He recovered well from his surgery in March, so he's down to only a couple of issues. As he is getting older, his legs are getting weak and achy. The vet has him on pain meds and anti-inflammatories to help with that, along with the allergy med that he takes to help his itching.
And, a recent discovery, he also has a large prostate. It is not cancer, they did some tests and assured us of that. But it does have spots that have hemorrhaged and causes him to bleed once in a while after he pees. (We ran thru a medication to kill off bacteria, so it's not an infection, it's just because of the size of his prostate. )
His meds are still pricey - the pain meds are about $20 and $70, and the allergy med is about $90, and I have to refill them about once a month.
Honestly, I'm doing okay right now, but I don't know if that's where I'll be in a month, you know? At this point, it's basically, if you can, I'd appreciate it and fucking love ya forever.
😘❤
I still have my KoFi (here), but I also now have a Venmo (here, username mmpettitt) if that's what you'd rather use. ❤
Before they do the surgery, they are going to di an xray of his chest, and another part of him, to see if the growth has spread. If it has, then that means it is cancer. If it is cancer, they are not doing the surgery (it wouldnt do much -even if they removed it, he would only have months left).
The surgery is priced between $3800 and $4800 dollars.
If it has not spread, then it most likely is benign. But because it is a 13cm growth on his spleen, it can still burst & he can bleed to death, so they have to do the surgery to remove it.
I don't have that kind of money. I'd have to try for CareCredit (which is a loan to cover the cost of your pets), but even that would stretch my check even thinner than it is.
I need help. I really hate asking, but I'm desperate. He's not in pain, but knowing that whatever it is could burst when he does literally anything fucking terrifies me.
If you can help, I really would appreciate it, and I know he would, too. I can't imagine having something larger than a grapefruit growing off my spleen with the potential to burst and kill me at any second.
Here's my Kofi, if you can donate. If you can't, please share this.
So here’s the entire story for Caine -- I’m going to put this under the cut, because it might get long and I know people hate that.
On the 12th, after the initial discovery of the mass but before the date of surgery, we were worried about it being cancer. Vet told us if it’s cancer, he won’t have much time left - maybe a year. When we called her to ask more questions (we had a lot), she asked us to come in, they’d go ahead & xray his chest to see if it spread (if it had, it was cancer, and there would be no surgery). This was actually part of the estimate for the surgery itself - the follow up xray to see if it spread. Thankfully, it had not spread.
To be safe, the vet prescribed a Japanese supplement that helps stop bleeding (no sign he was, but just to be safe). Gave it to him until this past weekend, when it gave him wild diarrhea, so the vet said to stop. He still had the diarrhea when he went in for surgery.
We took him in on Wednesday the 20th for his surgery. Dropped him off at 7:30 in the morning and I sobbed in the car the whole ride home. They called us around 1pm to let us know that surgery was over, he was doing well, he’d gone in and out of anesthesia just fine, didn’t get sick or anything. They removed the mass and his spleen, sutured his stomach to his side, and they overnighted the mass to a pathologist for examination (we’ll know the results sometime next week, as to whether or not it’s benign). They put him on antibiotics for the diarrhea, because he was still having the issue.
Thursday, they said he had not yet eaten, and Thursday afternoon, they took him off the injection pain meds (so he could go back to oral medication again). We got to come in & see him after I got off work, and he looked so out of it. He looked exhausted, so he kind of just paced a little, and leaned against us. But when we were going to leave, he nearly threw himself at me because he didn’t want me to leave. Yep. Cried like a bitch in the car.
Today, they called around 9 this morning. Confirmed yep, we can come pick him up around noon. And no, he still hadn’t eaten, but they did say that was normal and he seemed nervous so he’d eat probably once he got home and relaxed.
So we picked him up at just before noon, and he was so goddamn happy to see us, I can’t even explain it, okay, holy shit, I was so excited to see him too.
Here’s one of the big reasons I’m making this update.
Here are the bills, from the Xray, and from the surgery (I only did the 1st page of the surgery). The “subtotal” is the total.
The total amount for Caine just since the 12th is $3,625.17. Since it had to be paid before he could come home, I had to take out a CareCredit card.
I would never ask you guys for the full amount (though if there is anyone out there with that kind of money to spare, I would literally love you for the rest of my life & would spend the rest of my life figuring out how to thank you). I’m just looking for help to pay it off. The money isn’t for me, it’s never for me, it’s for him. I’m still struggling to pay off my other debts, things I haven’t been able to really get my claws into since I was out of work three fucking years ago. Just when I see the top, I get yanked back under (dental problems, health problems, car issues, etc). Those things I’m working at paying off on my own.
