Rafiki's Gift of Life
Donation protected
My best friend in the entire world needs everyone's help!
I 'm sure Rafiki is a familiar face to a lot of people; whether its from flying together and showing pictures of our furry (and non-furry!) babies, from meeting in multiple vets/vet specialists, from Instagram, if we are friends on Facebook, or just from being in one another's life - I am sure Rafiki has likely been a furry little face who has made you smile at least once - (okay, maybe more then once) :) !! But he needs our help..
Rafiki has a extensive medical history; he was diagnosed with Hydrocephalus at only 4 months old, and spent a week in the Intensive Care Unit at the VCA Emergency Animal Hospital in Calgary under the care of many Doctors and one amazing Neurologist. He defied the odds, and walked away from something that is usually fatal for an animal. Every time he walks into the Care Center (which is once every 2 months for a Neurology follow-up to watch for a relapse with his hydrocephalus) he brings a smile to everyone's face and is often referred to as a miracle.
A few weeks ago, Rafiki's health took a turn from the worse - despite being stable neurologically. It started with a weird cough; almost like a acid reflex issue. The cough would come and go, but it got really bad just before the beginning of February. We were in the vet 3 times to have this looked at; he had multiple x-rays, ultrasounds, panels of blood work and was placed on various medications to help control this. After the 3rd visit, it seemed that we got this under control. The cough had lessened by about 85%, and he seemed much more comfortable. Still, the Vet recommended that he take a referral to Internal Medicine (once again, at the VCA Emergency & Referral Hospital), as what we were doing was only making him "comfortable" and masking whatever was causing this, not fixing the problem. Then he took a turn for the worse.
The third week of February he began having respiratory difficulties. His breathing was extremely laboured, and it was hard for him to even catch a breath. I took him back to his family vet to be examined. The vet did agree he was having issues, but did not think (at that point) it was critical. She recommended we go back the next day to see the vet that has been treating him for his coughing (suspected Gastrointestinal issues). We went back the next day, and the vet agreed there were some serious concerns. She retook his x-rays to see if there was any signs of infection - which there was not. She sent us home with a antibiotic and a anti-histamine. She said to start out with the anti-histamine and if it did not improve in a day to start the antibiotic, as he is a high risk case with this neurological issues. Once I got home, things went from bad to worse. I called back and informed the vet, and they said start the antibiotic immediately.
The next day he seemed better; I thought that perhaps there was a infection and the antibiotic was doing it's job.
The following morning just after his regular medication he takes for his hydrocephalus, he went into severe respiratory distress. His gums were blue, and I had never seen it so bad. That's when I made the decision to take him into the Emergency VCA Care Hospital.
They rushed him in, and upon examination by the Emergency vet, they confirmed his oxygen levels were much lower then what was normal, and put him in a enclosed oxygen concentrated kennel and gave him a calming drug to help get his heart rate down. He stayed there for the next 30 hours, under their care, trying to get his oxygen levels to a stable level.
The next day he had a consult with the Surgeon Specialist. She believed that it was a upper respiratory issue. She said that he was doing a lot better having been in the oxygen kennel, and he *could* go home, but it would only be a matter of time before he has a relapse, which could potentially be fatal. If left untreated, a lot of times animals either die of suffocation, vomit and it goes into their lungs where they either drown or die from infection and additionally the additional stress it puts on the body's other organs - it could cause organ failure. So the option was to send him home and wait for it to happen again, or to do an emergency airway surgery. With his hydrocephalus, going under is extremely high risk (for any neurology patient). But for me, the risk of sending him home and essentially forcing him to suffer and wait for the inevitable to happen was just not worth it. I owed it to him to give him a fair shot at life, and not make him suffer unnecessarily. As hard as it was to send him in for that surgery knowing the possibility of him not waking up was real, it was the selfless thing to do.
It was another miracle - he awoke from the surgery. The surgeon said that as suspected, he had a elongated soft palate - which she reduced to help him breathe better. He also had a mass on the back right hand side of his throat, which was likely making it hard for him to breathe as it took a lot of his airway up. She removed that. She noted it could be cancerous, but it was more then likely scar tissue. She sent it off to pathology, and luckily, it was not cancerous! She also noted his larynx was partially collapsed (there is no cure for this), which was adding to the difficulty breathing. She did note that with the removal of the mass and the reduction of his soft palate, this would make breathing a lot easier for him.
