Support a Miracle Called Skye

The last three days feel like a nightmare that I cannot wake out from.

Tuesday afternoon, out of nowhere, Skye went into a sudden and prolonged seizure. I rushed her to her vet at Glenoak Dogs and Cats, who sedated her and proceeded to transport her to the ER. I’m forever grateful for my vet’s quick action. They called the ER in advance. A vet tech drove the car while Dr. Ashley Rossman cared for Skye on her lap. I followed in my own vehicle. We ran several red lights on our way to the Veterinary Special Center in Bannockburn.

Skye was immediately taken into the ER, and the doctors tried to figure out what happened so they could effectively treat her. My first reaction was that her fall from the dogwalk at NAC caused it. The doctors looked at the video and said no: no brain trauma (brain imagining later confirmed this).

With her age and the severity of the seizure, the doctor suspected exposure to toxins or poisons. But all tests came back normal (although, I was later told that with dogs, toxin tests could never be as thorough as for humans because of the sheer number of toxins out there).

At some point, Skye stopped breathing on her own, so she was intubated and put into a medically induced coma. The doctors ran a barrage of tests: ultrasound to look at internal organs, metabolic tests, tests for Addison’s disease, liver check, kidney check, and more things that I couldn't remember or comprehend. Everything came back normal.

At this point, the doctors suspected a brain tumor. The MRI machine at the hospital was down, so the doctors did a CT scan of the brain. Once again, it came back normal. No tumor. By now, it is Wednesday morning.

My husband and I sat down with the ER doctor, who told us that the now suspected diagnosis is meningoencephalitis, or inflammation of the brain. He said that an MRI would confirm it, but given the severity of the case, it may not be all that worthwhile. We said do it because we wanted answers. Fortunately, the MRI machine was now back running. A few hours later, the MRI came back: normal as well.

At this point, the doctor suggested, in a very kind way, that letting her go would be a loving choice when Skye was not conscious or suffering.

I could not stop crying. We went in and visited Skye, and I just about collapsed seeing how many things were attached to her. The decision was made to let her go. We went so far as to sit down with the euthanasia staff, but at the last minute, we were just too selfish to go on with it. The fact that every single test came back normal just gnawed at us. And we asked to speak to the ER doctor again and ask what else we could do.

The only other thing, he said, was to wake Skye out of her coma and see if she can start breathing on her own. “It would be a miracle,” he said, “that that would happen. It's the kind of case that we could write down for medical journals.” My husband (I am so, so lucky to have him in my life) said, “well, miracles do happen, right.” We looked at each other and said, let’s do it, let’s give our girl a chance. We left the ER being told that if we did not get a call overnight, that would be good news.

Another sleepless night passed but no phone call. In the morning, we were told that Skye woke up and was breathing on her own! Her breathing was weak, but she was breathing. During the night, an EEG was also put on her to monitor her brain activity. And the EEG continued to be normal. Every single doctor and neurologist that was involved in Skye's care kept saying that they had never seen anything like this in their decades of practice.

I cried more. At this point, I’m surprised I still had tears left. I thought we were out of the woods, but unfortunately, chest X-ray showed that Skye developed aspiration pneumonia as a result of all the procedures thrown at her. She is now being treated with antibiotics and supplemental oxygen. But the ER doctor is more positive than ever. He said Skye is a fighter and an athlete and that I had cared for her so well that she’s strong and has every chance to make it. The next goal is to have her lung cleared, to gradually reduce the supplemental oxygen, and for her to start moving and eating on her own.

When I took home a puppy last year, I got her on pet insurance right away. 7 years ago when I got Skye, I didn’t know better. As time went on, I found that insurance coverage for an adult poodle in my area was very unfavorable and I dreaded them quoting preexisting condition on any claim. So, I decided to set money aside for Skye. But, even in my wildest dreams, I did not imagine that something like this could happen. So far, we have paid over $30,000 for ER visits, tests, scans, medicines, and around the clock nursing care. I don’t know how much more we will need to pay. But as long as Skye is fighting, we will continue to fight. If you are able to help her fight, we will deeply appreciate your help.