The Designer
Bichons 9/2/00
(Please pray....one of these young puppies is extremely critical, and one
is very critical.)
14
Week Old "Rolex"
Rolex can not
take many steps, before collapsing.
Rolex is as sweet of a baby as I have seen. I will be
honest with you guys...if he makes it down there alive, I will be publicly
thanking and praising God, right out in the parking lot of Texas A&M Vet
School. It is a 9-10 hour drive down there. I leave early Tuesday Morning. Rolex
will see the Doctors on Wednesday Morning. (They only see the PDA's on
Wednesday, and do surgery only on Thursdays) I will let them know on Thursday,
if we have recieved enough pledges to do the surgery.
"Rolex" is a victim of Puppy Mill
Greed, pure and simple. We hads to PURCHASE him, for $50.00, because the miller
was actually going to sell him to a FAMILY for $50.00. They would have been
heartbroken, very soon. You see, he has a grade 6 heart murmor, and he will die
soon, if he doesn't have surgery. I am driving this baby to Texas A&M
University School of Veterinary Medicine, in hopes of another Miracle, like this
one.
Small Paws® Rescue: Bungee Goes to Texas
A&M!!
I am taking him on faith, because as of yet, we do not have the funds to
pay for the surgery for two Bichons..and it is TWO Bichons, that we got into
rescue on Friday...with this problem. Here is the other one,..with a grade 4
Heart Murmor...
7 Month Old
"Chanel". Chanel's family bought her from a "Kennel" in Misourri. Of course,
they fell in love with her. As she grew, they noticed multiple problems. Chanel
has luxatting patellas. (Knees that slip out of socket). This is VERY painful,
and she can not jump on anything. This, although hereditary,(Yes, the Millers
KNOW this) is not life threatning. A Grade 4 Heart Murmor, however, is life
threating. I offered to try to raise the money for Chanel's surgery, and then
return her to her family, but the lady, who could do nothing but cry, told me
that her grandkids kept letting her out, and she feared that she would be hit by
a car, and she asked me to find her a home. Somehow, we need a miracle, to be
able to save these two Puppies.
Yours Truly, holding Chanel right after rescue.
UPDATE
9/5/00
Greetings from Waco, Texas! I drove to Waco, and stopped for the night,
with Rolex and Chanel. We are 1 1/2 hours away from Texas A&M Vet School,
and we will finish the drive tomorro. This morning, when I picked the "kids" up,
Rolex was almost bouncy! Much more than he had been on Friday...but as the day
progressed, the more tired he became..Here he is tonight, in the motel
room...
Rolex and
Chanel, rode down together in the car, in one large crate, and do they ever LOVE
each other!
Rolex tried to wrestle tonight, by raising his paw on Chanel's
shoulder..they are both pretty pooped...:)
More tomorro after we see the
doctors.:)
Update
9/6/00
Greetings from College Station Texas, home to Texas A&M University
School of Veterinary Medicine.
Today Rolex, Chanel, and I drove to the Texas
A&M vet school, and saw the Veterinary Cardiologists. After an afternoon of
radiographs, ultrasounds, and blood tests, Dr. Wendy Arsenault, a Cardiatric
Resident, came on to give me the news. As I suspected, Rolex is definitely in
heart failure.:(
Now, I can understand if some of you may not believe
this.....but this is the truth...she told me that, Rolex was as little as 12
hours from being in IRREVERSIBLE heart failure....and if he had come in ANY
LATER, instead of today.... there would have been nothing they could have done.
His little lungs are filling with fluid, by the minute.:(
Now for the GOOD
news! He does have a PDA (Pulminary Duct Arteriolosis..I hope I got that
right)..and it IS fixable..just like Bungee's! They have started him on Lasix,
to get rid of the fluid build-up in his lungs. They will give him the Lasix
until early Friday to get rid of the fluid, and then, on Friday..ZAP...he gets
the coil surgery!! Just like Bungee!!
Small Paws® Rescue: BUNGEE GOES TO TEXAS A&M VET
SCHOOL!
Then, he will have a normal life span, and a
normal life! The reason he was collapsing after just a few steps is, basically,
he was drowning. I KNEW we had to hurry. I KNEW it...Also, he could have had the
surgery that most vet schools do, where they crack open the chest...but with
this fluid, that would have been almost impossible. I KNEW he had to get here
quickly..did you ever just KNOW something??:)
Little Chanel is just in the
beginning stages of problems with her heart murmor...and they are doing the
surgery on her, tomorrow at 10:00 A.M. Of course, I will be waiting and praying,
out in the waiting room, for our beloved charges, Rolex and Chanel. :)
Now,
what happened next, is what you may have trouble believing. If you don't believe
it, just call Lucy, who works behind the desk, at the A&M Vet school, at
1-979-845-2351, and ask her if this didn't happen! When I first got there today,
the doctor told me .."You know that this may be something other than a PDA.
Rolex sounds very bad. He may have a prolapsed mitrovalve. We can't replace
valves in dogs yet."
I interupted her and said.."Both of these babies have
PDA's. Both of them are going to have surgery HERE, to correct it. We are going
to have enough money to pay for both of them to have the surgery."
Again, she
cautioned me.."I just want you to understand, that we can't fix every type of
heart problem"..
Again, S L O W L Y and precisely I said.."BOTH OF THESE
BABIES HAVE PDA'S. BOTH OF THEM ARE GOING TO HAVE SURGERY HERE TO FIX IT, and we
ar egoing to have enough money to pay for surgeries for BOTH of them"...
The
afternoon passed, and, well, you have seen the wonderful news that they gave us.
