the entire surgical bill of approximately $12,000 was paid. This was possible by your generous donations, contributions from Levi's family, and an amazing grant from A ReJoyceful Animal Rescue, located in Michigan.
So, why another fundraiser? Levi had seizures after surgery. He has now been moved to Wilson Animal Hospital. If you have the means to help, we will be extremely grateful. If not, we will gratefully accept your prayers, positive energy, or healing vibes. Every single donation, regardless of amount, shows us how many people care about our darling Levi. Thank you!
What follows are all the medical details, for those who are interested.
Levi had the follow up MRI today on his spine, and because of his Grand Mal seizure, he also received an MRI of his brain. The good news is that the ventral slot surgery on C6 and C7 was a success. The herniated discs were removed. His spinal cavity is no longer compressed! This indicates he should be able to learn to walk again, when he regains his strength!
The second concern was the Grand Mal seizure last night. Based on the brain MRI, the cause is not clear, because the presentation is mixed. Contrast was used, to look for inflammation. In the front of the brain, the changes were bilaterally symmetrical, indicating that the seizure may have been due to inflammation, explaining the post ictal MRI changes.
In the back of the brain, the contrast was concentrated on the right side, indicating that the seizure could have been precipitated by an auto immune disorder, or an infection.
To simplify, the MRI was not definitive as to the reason for the seizure, but the spinal MRI ruled out a hematoma (blood pooling underneath the skin).
Ok, so now we have 3 potential causes for Levi's slow recovery, and seizure. To get a definitive diagnosis, a spinal tap would usually be ordered, but because of Von Willebrand Disease ( problem with blood not clotting), a spinal tap is too risky. Also, because Levi is already on steroids to reduce inflammation, the spinal tap might not be accurate.
I realize this may be more detail than you want, and I promise updates will not be so technical!
So, where are we now? If Levi's seizure was post ictal ( post surgical, which is not uncommon), it should self resolve in about a week. If the cause is infection, he is being treated with Clindamycin, which can penetrate brain tissue. He will be on antibiotics for a month, and should continue to improve.
If the cause was an auto immune disorder, he should show signs of worsening, as the steroids are tapered off. In this case, he will need immunosuppressive therapy for the rest of his life. We are hoping for one of the other 2 causes.
He has only had the single Grand Mal seizure. We are hoping there will not be any more seizures.
You may be wondering, why are you telling us all this? Because regardless of what happens, I want to get this information out there. This is not a routine operation, especially on a dog with Von Willebrand disease. If this information can help any other pet owner, maybe we can help by sharing Levi's experience.
Organizer
Michelle Reichmann
Organizer
Midland, MI