Update as of 3/8 below!

Update 3/8: I've paused fundraising for Oliver since his surgery isn't happening right now, and when surgery does happen, it will be a lot less! I've also decreased the goal since it will no longer be an incredibly expensive surgery. I'm so incredibly grateful for everyone's support with this difficult time. I have added price ranges to what it costs in the mean time for medication management and check ups in the update below so that everyone is aware that all of your financial support is going towards maintenance for Oliver! The total cost thus far for his treatment has been about $2,550 at the beginning of this journey. The rest of the money is in his dog fund for the eye removal surgery in his left eye and maintenance on his right eye before going blind due to the genetic disorder he has. Thank you everyone who donated through my family's links and shares, I am incredibly grateful for all of your support!

Update 3/5: Long story short, surgery is no longer happening today. The doctor was thinking about removing the eye and then decided against it since he’s not in pain and can somewhat see out of his left eye. The original procedure she was going to do (before removing the eye) has a lot of risk and with his genetic disease he’ll go blind and need removal in the future anyways so she thinks waiting for it to become painful and doing medication management for now is the best option. She said removal could be a week from now up to a year from now so there’s a lot of uncertainty regarding when the pain will start. I’m so grateful for everyone’s support. An expensive surgery will still be happening in the near future, just not today. We are going to try medication management for now with a check up 1x each 1-3 weeks for pressure checks (~$75) and light exams (~$200 per check in) and full exams about 1x per every/every other month ($450-$500). When it becomes painful we will remove the left eye, with hope that the right eye improves with the medication management and doesn’t need removal as well. Thank you everyone for your support!

3/3 Update: Oliver’s surgery is officially scheduled for Wednesday 3/5. We appreciate everyone for your support! We still got quite a way to go but Oliver couldn’t get this surgery without you all. I’m so grateful for you guys. Thank you for everything!

Original post: Hi everyone! My 7-year-old baby (dog lol), Oliver has had a tough time the past few days and we're hoping for your support through this difficult time.

On Friday night (2/21), Oliver woke up from his nap with what looked like a lazy eye and had a difficult time opening his eye. I took him to the MedVet (ER) to make sure it wasn't anything neurological that was going on. After several tests, they said it seems to look like an ulcer or scratch on his eye, which can be treated with antibiotics. They told us to follow up 3-5 days later with our vet... leading to our next bit of bad news.

At the vet on Tuesday (2/25) for a follow up, they continued with several exams and tests. They spotted some issues with his eye that was emergent, so they referred me to follow up with an ophthalmologist as soon as I can. Based on what I told the ophthalmologist when calling to schedule, they got me in the next day due to the severity.

On Wednesday (2/26), we met with the ophthalmologist and after many different exams, tests, and pressure checks came the unfortunate diagnosis. Oliver has glaucoma in both eyes and is losing vision due to increased pressure, damage to his optic nerve, and lens luxation (lens coming out of place due to fibers holding it in place are breaking/weak) which his breed is genetically predisposed to. They said that he needs surgery within the next week or two to save and prolong his vision as much as possible. My Oliver is ONLY 7 years old and has so much more life to live, so I was set on going through with this surgery. However, from all of the bills from the ER ($1000), follow up vet appointment ($300), medications ($600), ophthalmologist initial exam ($450), and now the surgery on both eyes ($12,000) are total about $15,000. If he doesn't get the surgery, its a high possibility of this genetic issue worsening, further damaging the optic nerve, and requiring both of his eyes needing to be physically removed to prevent fatal outcomes. So this is necessary and I want to give him the best life he can possibly have.

Aftercare of the surgery is also intense and requires daily check ins to check his pressure and inflammation to make sure it doesn't worsen the damage to his optic nerve (which could lead to necessary physical removal of the eyes). Oliver will have a lot of meds (4-5 different eye drops, 4-5x per day) plus pain medications and antibiotics, which is not included or covered in the estimated cost of the procedure. They gave me the estimate of the aftercare being about 10% of the estimate of the surgery, which is about $1500-2000 just for aftercare. Through all this, me and Oliver were just trying to keep up with all the changes, different doctor's offices and appointments, bills, and anxiety of the unknown.

I'm a type 1 diabetic as well as a social worker and sadly do not have enough money in my savings to pay for this necessary surgery, so I'm hoping that my community can help me in any way possible with these bills. My immediate family has been incredibly supportive due to my financial responsibilities for my own medical concerns (T1D). However, this will be a big finance that takes more than a few people put together to afford. Any bit of support goes a long way and I'm so grateful for all of your emotional, physical, and financial support. It truly means a lot to me and Oliver that you guys are taking the time to read our story and support us! I appreciate you all and I'll keep you updated on his recovery!