Riley’s Surgery

Hi Everyone,

On June 18th Riley had emergency surgery due to a foreign body that was blocking her intestine. During surgery the doctor found a piece of thread that wrapped around the base of her tongue and went all the way down her stomach and intestine. Along with finding the thread, there was grass like material that was bunched up in her intestine which was also taken out.

Riley recovered well after surgery but unfortunately 6 weeks later we are back at the hospital.

Last Friday Riley threw up pools of blood & looked very bloated. We took her to prime care pet hospital where they ran a physical exam, blood work, and x-rays. The x-rays showed a foreign body but the doctor was unsure of what it was. She advised us to go to the emergency hospital to get an ultrasound to see if it was another foreign object. At this point the doctor said it’s not looking good and she might need another surgery.

We picked Riley up and took her to VCA West Coast Specialty and Emergency hospital where they did an ultrasound and took more blood test. After waiting for a couple of hours, the doctor called and said there was a lot of fluid in Riley’s stomach but they were unsure what was causing the fluid. The doctor also mentioned there was no need for emergency surgery but that they wanted to keep her over the weekend so they could monitor her. Riley was discharged on Sunday & looked way better than she did on Friday. However, On Monday morning she didn’t want to eat & stood in the same spot for 2 1/2 hrs. She couldn’t walk, her body was shaking, & she defecated on herself. We took her back to the hospital (where she had her first surgery at prime care pet hospital) and the doctor performed exploratory surgery to see what was causing the fluid in her stomach. During surgery, the doctor found that Riley had a Mesenteric torsion.

“A mesenteric torsion is the twisting of the intestines around the mesenteric axis. The mesentery is the suspension system for the intestines. The many feet of the intestines are suspended by a pretty small mesenteric root that contains the attachment of the mesentery and the major blood vessels providing nutrients to the intestines. Occasionally, this system can twist on itself causing serious, often fatal consequences”

Luckily, Riley made it through surgery but we’re still concerned about her recovery process.

Jonathan & I have done everything and anything we can to keep Riley alive and well. However, that also comes with a big cost. With her first surgery + her stay at the hospital over the weekend we have paid well over $11,000. We feel terrible asking for help, but as of right now we have no other option as we were blind sided the last few days. Her second surgery can be anywhere between $5,000-$6,000. Any donations to Riley’s medical expenses is greatly appreciated!!! We love our girl & we want her to go to back to her happy & normal self.

Thank you for taking the time to read Riley’s story.