Phoebe at 6 weeks Phoebe's Story Phoebe came from a litter of TEN (her poor mother)and she was the "runt". She was checked out by a vet prior to her arrival into my life and was deemed healthy. My friend Lisa (who adopted Phoebe's sister and best friend Maggie)and I drove to upstate NY to pick up Phoebe and two of her siblings (my office adopted 4 out of the 10). Phoebe was adorable- she was a little smaller than the others at 7.5 lbs at almost 8 weeks. Being a slightly neurotic person and an owner of a 2 year old Boston Terrier (Kayla) and a rescued cat (Bailey) I decided to make sure Phoebe's Pet Insurance was in place prior to her arrival. When I took Phoebe for her first checkup with my own Vet, I discovered Phoebe had a very strong "mechanical heart murmur". I was heart broken! My tiny little helpless puppy! My vet informed me that I needed to see a cardiologist ASAP. I didn't even know they had dog cardiologists. I took Phoebe to 2 cardiologists who diagnosed her with Patent Ductus Arterios ("PDA") which in layman's terms is a hole in her heart. When I heard the news I was devastated. After discussing my options with Phoebe's cardiologist (less than a year to live or surgery) I decided to proceed with surgery to close the hole in her heart so she would have a chance. In the back of my mind I was so smart thinking that the majority of the cost of Phoebe's surgery would be covered by my Pet Insurance. Phoebe had surgery and they placed 5 coils in her heart to close the hole. After her first checkup, much to my cardiologist and my dismay, we discovered the coils were only able to close 90% of the hole and that my Pet Insurance refused to cover ANY of the cost of surgery claiming that PDA was congenital, and therefore not covered. My argument was how could it be congenital when the first vet she saw cleared her as healthy. Prognosis: Life span of a couple of years if I was lucky and a very expensive medical bill. Not being one to give up, I asked what else I could do. More surgery was the answer. I figured I would continue to fight with the Pet Insurance to get them to cover what I believe I was entitled to as a policy holder and to proceed forward with the second surgery. The second surgery did not go as planned. Phoebe's aorta ruptured and she almost died. She needed a blood and plasma transfusion. My response- do whatever it takes to save her. Through the excellent medical care of the Drs. Sammarco, Phoebe pulled through but the prognosis had not changed from the first surgery. And now I was I was in even more debt. As if that weren't enough, I was devastated to learn that it would not be possible to place more coils in Phoebe's heart, everything that could be done was done and she had a couple of years to live if I was lucky. Not being a quitter and refusing to give up on this little life that was entrusted to me, I refused to believe that nothing more could be done. Luckily Phoebe's cardiologist felt the same way and began to research options. The answer was one more surgery. This would be different and more complicated. They would have to "crack the chest" and perform open heart surgery in an attempt to "tie" off the hole. I was so happy that there was still a possibility of saving Phoebe that I figured somehow I would find the money. What was important here was to do everything in my power to save my puppy. Now that there was a possible solution I had to face the facts. The third surgery was going to be more complicated and the risks were higher. I thought higher than last time? She almost died. How much higher could they be? You can imagine my agony at deciding what to do. Do I put this poor puppy through another procedure when she almost died during the second surgery or do I let her live the couple of years she has left and keep her as comfortable as possible. Euthanizing her was NEVER an option in my mind. After many sleepless nights and endless consultations with in my opinion the best dog cardiologist out there, I decided to go for the surgery and give Phoebe a fighting chance at a normal life. The next surgeon I was introduced to was Dr. Davis. My initial consultation with him was two days after I buried my Grandmother. I just couldn't lose someone else I loved so much in such a short period of time. In my mind I thought there was no way God would be that cruel I just had to have faith. Dr. Davis was a very calm and reassuring man. After speaking with him, I decided to go for the third surgery. Phoebe pulled through but we had a long road to recovery. She was bandaged which as you can imagine she hated and there was a lot of swelling. There were many nights that Phoebe and I hopped in the car at 11PM and headed back down the parkway to have her wound site drained and to be re-bandaged. Thanks to the unending patience and kindness of the wonderful staff at Red Bank Veterinary Hospital, Phoebe made a full recovery. I am sure my story is not unique. The symptoms may be but the story is not. Please don't think I did something great or noble. I did what any pet owner in my position would do- anything in my power to save my pet. While the cost of the three surgeries was extensive, I would have taken on any debt in the world to save Phoebe. The vets who helped us gave unconditionally of their time, expertise and kindness and it is to them the credit is due for Phoebe having a life to live. Although words can not properly express my gratitude, I wanted to save the last page of this website to properly thank them and everyone else who helped me financially, emotionally and physically through the first year of Phoebe's life where any free time I had was spent at the Vet with Phoebe. I hope to be able to edit the above but wanted to get my story written down to explain the whole story behind the Phoebe Foundation. The foundation was started with the goal being to help as many people as possible who are in the same situation I was in- agonizing over what to do to help save their pet and wondering how in the world that was going to be financially possible. Helping hands healing hearts (both human and dog in my case) became my mantra. So here is how it all started... |
Phoebe- August 2007 in Spring Lake, NJ |
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