Rafiki came home the day after his surgery and has been doing well since. At first his breathing was quite loud and laboured, but since then it has improved dramatically! I can tell he is starting to feel like his old self. She does want to see him for a follow-up visit in a couple weeks to examine the surgical site and his breathing, and he is also still booked into see Internal Medicine as we still need to get to the route cause of his GI issues (The coughing/choking).
I am hoping to raise enough money to cover what I have had to rack up on my credit card (to date), and to cover his Internal Medicine consultation and associated tests that are not covered by insurance. I know it may seem like a lot to ask for, but Rafiki is everything to me and I know anyone who knows me knows how passionately I feel about animals and being able to give them the best opportunity at life. What many don't know about me, is I was accepted into the MBA program to start this year. I was supposed to start in January, but I made the ever difficult decision to defer and start in August - to allow me to pay some debt off, and be in a better position financially. I couldn't have imagined being in a worse position financially - but here I am! But the thing is, I wouldn't NOT do it for Rafiki. He is my everything. If it mean't me going to the foodbank, or going without (which I have in some areas) I would suck my pride up and do it - because that is what a responsible pet owner does. I chose him, and I owe this to him to at least try.
I am truly hoping that you will find it in your hearts to give whatever you can - even if its $1.... every dollar counts! And if you can't, please all that I ask is you share Rafiki's story. I will be ETERNALLY GRATEFUL for anything you can donate, and every SHARE this gets!! This has not been a easy decision to ask for help as I have always relied on myself my entire life - moving out at 16 was no easy feat, and I feel like I have been through worse in my life. I am hoping this is just a small bump in the road, and the light is at the end of the tunnel!
Anything extra raised (which hopefully I can meet my goal) will go to AARCS - Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society as I believe EVERY animal deserves a fair shot at life, and these folks do so much to help the animals out! Please donate and share!
Thank you so much for reading Rafiki's story, and for everyone's love, care and support!
Lots of love,
Kaleigh & Rafiki
I 'm sure Rafiki is a familiar face to a lot of people; whether its from flying together and showing pictures of our furry (and non-furry!) babies, from meeting in multiple vets/vet specialists, from Instagram, if we are friends on Facebook, or just from being in one another's life - I am sure Rafiki has likely been a furry little face who has made you smile at least once - (okay, maybe more then once) :) !! But he needs our help..
Rafiki has a extensive medical history; he was diagnosed with Hydrocephalus at only 4 months old, and spent a week in the Intensive Care Unit at the VCA Emergency Animal Hospital in Calgary under the care of many Doctors and one amazing Neurologist. He defied the odds, and walked away from something that is usually fatal for an animal. Every time he walks into the Care Center (which is once every 2 months for a Neurology follow-up to watch for a relapse with his hydrocephalus) he brings a smile to everyone's face and is often referred to as a miracle.
A few weeks ago, Rafiki's health took a turn from the worse - despite being stable neurologically. It started with a weird cough; almost like a acid reflex issue. The cough would come and go, but it got really bad just before the beginning of February. We were in the vet 3 times to have this looked at; he had multiple x-rays, ultrasounds, panels of blood work and was placed on various medications to help control this. After the 3rd visit, it seemed that we got this under control. The cough had lessened by about 85%, and he seemed much more comfortable. Still, the Vet recommended that he take a referral to Internal Medicine (once again, at the VCA Emergency & Referral Hospital), as what we were doing was only making him "comfortable" and masking whatever was causing this, not fixing the problem. Then he took a turn for the worse.
The third week of February he began having respiratory difficulties. His breathing was extremely laboured, and it was hard for him to even catch a breath. I took him back to his family vet to be examined. The vet did agree he was having issues, but did not think (at that point) it was critical. She recommended we go back the next day to see the vet that has been treating him for his coughing (suspected Gastrointestinal issues). We went back the next day, and the vet agreed there were some serious concerns. She retook his x-rays to see if there was any signs of infection - which there was not. She sent us home with a antibiotic and a anti-histamine. She said to start out with the anti-histamine and if it did not improve in a day to start the antibiotic, as he is a high risk case with this neurological issues. Once I got home, things went from bad to worse. I called back and informed the vet, and they said start the antibiotic immediately.
