Yuely's GI stasis, tarsorrhaphy, eunucleation
We created this gofundme to ask for a helping hand from anyone at all to help our 1 year old bunny, Yuely. We have included pictures of some of the bills near the bottom of this story for anyone curious.
September 10, Yuely started to refuse to eat. He had noticeable discomfort from the way he tried to lay down, moving his stomach from side to side as he lowered himself. He even went to his litterbox to try to sleep in it, but he would just get up a few seconds later. He was given hay and he just wouldn't take it, throwing his face in the opposite direction. After attempting to feed him Critical care and seeing it just slide down the side of the mouth, numerous vets under the New Jersey House Rabbit Society were called.
Because rabbits are considered exotic animals that require specific care, bringing them to just any vet would not work. A vet inexperienced with rabbits could issue medications that are normally okay for cats/dogs but toxic to rabbits, or if needed, regular anesthetics are fatal to them. Katrina was told to call an Emergency group that was close in distance after calling a rabbit specific vet. It was 10 PM when he was rushed in and she stood outside waiting all night due to COVID-19. The emergency vets ended up saying he definitely had GI Stasis, his temperature was lower, and they were administering injections to get him hydrated with motility drugs to get his gut moving again. Yuely stayed pretty much the entire night and he was sent home with pain killers and a new bag of Critical Care. The emergency vets were kind but were not hesitant to say that they weren't all that experienced with rabbits and if situations didn't improve, he would have to see another vet in the morning. No guarantee either that he would make it through the night with GI stasis involved.
GI Stasis is a fatal condition where a rabbit stops eating and the digestive tract stops responding and shuts down, resulting in death within 24/48 hours. When the digestive tract shuts down, it causes extreme pain to the rabbit (causing it to refuse to eat even more). Without eating for 30+ hours even when he was sent home, we were convinced Yuely was not going to make it. There was no improvement and it was probably one of the most painful moments in our lives. He sat completely still on the bed, grinding his teeth. That's when we Uber'd to a drugstore to get simethicone gas drops for him which were initially not provided by the emergency vet. The rest of the night involved feeding him Critical Care every 4 hours, issuing pain meds, 1 CC of simethicone every hour, and abdominal massages for 20 minutes every hour. At 9 AM, he finally started to eat after many doses of simethicone had gone through. He was monitored for an additional 12 hours and it seemed like an unusually fast recovery to GI stasis which takes a few days to even a few weeks. We hope that this part of the story helps other rabbit owners treat their rabbits if they show symptoms of GI stasis as it is a very common problem to have since their guts are so delicate.
Fast forward to the end of September, we were watching TV late at night monitoring and feeding Yuely every couple of hours or so as usual when we decided to go to bed for the night but before we did, we looked at Yuely one last time. Our hearts dropped so hard when it was noticed that one of Yuely's eyes was bulging out of its socket, unable to even blink due to inflammation. Everyone was so worried, there was no hesitation to bring Yuely to the only other open Emergency Hospital at 3 AM an hour away. While they were extremely expensive, they were the only hospital open during that time who actually had a specialized team for exotic pets like bunnies.
Yuely stayed in the emergency unit overnight but they gave us two difficult options. The hospital instructed us to either get stitches on his eyelid and give medications every 4 hours in hopes that the eye heals back to normal, or to remove the eye entirely. If we opted for enucleation (eye removal) right away, we were told that it was very high risk because of a delicate area behind his eye. We ended up going for the stitches because the thought of him losing his eye and having a good chance of losing his life hurt way too much.
It's been a full two weeks of giving him his painkillers and eye medication every day, every 4 hours, and we have another 2 weeks to go. During Yuely's last checkup (Oct 9), we were told to keep up with the routine as the healing seemed to be going well. Two weeks from now, we will find out whether Yuely's eye will be adequately functional (able to blink, eye remains in orbit with no pain) or not (and have to be removed).
It has honestly been the hardest time of our lives and we have dropped everything in our lives to make sure we give him the best attention and help he needs since he really is our everything and we love and care for him so much and can't imagine losing him.
Thank you so much for giving the time to read our story about Yuely and please take the time to pray for his recovery, he really is the most non-aggressive, cuddly, sweet bunny we have ever seen. He loves being on camera and is often featured in streams doing tricks for his friends that love him. If you are able to donate anything to help with the bills, it will be immensely appreciated.
We wanted to share Some of Yuely's itemized bills for his procedures, care and numerous medications (which require multiple refills) for those curious. Note that we don't have the bill for the next visit to cut off the stitches, and we won't know if his eyeball needs to be removed until two more weeks.
