Frank’s Grass Awn Infection Journey

Update 8/28: Frank ended up back in the ER after an episode of severe bloat and gastric distention. We rushed him to the clinic immediately so thankfully his stomach did not flip. He received a gastric lavage to remove the gas and food from his stomach. So far we are in the clear on avoiding a gastropexy. The bloat was probably caused by a combination of upset stomach from antibiotics, along with anxiety from not feeling well- causing him to become constipated and extremely gassy. This brought our total vet bills up another $2300. 

Update post 2nd surgery: He had a mediastinal abscess removed, as much infected tissue that could be safely removed, and an infected accessory lung lobe removed. No particular foreign body was found and his cultures came back negative for intracellular bacteria (bacteria consistent with plant matter, like a grass awn). 

Update 8/4: After having a few great months of lots of activity and feeling the best he ever has, he started showing symptoms again. I immediately took him in and he received more imagery, where they found an abscess in his chest. He is scheduled for another surgery on 8/8/23. His grand total is now up around $18,000.

Update post 1st surgery: His thoracotomy ended up being $7,000. They removed a huge amount of infection (granules of pus and nastiness) from his entire chest cavity and organs.

 

Start of our journey, April 2023:

I adopted Frank, a wirehaired pointing Griffon from the Humane Society of Northwest Montana when he was almost 5 years old. In the few years I have had him, he has been the most fun, active, goofiest boy. He’s never met a stranger and has remained a loving, playful, and patient papa dog to the many dogs who board in our home.

This sweet man will be now have to undergo a major, and expensive, surgery to drain fluid from his chest and remove a section of his lung that became infected due to a grass seed being inhaled or migrating through his skin. He has already racked up a $2000 vet bill in diagnostics and an attempt at antibiotic treatment. Unfortunately, these infections are hard to treat and if not removed, the grass seed will continue migrating and spreading infection through his body. The effects of this would be painful and devastating if not taken care of. His surgery needs to be done by an experienced veterinary team, and therefore was quoted at $6500, with the potential for unexpected costs once they are in there.

I never thought I would be the one asking for help to save my best buddy and find it hard to do so. However, he is worth it. He is still trying to be his wild, playful self and I know he has so much more life in him.