The Nugget Needed Surgery
Donation protected
Hey everyone . If you know me , you know I hate asking for help . I’m a stubborn Leo . But this isn’t about me , it’s about my best friend Thor , which most of you know as Nugget .
On Saturday I noticed nugget wasn’t being his usual happy hyper self . Sunday afternoon his back legs began to shake a bit while walking . On Monday I noticed he was no longer trying to jump on my bed , or jump off when I brought him up . Monday I let him rest all day and Tuesday I kept him in the crate away from his brother Fries . In the past , fries has trampled nugget while playing or going down the stairs causing his back legs to shake but it always went away within 48 hours . By Wednesday he wasn’t doing any better and was beginning to drag his back legs a bit . I noticed he started to look a little drunk as he walked . I called his veterinarian and was given an appointment for Thursday .
Thursday morning , pre vet visit nugget was struggling to even stand . His hind legs were trembling and he was unable to stay up . (That’s the first clip you see in the YouTube video below ) , the vet prescribed him medication and took an X-Ray. He said it looked OK but he would contact me with further results and gave me the contact information for a neurologist . Who I made an appointment with for the following day just to be ahead of things . Our vet bill for this exceeded $500 after all the tests performed .
Nugget has been on meds since Thursday September 19th .
On Friday September 20th I carried nugget into my car and we were off to the neurologist . He appeared to be doing a lot better , he even was trying to jump on the nurses (but we stopped him from doing so of course ) , after a physical evaluation the neurologist determined that Thor was having a spinal issue , which could possibly be a slipped disk . And because nugget had made such an improvement over night , he sent us home on the same treatment plan the vet prescribed . This visit cost $150 .
The neurologist told me that if I saw improvement , I was to keep Nugget in a crate for 4 weeks and only let him out to do his business outside , and even then I would have to carry him out . He also said if I didn’t see any progress OR if i see him get significantly worse , I’d have to call their emergency line and get Thor in for an MRI immediately to determine the issue 100%. the MRI quote was anywhere between $3,00-$4,500 . It’s expensive because they would have to put Thor under anesthesia .
The neurologist would be the one to call in case of an emergency . And we all know emergency vet hours are almost double in price .
Friday afternoon I received the radiology report from Thursday . The report states that there is damage in his spine : most likely intervertebral disc disease . And that advanced spinal imagery should be used to assess for compressive myelopathy .
If he is diagnosed , it can cause paralysis .
Late Friday night I carried Thor outside to pee and poop as I was instructed to do and he seemed to be worse than he was Friday morning . After trying to get pet insurance with no luck and credit limit increases , I thought it might be time to ask for some help . Unfortunately I cannot get him pet insurance that will cover this , insurance companies have a wait time of 6 months on average for Orthopedic procedures . Including the surgery he may need for the intervertebral disc disease.
Saturday morning I carried nugget outside to do his business, as soon as I put him down he tried to walk and had no use of his back legs at all. He was dragging them straight behind him. I carried him quickly and he ended up pooping on my leg. Which terrified me because those are signs of him being unable to control his bladder. I called the neurologist and took him in for the MRI. We were told by the doctor, after his evaluation and MRI that surgery was our only option and we had to act fast because of his drastic loss of strength and movement over-night. Thor Is currently in surgery which is in the upper $8,000 range. We are staying hopeful right now and waiting for a call when they have completed it.
After surgery he is going to need a lot of rest time and some physical therapy which I will have to pay out of pocket as well.
I feel weird even doing this but at this point , it’s my job as a dog mommy to be fully prepared for anything . As you all know I work extremely hard and I never thought something like this would happen to my baby . Although I work like crazy , I’m alone now and I have a shit ton of bills , and a couple small start ups I’ve been working on which is where my disposable income has been going . I’m the type of person that would sell my soul to save my dog , but my friends and family suggested I start a go fund me so they can help out .
If you can donate anything to help with these medical bills , MRI ,surgery costs, rehabilitation fees , I would really appreciate it . And of course so would the nugget . This is a really difficult time for me even thinking that something can be permanently wrong with him and I’m TERRIFIED . Please help if you can , and if you can’t , just please share this page and send all the positive healing vibes to my boy . I need to see him happy and as healthy as he can be again :’(
Thank you guys for reading .
