Gimbo's Fur Baby Needs a Surgery

After a week of research, phone calls, doctors appointments, and attempts to acquire sufficient insurance and credit lines, it brings me no pleasure to be writing this.

Our fur baby, who we've lovingly raised since 4 months, Liliana of the Tail (aka Ole' Soft Chin aka Goodest Girl aka Weasel aka Puppo) is in need to a degree that we cannot meet without help.

TLDR: This is a life or death procedure as without it she will have no quality of life and the longer we wait, the more likely it is she will have forever skeletal damage or rupture her other tendon. We love her too much to let her live a life of pain and limited/ little to no activity at her young, 4 years of age. At the bottom of this debrief is a cost breakdown for this emergency and the costs that will be and have already been incurred.

On Tuesday, April 4th, Timbo and I returned home from hobbling his broken down truck to a safe location. My mom and sister were home with Alora and the dogs outside and due to their excitement on our return, Lili's leg got caught in Zoe's (our rescue pup) lead. When that happened, her leg was pulled out from underneath her backwards and she fell down onto her side of the caught leg. Normally, Lili would have been aware enough to hop out or Zoe would've been moving slower but this time, we weren't so lucky. She immediately yelped and took all weight off her left leg, whimpering and gingerly making her way to our porch stairs.

We hoped that with rest, anti inflammatory medication, and some cold therapy she would show signs of improvement by the following morning as that has been the case with prior sprains.

The following morning she was still hardly toe touching and vocalizing pain. I called our vet and they had us bring her in right away. Upon examination while sedated, the vet confirmed our fear that there is not a break but instead a tendon injury. The x-ray results the following morning confirmed the lack of break and put us down this path for specialist surgery to repair her caudal cruciate tendon.

If you've ever looked into Pet insurance, you've seen the type of injury she's sustained listed in the 6-12 month wait period clause, because it is a totally life changing injury and one of the most expensive to repair and maintain.

We have a consultation set up for the 21st of April with a board certified surgeon who's cost for this surgery ranges from $4,600-$5,200 depending on how the surgery goes and condition of tendons being repaired. They do not offer payment plans. Fortunately, Gina was able to get a small line of credit through CareCredit, ($2,900) but it covers only a fraction of the costs with a 29% APR.

In the meantime, we are keeping Lili as comfortable as possible via a variety of anti-inflammatory medications, narcotic pain medications, and anti anxiety medication. Timbo is sleeping on the living room floor with Lili to ensure she doesnt get up on the couch, or walk into the bedroom, and so she feels supported in her hour of need.

She is completely unable to walk on her damaged leg which means she requires help getting in and out of the house to potty. Timbo is able to pick her up to get her up and down the stairs, but there has already been one scary fall while doing so late night.

If Tim hurts himself getting Lili in and out to go potty the impacts on our family will be devastating and insurmountable as his is the only income we have at the moment. Given our location, there are limited opportunities for work for Gina which would come nowhere near meeting our financial needs. To top it all off, we are minimum 45 minutes away from family that may be able to help us provide childcare in the case of Tim injuring himself and Gina needing to find a subpar job in our area, though that would require a complete shift in feeding for our 3 month old.

We have set our goal modestly to try and get the surgery costs covered as soon as possible but will need more than this goal to provide a quality of life for Lili and Zoe moving forward.

At minimum, Lili will need pain management medication prior to her surgery, the surgery, post operative pain management medication, and physical therapy following her surgery.

Below this is a breakdown of the costs already incurred, the known incoming costs, estimates for unknown future costs, and quality of life tool costs that will come in the near future.

Accrued costs:

$450 vet bill($250 of which yet to be paid): examination, sedation, exploratory x-ray, pain medication

$50 vet bill: Anti diarrhea and antibiotic treatment for Lili 2 days into medicating

Future known costs:

$?? : 2 weeks of comfort medications for Lili until the specialist consult

$175: cost of specialist consultation

$4,200-$5,600: cost of surgery ( includes post op appointment and xray )

$960 for 3 months: 2 days/week daycare for Zoe to ensure she maintains a quality of life while we are unable to take walks and adventures.

$650 : hydrotherapy and physical rehabilitation 8 session bundle

Future unknown costs:

$ : post operative comfort medication

Quality of life tools cost:

(if you or someone you know has one of these items we would be elated to be gifted these items or buy them second hand)

$175: telscopic ramp ( functional for indoor, car, and porch use)

PetSafe Happy Ride Extra Long Telescoping Dog Ramp for Cars, Trucks, SUVs & Minivans - Extends 47 to 87 Inches - Portable Pet Ramp for Large Dogs - Aluminum Frame Weighs 18 lb, Supports up to 300 lb https://a.co/d/0FEY981

$175 : Dog stroller/wagon

REDCAMP Folding Dog Wagon Cart with Extendable Rear End Heavy Duty, 134L Large Collapsible Utility Pet Wagon Garden Cart with Wheels for Camping Sports Shopping https://a.co/d/irqBXsV

$9: Reusable hot cold compress

ThermiPaq Reusable Hot Cold Pack Ice Pack For Injuries - Shoulder, Elbow, Ankles, Back and Knee Ice Pack, Medium, 12 inches x 6 inches, Shoulder Ice Pack, Reusable Heat Pack https://a.co/d/2VUYmRO

$27: Hip sling

LOOBANI Portable Dog Sling for Back Legs, Hip Support Harness to Help Lift Rear for Canine Aid Old K9 Cruciate Ligament Rehabilitation https://a.co/d/7uGJ3jX

Supplements -

$50: glucosamine

Nutramax Dasuquin Joint Health Supplement for Large Dogs - With Glucosamine, Chondroitin, ASU, Boswellia Serrata Extract, and Green Tea Extract, 84 Soft Chews https://a.co/d/6NvFZvY

$34: fish oil

PetHonesty Omega 3 Fish Oil for Dogs - Salmon Oil for Dogs - Natural EPA + DHA Fatty Acids, May Reduce Shedding & Itching- Supports Immunity, Hip Joint, Brain & Heart Health - (32oz Liquid) https://a.co/d/dYUC5JU

$23- musculoskeletal support

Standard Process - Canine Musculoskeletal Support - Bone, Joint, Muscle, Tendon, and Ligament Support for Dogs - 20 Grams https://a.co/d/29w3iWP