Help Leon get surgery
Hey horse community! My name is Leon, or “The King,” as my mom sometimes refers to me; before I speak of my story I want to tell each and every one thank you for taking the time to learn more about my life. My vet says I’m around 13 years old, we don’t know my exact age as I was rescued from a KILL PEN in January 2020 by my wonder-owner Alyssa. My journey has not exactly been an easy one. Somehow, I ended up in the horrible kill pen, it was scary, dark, and I was hungry. Alyssa saw my post of me needing to be rescued and did all she could to make sure she was able to get me out of my horrible situation. Thank you to Alyssa’s friends and family for helping her make it possible for her to pick me up and bring me home. I know I was not easy to handle and I didn't want to cooperate with her or anyone as I was scared of being put into another horrible life, but I was wrong. The first few weeks that Alyssa and I were together were the hardest weeks of my life, as I was learning that people can be trusted and could love me for the horse I could become. I was very sick from the kill pen and coliced a few times in a short period (of course it was always after hours). Many late night sleepovers at the barn helped me feel better. And once I was better, Alyssa started teaching me about this “riding” thing. So far my life has been going great! I know all of these new things and have so many nice people around. Unfortunately, when I was rescued from the kill pen and brought home, Alyssa noticed I had a larger mass on the right side of my neck. She kept a very close eye on this mass until I had my full exam by her normal vet. The vet looked me over and suggested they do an ultrasound exam on my mass, in which they found there were several areas of the mass that are superficially covered with hyperechoic tissue followed by shadowing (either calcified scar tissue or bone). There were also a few well-circumscribed areas of hypoechoic tissue that resemble pockets of fluid. The mass is positioned over one or two vertebrae. The vet assessment suspected there was a traumatic injury that possibly fractured a vertebra. Alyssa was advised to keep an eye on the mass to see if there are any changes, and if she were to see any changes then we would reassess the mass. This is where I need help from everyone, Alyssa has taken wonderful care of me and I’m one lucky horse to have found an owner like her. The mass has taken a turn for the worse as it has started to grow and has started to create smaller masses on top of the original mass. Alyssa did exactly what the vet had advised and just last week she took me all the way to Greensboro NC to a specialist that would be able to look at my mass and give more details about a course of action. The outcome of that exam was not what anyone wanted to hear as we have been referred to NC State for them to process a CT scan of my mass and speak together about removing the mass from my neck. I’m super scared of the outcome of my CT scan and going into surgery to have my mass removed. We are hoping the new smaller masses are not cancerous but we will not know that until the CT scan is completed.
Here is a message from my vet: Leon has a calcified mass on the right side of the neck that has progressively been getting larger over the past year. Radiographs, an ultrasound and biopsy were performed. The biopsy is consistent with chronic inflammation, but it could not rule out neoplasia. It also could not determine the inciting cause. Since the mass is getting larger and moving towards his head it is recommended that the mass be removed, if possible. The surgery and radiology teams have recommended a CT scan of the neck to determine exactly where the borders of the mass are for surgical planning.
If you are able to donate anything toward my vet expenses that would be amazing and I truly appreciate it from the bottom of my heart. If you are not able to donate anything a simple prayer would be just as appreciated, for only God knows what we are dealing with. Thank you again for anyone that has stuck it out to learn more about my story. The horse community has helped me get out of a horrible situation once before, and any help would be greatly appreciated. Please help me be able to keep my mom smiling every day, it is my favorite hobby- besides eating of course! Thank you!
P.S. Watch this video one of my friends made of Alyssa and I!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Yew9s2PPg_0hfPB2uRhZwlvA7vxo9iuo/view?usp=sharing