A New Kidney For Our Little Oki
Donation protected
As I am writing this, our beautiful, heroic, stoic little cat Oki is undergoing a 7h kidney transplant surgery at the Veterinarian Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, fighting for his life. He is an amazing, adorable, furry little soul. He is a miracle kitten, so full of unconditional love and so deserving to be loved!!! Here’s his story, our story, a love story:
We found him in a creek. Someone has thrown a whole litter of kittens in the water. In the middle of the running waters he was holding on to a rock with all his kitten might, fighting every moment of every second. He was less than a year old when a veterinarian error stopped his heart under anesthesia and triggered a thromboembolism. Although they managed to get his little heart pumping again, his main artery was clogged and blood could not get to his back legs. All vets recommended to put him to sleep, arguing that his condition was so extreme that he wouldn’t survive a few month, a few excruciatingly painful few months… We couldn’t… And Oki wouldn’t let us!!! For six month he fought relentlessly through gangrene, tremendous pain and partial paralysis. He lost his back legs, piece by piece, but he survived… and stoically adapted to his new condition… Eleven years later, he is still with us, a happy, rolling if not bouncing, beautiful bubble of a kitten (hence his affectionate nickname, Mr. Bubbles).
He is truly our love story. He is both a gift and a miracle! He is a true expression of tenacity, perseverance, stoicism, trust and love, all bundled up in an adorable fur bubble.
On Tuesday, March 24, disaster struck: Oki’s blood results showed that he has final stage (stage 4) kidney failure. He stoically lived with chronic kidney failure for over a year without letting us know and now, it is almost too late. Less than 10% of his kidneys is functioning. His blood toxicity is high, he became lethargic, couldn’t eat, and could barely move.
By all accounts, he had only 3-4 months to live. There is still fight in him and, as long as he is fighting, we will not let him down. We gave him subcutaneous fluids twice a day, medicine almost every hour, feed him gently and slowly 6 times a day. He went from 12lb to 9lb, but after a couple of weeks, he managed to stabilize himself and he is a kitten once more. He is a fighter…
But Oki still has a chance. Although his kidneys are gone, he is getting a new one. Dr. L. Aronson’s surgical team from The University of Pennsylvania Veterinarian Hospital is putting a new kidney inside Oki. Cats, like humans, only need one kidney to live long and happy lives. Oki will get a kidney from a rescued, SPCA cat – his name is Cherry. The donor cat will come home with us, and we will love and care for him for the rest of his kittenish life… and Oki will have another little brother.
We know that Oki will fight through, as long as we don’t fail him! The tests, procedure, surgery and all, costs more than $25,000. And then, Oki will be on expensive immunosuppressant medication for the rest of his long life… We will do whatever it takes, but we can’t do it alone: we need help.
We just can’t lose him this way!
Please don’t let this beautiful love story die!
Please help us save Oki’s life!
We found him in a creek. Someone has thrown a whole litter of kittens in the water. In the middle of the running waters he was holding on to a rock with all his kitten might, fighting every moment of every second. He was less than a year old when a veterinarian error stopped his heart under anesthesia and triggered a thromboembolism. Although they managed to get his little heart pumping again, his main artery was clogged and blood could not get to his back legs. All vets recommended to put him to sleep, arguing that his condition was so extreme that he wouldn’t survive a few month, a few excruciatingly painful few months… We couldn’t… And Oki wouldn’t let us!!! For six month he fought relentlessly through gangrene, tremendous pain and partial paralysis. He lost his back legs, piece by piece, but he survived… and stoically adapted to his new condition… Eleven years later, he is still with us, a happy, rolling if not bouncing, beautiful bubble of a kitten (hence his affectionate nickname, Mr. Bubbles).
He is truly our love story. He is both a gift and a miracle! He is a true expression of tenacity, perseverance, stoicism, trust and love, all bundled up in an adorable fur bubble.
On Tuesday, March 24, disaster struck: Oki’s blood results showed that he has final stage (stage 4) kidney failure. He stoically lived with chronic kidney failure for over a year without letting us know and now, it is almost too late. Less than 10% of his kidneys is functioning. His blood toxicity is high, he became lethargic, couldn’t eat, and could barely move.
By all accounts, he had only 3-4 months to live. There is still fight in him and, as long as he is fighting, we will not let him down. We gave him subcutaneous fluids twice a day, medicine almost every hour, feed him gently and slowly 6 times a day. He went from 12lb to 9lb, but after a couple of weeks, he managed to stabilize himself and he is a kitten once more. He is a fighter…
But Oki still has a chance. Although his kidneys are gone, he is getting a new one. Dr. L. Aronson’s surgical team from The University of Pennsylvania Veterinarian Hospital is putting a new kidney inside Oki. Cats, like humans, only need one kidney to live long and happy lives. Oki will get a kidney from a rescued, SPCA cat – his name is Cherry. The donor cat will come home with us, and we will love and care for him for the rest of his kittenish life… and Oki will have another little brother.
We know that Oki will fight through, as long as we don’t fail him! The tests, procedure, surgery and all, costs more than $25,000. And then, Oki will be on expensive immunosuppressant medication for the rest of his long life… We will do whatever it takes, but we can’t do it alone: we need help.
We just can’t lose him this way!
Please don’t let this beautiful love story die!
Please help us save Oki’s life!
Organizer
Andre Gonciar
Organizer
Buffalo, NY