On Saturday I noticed nugget wasn’t being his usual happy hyper self . Sunday afternoon his back legs began to shake a bit while walking . On Monday I noticed he was no longer trying to jump on my bed , or jump off when I brought him up . Monday I let him rest all day and Tuesday I kept him in the crate away from his brother Fries . In the past , fries has trampled nugget while playing or going down the stairs causing his back legs to shake but it always went away within 48 hours . By Wednesday he wasn’t doing any better and was beginning to drag his back legs a bit . I noticed he started to look a little drunk as he walked . I called his veterinarian and was given an appointment for Thursday .
Thursday morning , pre vet visit nugget was struggling to even stand . His hind legs were trembling and he was unable to stay up . (That’s the first clip you see in the YouTube video below ) , the vet prescribed him medication and took an X-Ray. He said it looked OK but he would contact me with further results and gave me the contact information for a neurologist . Who I made an appointment with for the following day just to be ahead of things . Our vet bill for this exceeded $500 after all the tests performed .
Nugget has been on meds since Thursday September 19th .
On Friday September 20th I carried nugget into my car and we were off to the neurologist . He appeared to be doing a lot better , he even was trying to jump on the nurses (but we stopped him from doing so of course ) , after a physical evaluation the neurologist determined that Thor was having a spinal issue , which could possibly be a slipped disk . And because nugget had made such an improvement over night , he sent us home on the same treatment plan the vet prescribed . This visit cost $150 .
The neurologist told me that if I saw improvement , I was to keep Nugget in a crate for 4 weeks and only let him out to do his business outside , and even then I would have to carry him out . He also said if I didn’t see any progress OR if i see him get significantly worse , I’d have to call their emergency line and get Thor in for an MRI immediately to determine the issue 100%. the MRI quote was anywhere between $3,00-$4,500 . It’s expensive because they would have to put Thor under anesthesia .
The neurologist would be the one to call in case of an emergency . And we all know emergency vet hours are almost double in price .
Friday afternoon I received the radiology report from Thursday . The report states that there is damage in his spine : most likely intervertebral disc disease . And that advanced spinal imagery should be used to assess for compressive myelopathy .
If he is diagnosed , it can cause paralysis .
Late Friday night I carried Thor outside to pee and poop as I was instructed to do and he seemed to be worse than he was Friday morning . After trying to get pet insurance with no luck and credit limit increases , I thought it might be time to ask for some help . Unfortunately I cannot get him pet insurance that will cover this , insurance companies have a wait time of 6 months on average for Orthopedic procedures . Including the surgery he may need for the intervertebral disc disease.
Saturday morning I carried nugget outside to do his business, as soon as I put him down he tried to walk and had no use of his back legs at all. He was dragging them straight behind him. I carried him quickly and he ended up pooping on my leg. Which terrified me because those are signs of him being unable to control his bladder. I called the neurologist and took him in for the MRI. We were told by the doctor, after his evaluation and MRI that surgery was our only option and we had to act fast because of his drastic loss of strength and movement over-night. Thor Is currently in surgery which is in the upper $8,000 range. We are staying hopeful right now and waiting for a call when they have completed it.
After surgery he is going to need a lot of rest time and some physical therapy which I will have to pay out of pocket as well.
I feel weird even doing this but at this point , it’s my job as a dog mommy to be fully prepared for anything . As you all know I work extremely hard and I never thought something like this would happen to my baby . Although I work like crazy , I’m alone now and I have a shit ton of bills , and a couple small start ups I’ve been working on which is where my disposable income has been going . I’m the type of person that would sell my soul to save my dog , but my friends and family suggested I start a go fund me so they can help out .
If you can donate anything to help with these medical bills , MRI ,surgery costs, rehabilitation fees , I would really appreciate it . And of course so would the nugget . This is a really difficult time for me even thinking that something can be permanently wrong with him and I’m TERRIFIED . Please help if you can , and if you can’t , just please share this page and send all the positive healing vibes to my boy . I need to see him happy and as healthy as he can be again :’(
Thank you guys for reading .
Organizer
Vanessa Viciosa
Organizer
Hialeah, FL