This fundraiser will cover the following costs:
Yuely's emergency visit, motility drugs, and take-home medications (painkillers) given on September 10
The emergency visit on September 30/October 1 where Yuely stayed a whole day in emergency care
(Pictured is Uber receipt one way to the hospital)
The cost of his eyelid surgery (tarsorrhaphy)
Rabbit-specific anesthesia
6 additional take-home medications (assorted painkillers, antibiotic eye drops, anti-inflammation eye drops, eye lubrication)
Medication re-fills/Checkup exams
Cost of caring for Yuely around the clock every 4 hours--with little to no sleep, cutting working hours/income for a month. We made sure he was the most comfortable rabbit ever, soothing him whenever he was in pain or bothered by his stitches.
Providing care items such as the soft e-collars given to Yuely so he doesn't mess with his stitches, Attends supersorb underpads to line his living area, the soft pillows and plush carpet flooring given to maximize his comfort, etc.
347.5+ miles traveled in rideshares so far* for Yuely--
for September 10 (to emergency vet and back, Walgreens and back), September 30 (drop Yuely off one hour away and back, picking him up after 1 day and back, October check up exams and back every week. October 15, emergency visit to the vet because his stitches opened, and back. Another checkup in 2 weeks, still determining whether eye should be removed.
Costs charged for removing sutures, testing & aftercare (updated Oct 15)
Further updates will reflect a new goal if eye removal is needed in 2 weeks.**
Enucleation was quoted from the hospital to be around $5000, but if it comes down to this, we will most likely try to get a better quote from other hospitals, as this is very costly for the procedure.
WE SINCERELY THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT. Yuely is SO grateful and LOVES you all
Katrina: Yuely is my best friend, I am extremely heartbroken that he is going through so much pain.
Eight years ago I owned a rabbit named Haydn and he died while I was visiting my parent's home states away after putting him in care with a family member. Rabbits shouldn't be left outside, but he was drenched after a bad rainy day in Florida. I can't imagine how he felt shivering in pain, and dying later on due to sickness. He was absolutely neglected. They let him die alone. I never even knew he died right away as people neglected to tell me the truth until a month into my visit. He was the first pet I got on my own, and when I was dropping off before leaving, I bonded with him for the first major time and couldn't wait to see him again. I had no idea that would be the last time.
It took me another eight years to get another pet after suffering through loneliness. For some reason, I was intensely drawn to Yuely just by looking at a picture of him, even though I wouldn't say I even particularly like pets. Sometimes I believe/d that the soul of Haydn lives on in Yuely. Yuely has done so many amazing things for me and my growth, and the best I can do for him now is give him medications and hand feed him. He has to eat food through syringes because he definitely cannot eat or drink on his own. He also has a lot of trouble with hay now that he has a cone on, and there are so many complications that can happen just waiting for his stitches to heal.. things like the suture getting infected, the opening of the suture, the healing being messed up somehow. I can't keep track of everything but it's really hard to go sleep, even when I can only sleep four hours at a time. I've already woken up plenty of times despite no sleep because I get nightmares of bad calls. I get nightmares of him and his bad eye. Nothing was over even when he came home from the hospital the first time, the second time, and that's the scary part. It was the worst time in my life when he had GI stasis and he seemed to be slowly dying. He survived though, and he recovered so quickly when recovery normally takes days-weeks. It took him the afternoon the next day for him to act completely normal and munching so much again. I thought he was amazing but it didn't even stop there. Now he has eye problems that might involve a second surgery that is extremely risky.
I'm heartbroken if it doesn't heal correctly.
Actually, I am already heartbroken.
I'm terrified if they have to remove his eye because he can die from it. I'm already terrified every time he goes under (anesthesia) because there are too many cases of rabbits not waking up after. Everything is a risk and I just don't want to lose my best friend. It said in the papers that he was diagnosed as cryptorchid as well which means one of his reproductive organs is stuck inside and they might have to perform a more invasive surgery on him again (much like a spay) and put him under to get it out. They say there is a cancer risk is he is left unneutered as a cryptorchid. I'm so sad because he can't leave without at least passing on a legacy. He needs little buns of his own.. He's too adorable, sweet, and incredibly intelligent. Yuely is such a good boy and a fast learner.
He's such a good boy, but he has to suffer so much.
Every time I feel unlucky in my regular life, I just think of the life of my poor baby Yuely. He's already been through so much and he's already unluckier than me in just one year of his life. I just want to spoil him more, and I want more time with him. I want more moments with him. I still miss Haydn so much and I don't want to be losing Yuely too. It's too natural for me to put everything aside for Yuely. I just want more time. I want the best life for him. Please pray for his recovery. I love Yuely.
