- M
I'm sure you've heard the saying, "When it rains, it pours..." That couldn't be more true for Denali, Riva and Mikayla.
Denali and Riva have had five months of very bad luck. Any help to keep these girls happy and healthy is a gracious gift that means more than words can say!
Let me explain...
In July, Mikayla and Denali moved from Los Angeles to Columbia, Missouri. They were both very excited to find a place to live where Riva, Mikayla's Oldenburg mare could join them. Riva was born 16 years ago on the family ranch in Colorado and has never known any other home. When she got to Missouri, two things became very apparent. Riva LOVES to jump... but Riva was having some difficulty breathing. A trip to the vet revealed multiple large melanomas compressing her larynx and it became evident that it wasn't a matter of IF she would be unable to breathe, but WHEN. She was started on medical management to see if she would improve.
Skip ahead a couple of months to when Denali, Mikayla's Labrador retriever who was only 6 years old, was diagnosed with Apocrine Gland Anal Sac Adenocarcinoma (AGASACA). The same week as her diagnosis, she had surgery to remove the mass and a few abdominal lymph nodes. She recovered well, and the next step would have been radiation therapy ($5000-6000), but that was unfortunately outside of the budget so the choice of monitoring for recurrence or spread was elected.
Mikayla was slowly working on paying off her bill from Denali's surgery and in the meantime Riva was having worsening of her respiratory issues. She could barely jump a small course of fences without needing a break to catch her breath, but it was clear she still WANTED to jump. A group of dedicated equine veterinarians, oncologists and scientists got together and offered to attempt to make an autogenous vaccine if biopsies of the tumors could be obtained. When Mikayla found out she would be moving to Ithaca, New York to start her residency training, it became much more pressing that Riva receive any attempted treatment before the big move.
This March, Riva had a large surgery (much larger than intended) with an extended hospital stay that has hopefully reduced much of the compression of her airway. She is home now recovering and has a long way to go. She will likely need a second surgery to revise this one if her salivary gland continues to drain, but as of right now, everyone is optimistic that she will return to jumping again in a few months!
During this time, Mikayla's father was diagnosed with cancer adding additional financial and emotional stress to the situation.
If that wasn't enough, Denali was scheduled for a dental to investigate the cause of some very bad breath and three separate areas of concern were biopsied, leading to a bill more than double what was originally intended. After coming home from her dental procedure, Denali was nauseous and drooling for about 48 hours and was left alone while Mikayla was treating Riva's incisions and changing bandages. When Mikayla got home from the barn, she found that Denali had EATEN a t-shirt so she was brought back to the vet...
Despite trying multiple times, Denali would not vomit when given a medication to induce emesis and had x-rays confirming a large volume of material in her stomach. Denali was anesthetized and a t-shirt, pair of underwear and parts of a dog toy were removed from her stomach. Ugh.
Here’s what Mikayla has to say:
I had hoped I would NEVER have to ask anyone for outside help, but here I am now. I need help. Denali and Riva are my rocks that ground me and they are my sanity. I would do anything to help keep them happy and healthy and the past few months have demanded more from me than I can afford. So, I am asking for help to cover just a potion of the expenses for my girl's veterinary care. With the move to New York looming in the future and a maxed out credit card, I am turning to friends and family to help my dreams become a reality. In a few years, I will be a boarded surgeon and be able to give back to those that find themselves in this exact position.
Words cannot express what a donation will mean to me, the girls, and my family. I will be forever grateful.
Denali and Riva have had five months of very bad luck. Any help to keep these girls happy and healthy is a gracious gift that means more than words can say!
Let me explain...
In July, Mikayla and Denali moved from Los Angeles to Columbia, Missouri. They were both very excited to find a place to live where Riva, Mikayla's Oldenburg mare could join them. Riva was born 16 years ago on the family ranch in Colorado and has never known any other home. When she got to Missouri, two things became very apparent. Riva LOVES to jump... but Riva was having some difficulty breathing. A trip to the vet revealed multiple large melanomas compressing her larynx and it became evident that it wasn't a matter of IF she would be unable to breathe, but WHEN. She was started on medical management to see if she would improve.
Skip ahead a couple of months to when Denali, Mikayla's Labrador retriever who was only 6 years old, was diagnosed with Apocrine Gland Anal Sac Adenocarcinoma (AGASACA). The same week as her diagnosis, she had surgery to remove the mass and a few abdominal lymph nodes. She recovered well, and the next step would have been radiation therapy ($5000-6000), but that was unfortunately outside of the budget so the choice of monitoring for recurrence or spread was elected.
Mikayla was slowly working on paying off her bill from Denali's surgery and in the meantime Riva was having worsening of her respiratory issues. She could barely jump a small course of fences without needing a break to catch her breath, but it was clear she still WANTED to jump. A group of dedicated equine veterinarians, oncologists and scientists got together and offered to attempt to make an autogenous vaccine if biopsies of the tumors could be obtained. When Mikayla found out she would be moving to Ithaca, New York to start her residency training, it became much more pressing that Riva receive any attempted treatment before the big move.
This March, Riva had a large surgery (much larger than intended) with an extended hospital stay that has hopefully reduced much of the compression of her airway. She is home now recovering and has a long way to go. She will likely need a second surgery to revise this one if her salivary gland continues to drain, but as of right now, everyone is optimistic that she will return to jumping again in a few months!
During this time, Mikayla's father was diagnosed with cancer adding additional financial and emotional stress to the situation.
If that wasn't enough, Denali was scheduled for a dental to investigate the cause of some very bad breath and three separate areas of concern were biopsied, leading to a bill more than double what was originally intended. After coming home from her dental procedure, Denali was nauseous and drooling for about 48 hours and was left alone while Mikayla was treating Riva's incisions and changing bandages. When Mikayla got home from the barn, she found that Denali had EATEN a t-shirt so she was brought back to the vet...
Despite trying multiple times, Denali would not vomit when given a medication to induce emesis and had x-rays confirming a large volume of material in her stomach. Denali was anesthetized and a t-shirt, pair of underwear and parts of a dog toy were removed from her stomach. Ugh.
Here’s what Mikayla has to say:
I had hoped I would NEVER have to ask anyone for outside help, but here I am now. I need help. Denali and Riva are my rocks that ground me and they are my sanity. I would do anything to help keep them happy and healthy and the past few months have demanded more from me than I can afford. So, I am asking for help to cover just a potion of the expenses for my girl's veterinary care. With the move to New York looming in the future and a maxed out credit card, I am turning to friends and family to help my dreams become a reality. In a few years, I will be a boarded surgeon and be able to give back to those that find themselves in this exact position.
Words cannot express what a donation will mean to me, the girls, and my family. I will be forever grateful.