Hi All,
A few weeks ago, I posted that my dog was possibly dying of IMHA.
We originally took our dog to the vet because she had collapsed several times and was clearly sick. She could barely hold her head up and laid in a dog bed all day and night. One night she wet her dog bed. My dog has never done this and we knew something was horribly wrong. That was when the doctors did a blood count and many tests. (thousands of dollars) it looked like IMHA.
At the time, we had taken our female boxer to three different vets and had decided (Which was an emotional and difficult choice) to let the disease run it's course and let her die at home. Her hematacrit was 11. The Vet said she had never seen such a low "crit" with a dog still living. It had dropped from 25 to 11 in less than 24 hours. Most dogs die at that rate. We had two options; One would be to give her a transfusion and put her on IV for 4 days. With this option there was still only a 50% chance she would live but need to be on steroids forever. This fee was in the $5000. range. Way beyond our budget and the chance was only a 50/50 that she would live even with this. The other option was to let her die with dignity as with this disease she was gravely ill. She was not in pain so with horrific tears and sadness we chose to have her home with us and prepare for her death. We could not afford the option to try to keep her alive. We had to make the best decision for our entire family.
Well, days have passed. March 1st this story began. And it is the 28th. I took her to the Vet today. The same Vet gave our boxer a huge hug and said " I never thought you would make it. You are a miracle my girl!" And now her Crit is perfect. Her white cell count is a little high but not unusual for a dog who was sick and that it is better than it was on the 8th of March.
I am posting today to tell others that IMHA is not a death sentence. Maybe your dog's body will care for itself. The doctor still believes she has this but her own immune system is caring for itself. The doctor is in awe of our dog. We can see she is past the scary part and that she should live for a few good years. Of course we are not sure what may have triggered this. The doctor can not hazard a guess but for now we will continue to enjoy our girl.
The Vet asked what we did different. Nothing. We did spend time just hugging her, petting, massages and special time with her. I wish I could say something more concrete for others out there with the same worries I had.
Thank you all for your support and understanding.
crwcrw
A few weeks ago, I posted that my dog was possibly dying of IMHA.
We originally took our dog to the vet because she had collapsed several times and was clearly sick. She could barely hold her head up and laid in a dog bed all day and night. One night she wet her dog bed. My dog has never done this and we knew something was horribly wrong. That was when the doctors did a blood count and many tests. (thousands of dollars) it looked like IMHA.
At the time, we had taken our female boxer to three different vets and had decided (Which was an emotional and difficult choice) to let the disease run it's course and let her die at home. Her hematacrit was 11. The Vet said she had never seen such a low "crit" with a dog still living. It had dropped from 25 to 11 in less than 24 hours. Most dogs die at that rate. We had two options; One would be to give her a transfusion and put her on IV for 4 days. With this option there was still only a 50% chance she would live but need to be on steroids forever. This fee was in the $5000. range. Way beyond our budget and the chance was only a 50/50 that she would live even with this. The other option was to let her die with dignity as with this disease she was gravely ill. She was not in pain so with horrific tears and sadness we chose to have her home with us and prepare for her death. We could not afford the option to try to keep her alive. We had to make the best decision for our entire family.
Well, days have passed. March 1st this story began. And it is the 28th. I took her to the Vet today. The same Vet gave our boxer a huge hug and said " I never thought you would make it. You are a miracle my girl!" And now her Crit is perfect. Her white cell count is a little high but not unusual for a dog who was sick and that it is better than it was on the 8th of March.
I am posting today to tell others that IMHA is not a death sentence. Maybe your dog's body will care for itself. The doctor still believes she has this but her own immune system is caring for itself. The doctor is in awe of our dog. We can see she is past the scary part and that she should live for a few good years. Of course we are not sure what may have triggered this. The doctor can not hazard a guess but for now we will continue to enjoy our girl.
The Vet asked what we did different. Nothing. We did spend time just hugging her, petting, massages and special time with her. I wish I could say something more concrete for others out there with the same worries I had.
Thank you all for your support and understanding.
crwcrw
I'm so happy for you guys!!!! It's so nice to read the miracle survivors stories! When this happens -who cares why? Right? Hugs from
