Support Athena's Emergency Surgery

Hello,

My name is Chelsea and I’m creating this GoFundMe for my dog, Athena, who needs emergency surgery.

Here is her story.

Athena is a 2 1/2 year old bully. She is the sweetest baby you will ever meet with a perfectly fitting name for the princess that she is. With every person she meets, regardless of who they are, she is always complimented about how sweet and gentle she is.

Recently, Athena was diagnosed with Hydronephrosis (excess fluid in the kidney). In the last 3 months, Athena has undergone 2 major abdominal surgeries as well as multiple rounds of different pain medications and antibiotics to combat her pain and the infection, but to no avail, nothing has worked. During her second surgery that was planned to be a Nephrectomy (kidney removal), her doctors decided that for the sake of her life they weren’t able to remove it and opted to drain it instead. A gallon of fluid was removed from her body (think of a gallon of milk). Within 17 days, her kidney filled back up but this time with vengeance. It came back and filled up more than the first time causing the infection to get worse. On 05/18/2024, Athena was rushed to University of Pennsylvania Veterinary ER where they have a Nephrologist (kidney specialist). It was confirmed her infection has gotten worse and that she will need her right kidney removed. The doctors are unsure of why this is happening to her and in order to understand better she needs a CT scan with and without contrast for advanced imaging to make sure there are no major arteries going through the kidney and to determine where it has attached itself to due to the overgrowth of tissue from the fluid build up. They believe she may have been born with a defective kidney and that she is 1 in a million for this to happen.

For those of you who have animals or have had animals and have ever needed to take them to the ER, you know how scary and also expensive it can be. Unfortunately, in this case, Athena will need a third very complex and serious surgery once she receives the CT.

Her right kidney no longer has any normal renal function left and is essentially dead tissue filled with infected urine.

If you know me, you know that I am very connected to my animals and that I am not one to ever come and ask anything of anyone. Athena is just a baby though and I feel this is my only option and last resort to help her. She’s my emotional support dog and essentially my whole world. I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t try every last thing I could to get her the help and care she needs to improve her quality of life. She’s so young and deserves to have many more years to live after everything she has been through in such a short amount of time. She needs me just as much as I need her and I refuse to stop fighting for her.

If you took the time to read this, I couldn’t be more appreciative of you and if you are unable to donate then all I ask is to please share this with friends or family who may be able to help and/or willing to share this with others. It doesn’t matter the amount because every single penny or dollar counts and is greatly appreciated more than you know.

Thank you so much for even taking the time to read this and if you choose to share or donate.

If anyone is interested in knowing more details about her story than what I’ve written above and wants to reach out to me, I’m willing to explain further.

Again, thank you so much from the bottom of my heart ❤️