While I was visiting with the doctors, after all of the tests, we found out that
the machine..the machine they use for the surgery..it has a teeny tiny live
video camera , and they send that up through the veins..to make sure they are
aiming the coils in the right place...THAT machine, had just stopped
working.
They told me that it may mean replacing a part...ordering it..and
getting the part next week.
NOW I AM STANDING UP AND ORDERING ALL DOUBT OUT
OF THE ROOM....
I begin again....(Ask Dale if you can't see me doing this)
"Both of these babies have PDA's. BOTH of them are having surgery HERE to fix
it. Tomorrow, that machine will be running like the fine tuned instrument that
it is!!"
I walked out to the lobby, to write the check for a $900.00 deposit
for their surgeries. They told me to prepare to have to stay till next week,
because the machine was broken..I told them.."I know..I know..tBUT he machine
will be working tomorrow morning."!
Ok..grab ahold of something now..right
then, the student, Rebecca Vincent Sturdivant, came up behind me and said.."They
just told me, the machine is working again..the guy is here to repair it and it
is working..they can't find anything wrong."
Now people, I am here to tell
you, something MUCH BIGGER than you and I is driving this ship, and come hell or
high water, these babies hearts are going to be repaired! THEY BOTH ARE GOING TO
HAVE THE SURGERY AND WE ARE GOING TO BE ABLE TO PAY FOR IT! Thank you
GOD!!!!
And, thanks to all of you, we have raised enough money to pay for
both surgeries. AND... if just a little more comes in, we are sending someone to
the Puppy Mill auction on Saturday, in Wheaton, Mo, to go after our 9 Bichons,
on the auction block! Thank you all for believeing in me, and in little Rolex!
You guys make quite a team. I wil let you know the minute I know anything
tomorrow, and can get back to the computer...whch I will take with me to the Vet
School tomorrow!:) Love,Robin
Dr. Wendy
Arsenault holds little Rolex, who is so very tired and sick. She is smiling,
because she knows, that thanks to all of you, this is not going to be for
long!:)))
Dr. Wendy Arsenault examines little Chanel. One look in
those eyes, tell me this is all worth it.
Here they are last night..they each
found a crate and went night-night..Chanel is on the left, and Rolex is on the
right. Surgery for Chanel is scheduled for tomorrow morning at 10 A.M. Her
murmor is more like what Bungee's was..she is not in heart failure yet, but is
very close to it, because of her size and weight. Of course, I will be in the
waiting room, tomorrow, waiting and praying for our charges. More updates
tomorrow!
UPDATE 9/07/00
Yahoo!! Chanel came through surgery
like a champ! One coil did it! Here are the pictures..DOn't worry...you can
look! These are just pics of the doctors!
Remeber the floroscopy machine, that was "broken"
yesterday? Well, here it is this morning, working just fine, and that is
Chanel's heart duct..before repair. They watch it on a screen as they do
it!
Preparing
for surgery..I sent the camera in with one of the students, who was going to get
to watch the procedure.:) That is Dr. Miller, in the middle, the cardiologist,
who pioneered this
technique!
They are doing the surgery here! Our
little fluff is right in front of them.:) See the anathesiologist, back in the
back? Give her JUST enough juice, Doc..not very much..just a
little...:)
Rolex is doing just fine too! The Lasix is working and he has
dropped wieght, which is the fluid, on his lungs. They said this morning, he was
bouncing, bright eyed and bushy tailed!
More tomorrow! Rolex is schedued for
10 in the morning! One down, one to go!
UPDATE 9/08/00
Rolex is out of surgery and is all fixed now!! This
morning, I went up to the vet school and prayed over him, and got these pics of
him...these are the last pics you will see of him being sick, thanks to all of
you! I will probably start for home, with them, on Sunday. Since he was on
Lasix, he may have to be on it for one more day, because it takes a little
while, to get all of the fluid out of his lungs, after the heart starts working
properly.:)
He
just did not feel a bit
good....
Rolex is
being cuddled by Rebecca, the vet student. He was one sick puppy...
He is
resting comfortably now, and I will get pictures tomorrow for you guys! Thank
you for making this possible for baby
Rolex!
UPDATE
9/09/00
We are on the way home!! Today, I
talked to Dr. Miller, the Chief Cardiologist, and BOTH babies are totally FIXED!
Chanel's leak has almost (99.99%) filled in all of the way, and she is going to
be just fine! So, both Babies were able to leave the hospital today!! Now, I
need help about Rolex...how do I turn him down a notch???!! He is on HIGH
SPEED!! He has discovered he has another gear, and man is he using it!
This
is our last night in a hotel...tomorro we will make it home to Tulsa. Here are
the pics of the objects of your affection, in perfect health.:) Love,Robin
Small Paws® Rescue: WE FEEL GOOD!!
(Click for the Happy
Dance Music!)
Chanel chases Rolex, who has HER squeaky toy, around the
room....ZOOMERS!
"I'll GET you my Pretty,... and your little squeaky dog
TOO!!"
"Give
it to ME, give it to me NOW!"
(Chanel is on the left and Rolex is on the
right)
"Ok...maybe we'll just share.."
"Auntie Robin says there are lots of
people who love us, in this little black box....Thank you all for savin' us! We
feel Grrrrreat!!!"
UPDATE 9/10/00
I am home,. back in Tulsa, with two VERY
energetic babies. ((Yawn)) Here is the only picture I got of them actually
sleeping..and it didn't last for long...lol! Thank you guys for saving these
ENERGETIC babies!
Chanel takes a nap....
Baby Rolex, crashes on the hotel floor, last
night.