I am writing to you from America because I read your story on CNNs website. Its a very brave act putting your medical records online. I too have a “disease” which is Asthma, one that cannot be cured is barely controlled and has been with me since I was 3 years old. I can tell you that ATTITUDE is everything but also being smart about your treatment. You have taken your treatment in hand and thats a huge step in the right direction. This attitude does not stop with the treatment options for people either. 6 years ago our beloved dog “roswell” rossie was her nickname since she was female, was taken ill due to the tainted pet food that was sold. The chemical that was in the pet food caused kidney failure and although we watched the list to make sure her food was not on it, it was one of the last posted and so her exposure was over a longer period of time. He got very sick. The Veterinarian was fantastic however multiple tests showed her blood counts were
“not survivable”. He encouraged us to take her home, spend the night with her, say our goodbyes and bring her back to put her to sleep the following morning. The next morning Rossie was better, a bit more energetic and happier so we delayed the “deed”. It was almost like she was not ready to leave us..still had some fight and life in her and was ready to get on with the battle. So, Sandra, my girlfriend (rossie was her dog) went on line and began looking all around the world for cutting edge and homeopathic treatments not available here in the states. Now when I say “not available” what I really mean is out side of the normal methods or those treatments that brilliant pieces of multiple treatments rolled into something new and we havent heard of it. In Germany she found something. She found a veterinarian website and on that site she found a treatment plan for severe kidney failure that gave a high survival ratio. We took that to our vet and asked him
if he’d be willing to try, he said he would as long as rossie was not suffering, we agreed and we began the treatment. A partial blood transfusion from one of the vet tech’s pooches, (he had a blood donor program already in place, excellent) then antibiotics and reglan for control of acid reflux by injection everyday, plus 500ml of Lactated Ringers delivered under her skin everyday. For 6 weeks we did this everyday. After the first 3 days at the vets office and then at home my job was to come home from work and give rossie her injections and fluid. We made a routine out of out of it because rossie needed to be very still while the IV was in her back, we set up out outdoor chairs with rossie,s bed between them. I rigged an IV pole to the back of mine and when I would arrive home, Sandra would meet me at the door with the dog and 2 beers. (one for her and one for me) I,d hook up rossie,s IV and we’d sit and talk and pet rossie while the fluid ran in.
During the treatment rossie had multiple vet appointments for progress checks. The vet, Dr. Ahalt was fantastic, he was also impressed at rossies progress. The most difficult thing to manage during all of this besides the costs involved, (about $6500.00) Which was primarily for the medications not the doctor. (I will stay off of my “high cost of medications” soapbox.)was getting her to eat anything. Kidney failure patients (K9 or Human) have their tastebuds go crazy and by the day, one day a hamburger is great the next it makes you gag. This was the most time consuming and most difficult aspect of her illness. Sandra would sit in the kitchen with the refrigerator door wide open sometimes for 2 hours just giving rossie a taste of everything we had just to find the one thing she would eat that day. Cheese was always a good thing and we kept plenty in just for her. There were weeks when the dog would not eat meat at all so it was cheese and crackers or
bread or butter or just about anything else. Anyway, I know the story is long but I also hope it conveys the “dont give up, dont rule any possibility out” attitude that is so important when fighting an illness.
For the record, Rossie was 12 when she got sick. The treatments gave us 5 more years with her and she had a great, long life. She did pass away a couple of years ago but NOT of kidney failure. She was 17 years old.
Good Luck my new friend,
Ill be following your progress and maybe soon we can all join forces and fight t bring down the high costs of medications!
