A Lady in need of help.

[ilovehounds]

Hi All,
I need your help, if you know where this girl can get help for her beloved
friend. Please email with the information. Please cross post this also
we need to get her help. Prayers help too. Thanks to you all! I have
also enclosed a photo and original letter sent to me by a dear friend.
This person lives in Ohio.
Thanks For Being You
Bonnie and My Girls
Cairns and Friends www.cairnsandfriends.homestead.com


Hi Bonnie,
This is a friend with Kayla. Kayla's the Boxer. Would you please consider
sending this to your friends asking where Dawn can get financial help for
Kayla? Kayla has cancer and a possible brain tumor. Dawn is single and laid
off. They have been to Ohio State and are going today for another appt..
Dawn is asking for prayers for both of them. Kayla needs an MRI which is
about $1000.00. Kayla has fought cancer before but has not been in
remission long enough to be cleared. Kayla started have seizures about 3
weeks ago and Dawn has been frantic trying to find help.
Thanks for considering this. If you're not comfortable doing it that's ok
too. I tried to add Kayla to the prayer circle you sent from imom but
couldn't figure out how to do it. It would be great if you know how to if
you would please add Kayla and send it to Dawn.
Patty

If you can help just email me and I will forward it on.

[email protected]

------------------

~~ My House Is Not A Home Without A Hound ~~

[This message has been edited by ilovehounds (edited June 16, 2001).]

[Dixie Belle]

I wish I knew how to help. I know my vet let me make payments on Belle's eye surgery. As for praying, that I can do.

[Daisy's Mom]

I'm an unemployed teen! Can't help much with the financial part, but consider the praying done! Daisy and I will get right down to business. Keep us posted.

[ilovehounds]

Dear Friends,

First of all, please note my email address change. It was getting to be very
difficult to respond to people in a timely manner, and it was getting rather
confusing. So I decided to set up an email address for all of my new "Boxer
Lover"friends. [email protected] <[email protected]>

I would like to thank all of you for your unending support and compassion. I
have learned so much from each and every one of you. I was able to walk into
Ohio State University Veterinary Teaching School (OSU) with much more
knowledge than I had just a few short weeks ago. I tried very hard to
respond to each email, but with the confusion and overload I feel that I
possibly may have missed responding to some emails. If I did not respond to
you, please don't take it personally. I would love to respond if you would
be so kind as to let me know I overlooked you. I have read every single
email and held whatever was said close to my heart.

I took Mikayla to OSU early Thursday morning. They kept her in ICU until
Saturday noon. I cannot say enough wonderful things about OSU. Dr. March
was her (boarded) Neurologist. Melody was the senior student. Dr. Kate
Muirs was her Cardiologist. Mikayla couldn't have possibly received better
care. They took care of my baby exactly the way I would have!!! There are
some things that you just cant fake.... and showing love to our babies is
one of them. These warm people at OSU have an abundance of love in addition
to their skill. After my not so great experience with skill/care here in the
Cleveland area... I am tremendously impressed! I will always use OSU in the
future. OSU was very thorough. They kept me informed several times a day.
Dr. March even promised to call me at 1:00AM after her MRI was done!!!!! Dr.
March tried to save me the expense of having an MRI done by conservative
measures. In the end I opted to have the MRI done because we weren't sure
what was causing the seizures/episodes. Even though they suspected it was
Insulinoma, I asked Dr. March if he would have the MRI done if it was his
dog, and he said yes. It only confirmed what I was already feeling in my
heart. I could have waited a week for some lab work to come back, but since
my father passed away from a brain tumor at the age of 41, I know how time
sensitive these matters can be. Plus I would have always worried that a brain
tumor was there in addition to whatever else was causing her episodes. I'm
very glad that I opted for the MRI because there was an incidental finding.

Good news and bad news:

The awesome news first:
Mikayla does NOT have a Brain Tumor or Cardiomyopathy!!!! PRAISE GOD!!!!!!

The bad news (which isn't nearly as bad as if she DID have a brain tumor!):

* As a result of the MRI they found a "LEFT FRONTAL SINUS MASS" (which
they believe is not causing the seizures because it did not seem to cross the
bone barriers into the brain).
* Dr. March is consulting with Radiology today to see the action plan
to surgically remove this mass.

* Her glucose was abnormally low. We are waiting for lab work to come back
in a week. They are expecting that her Insulin level will be high. All
of their findings point them in the direction of an "INSULINOMA". (a tumor
in the pancreas that secretes insulin in an unregulated fashion.) It
would explain her falling and seizures/disorientation . An Ultrasound of
the abdomen did not show a tumor which they said is not uncommon because
the tumor can be the size of your small fingernail. The labwork will
confirm if it's Insulinoma. I am refraining from doing research myself
until I know this is the diagnosis.
* If it is Insulinoma... she will have the tumor removed surgically.
Unfortunately it does reoccur regularly. (approx. 1 year) I believe
Dr. March said that if you don't remove it, it will metastasize into
her Liver.

* Poor Mikayla also has a "LEFT STIFLE OSTEOARTHRITIS". Actually this has
been a problem for her for the last couple years.

* She also has a tumor on her right front leg that I found just a couple
days after her cancer surgery two weeks ago. Unfortunately, the $1400 I
have paid the Cleveland vets since February, obviously didn't include a
thorough examination of tumors BEFORE her surgery was done. Not one vet
examined her for tumors.
Okay, I will try to rid myself of this anger. The important thing is...
I found OSU and NOW Mikayla is in good hands!!!!!

I have not discussed this with Dr. March yet, but I'm hoping that all three
of Mikaylas surgeries will be done at the same time. Her leg tumor is not on
the skin, its under the skin, so I don't think this is a soft tissue surgery
like the others. I pray that Mikayla will be put "under" only once. But
realistically, I don't think this will be possible.

Oh yes, right now she is on Prendnisone to help boost her blood sugar level.

Thank you all for your prayers and support! Mostly, thank you for
understanding that Mikayla is my "baby". I'm divorced with no children. God
and Mikayla is all I have. Many people (who are married and have children, I
might add) think I'm crazy for spending $3000 since February on my "dog"
when I have only worked 3 weeks since December. Okay, admittedly, some
people think I'm crazy for spending that, period... irregardless of my job
situation!! I expect to be called back to work, but its complicated.
I just ask them..... "How can I not?" When I took MIkayla into my life I
committed to giving her a loving home. To me, this is part of that
commitment. Okay... plus the selfish part .... I cant imagine my life
without her. Her quality of life is good. So far she is only in pain from
her arthritis. Until I see her in pain that cant be helped, I will hold her
here with me, physically, next to my heart.

Thank you, again, for every word of advice, love, compassion, and honesty!

Love,
Dawn
& Mikayla