The next day he seemed better; I thought that perhaps there was a infection and the antibiotic was doing it's job.
The following morning just after his regular medication he takes for his hydrocephalus, he went into severe respiratory distress. His gums were blue, and I had never seen it so bad. That's when I made the decision to take him into the Emergency VCA Care Hospital.
They rushed him in, and upon examination by the Emergency vet, they confirmed his oxygen levels were much lower then what was normal, and put him in a enclosed oxygen concentrated kennel and gave him a calming drug to help get his heart rate down. He stayed there for the next 30 hours, under their care, trying to get his oxygen levels to a stable level.
The next day he had a consult with the Surgeon Specialist. She believed that it was a upper respiratory issue. She said that he was doing a lot better having been in the oxygen kennel, and he *could* go home, but it would only be a matter of time before he has a relapse, which could potentially be fatal. If left untreated, a lot of times animals either die of suffocation, vomit and it goes into their lungs where they either drown or die from infection and additionally the additional stress it puts on the body's other organs - it could cause organ failure. So the option was to send him home and wait for it to happen again, or to do an emergency airway surgery. With his hydrocephalus, going under is extremely high risk (for any neurology patient). But for me, the risk of sending him home and essentially forcing him to suffer and wait for the inevitable to happen was just not worth it. I owed it to him to give him a fair shot at life, and not make him suffer unnecessarily. As hard as it was to send him in for that surgery knowing the possibility of him not waking up was real, it was the selfless thing to do.
It was another miracle - he awoke from the surgery. The surgeon said that as suspected, he had a elongated soft palate - which she reduced to help him breathe better. He also had a mass on the back right hand side of his throat, which was likely making it hard for him to breathe as it took a lot of his airway up. She removed that. She noted it could be cancerous, but it was more then likely scar tissue. She sent it off to pathology, and luckily, it was not cancerous! She also noted his larynx was partially collapsed (there is no cure for this), which was adding to the difficulty breathing. She did note that with the removal of the mass and the reduction of his soft palate, this would make breathing a lot easier for him.
Rafiki came home the day after his surgery and has been doing well since. At first his breathing was quite loud and laboured, but since then it has improved dramatically! I can tell he is starting to feel like his old self. She does want to see him for a follow-up visit in a couple weeks to examine the surgical site and his breathing, and he is also still booked into see Internal Medicine as we still need to get to the route cause of his GI issues (The coughing/choking).
I am hoping to raise enough money to cover what I have had to rack up on my credit card (to date), and to cover his Internal Medicine consultation and associated tests that are not covered by insurance. I know it may seem like a lot to ask for, but Rafiki is everything to me and I know anyone who knows me knows how passionately I feel about animals and being able to give them the best opportunity at life. What many don't know about me, is I was accepted into the MBA program to start this year. I was supposed to start in January, but I made the ever difficult decision to defer and start in August - to allow me to pay some debt off, and be in a better position financially. I couldn't have imagined being in a worse position financially - but here I am! But the thing is, I wouldn't NOT do it for Rafiki. He is my everything. If it mean't me going to the foodbank, or going without (which I have in some areas) I would suck my pride up and do it - because that is what a responsible pet owner does. I chose him, and I owe this to him to at least try.
I am truly hoping that you will find it in your hearts to give whatever you can - even if its $1.... every dollar counts! And if you can't, please all that I ask is you share Rafiki's story. I will be ETERNALLY GRATEFUL for anything you can donate, and every SHARE this gets!! This has not been a easy decision to ask for help as I have always relied on myself my entire life - moving out at 16 was no easy feat, and I feel like I have been through worse in my life. I am hoping this is just a small bump in the road, and the light is at the end of the tunnel!
Anything extra raised (which hopefully I can meet my goal) will go to AARCS - Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society as I believe EVERY animal deserves a fair shot at life, and these folks do so much to help the animals out! Please donate and share!
Thank you so much for reading Rafiki's story, and for everyone's love, care and support!
Lots of love,
Kaleigh & Rafiki
Co-organizers (3)
Kaleigh Field
Organizer
Airdrie, AB
Cam Hill
Co-organizer
Vanessa Verkley
Co-organizer