This is the only thing I’m asking for help with.
I’ve updated my Ko-Fi goal - it used to be shown with the top of the estimate listed as the goal, but since the real amount was actually less than the lower estimate, I’ve updated it. I’ve even dropped it to just $3,200. I’m really desperate. I need help.
Anything you can give for him, I would appreciate it to the end of the Earth. He would appreciate it too. Once he’s healed up, he’ll be able to run and play and do the things that he really hasn’t done in a while.
Here is my Ko-Fi. Even if you can’t afford to donate, please share this. Everything helps, and I can’t even begin to explain how much help I need. Honestly, I’m surprised I’m even making sense right now.
Thank you.
And, as always, I’m happy to make you a video, or a photo manip, if you want it in exchange for donating (I genuinely don’t mind, but I don’t know what people want or like). Just send me a message and talk to me about it, I’m happy to figure something out. :)
So, I’m sure most of you know, Caine went through surgery last week due to a 13cm mass on his spleen. They removed the mass and his spleen, kept him two days, and then let us bring him home. During the last week, they sent off samples from the mass to test for cancer.
We spoke to the vet on Tuesday, who told us they had part of the pathology report, which showed that it was clean, although the mass had begun to tear (had it fully torn open, he could have bled to death before we realized what was happening), but (obviously) it didn’t bleed out.
Got in touch with them today for the final results of the full test. No cancer! He’s healthy and he’s happy! And one week out of surgery and he’s already starting to act like a puppy again. We’re making sure he doesn’t do crazy - no jumping, no running around, he does still have a large incision on his stomach that is healing.
But he’s eating. He’s having full bowel movements (which haven’t been this big in a long time, so he must have had this thing for a while), and peeing more than he used to (both of these things we’re attributing to the fact that the mass was pressing into his bladder & his colon - we saw the xrays, it was crazy).
He’s doing so fucking good.
If you guys want to donate, still, the cost of the surgery was just around $3,000 (I don’t have the exact number in front of me while I’m writing this), so I’ve still got the Goal on my Ko-Fi, if you want to do that. Sharing is good, too. (You can also share this so anyone who saw it who doesn’t follow me knows that he’s come out well and is doing so fucking good. I can’t express how happy I am for that.)
So, here is my Ko-Fi.
You guys are wonderful. Thank you, for everything, past & future. <3
Caine goes in tomorrow at 7:30 in the morning for his surgery, and he will be there until Friday.
The estimated cost of this is between $3,800 and $4,800 (I won't have a fixed cost until we pick him up). I don't have that kind of money, so I had to take out a CareCredit to pay for this.
He's 10 years old.
He has to have a splenectomy, to remove his spleen and the 13cm growth that's attached to it. He has to have his stomach sutured to his side after, because it has an increased likelihood, then, of flipping (and anyone who remembers that ep of the Simpsons when Santa's Little Helper had a twisted stomach knows it's not good). The mass has to be sent to a pathologist to confirm whether or not it's cancerous.
I'm gonna be out of my mind until he's back home. And then I'm gonna be stressed out of my mind on paying for all of this.
If you guys can donate for him, I'd appreciate it more than I could ever say. If all you can do is share this and spread the word, that helps, too. I'm sure you're tired of me asking, but dont think of it as helping me. Think of it at helping him, because that's all I'm asking for.
Here is my Kofi.
Thank you, from the bottom of my heart and beyond, thank you.
For anyone who didn’t see my post, found here, Caine is doing great.
He’s already acting like a puppy, he’s eating better, he’s moving better, he’s going to the bathroom better. Honestly, if he didn’t have the scar, you would never know he had surgery or that anything was ever wrong. I cannot express how amazing that is, and how grateful I am that this was the turnout.
But here’s where I am now.
The surgery cost, all told, about $3,600. I took out a CareCredit to pay for it, because you have to pay when you pick up your pet - you can’t do partial payments. I’m struggling trying to figure out how I’m going to afford it.
And he still has to be on his normal medication - Rovera, and Apoquel, at a minimum, which is approximately $180. He’s actually due for a refill in a couple days.
I’m struggling with this, guys. I know, money is tight for people, I really do understand, and i’m sorry to keep posting. But I could use all the help you can offer. If you can’t donate, even a little, a share helps, too. And I appreciate every single thing.
My Ko-Fi is here, and every penny goes to paying for Caine. I’m sort of handling everything else I owe okay, but I’m drowning with this added weight.
