Help Finnegan Fight Pneumonia and Recover

My name is Lauren Boysen and this is my horse Finnegan. Finnegan and I have been companions since I was a little girl. He has been and always will be my best friend. Together we have persevered through a lot of life changes and he has always been there when I needed him. Now it’s my turn to be there for him.

This past August, I was fortunate enough to begin my first year of veterinary school at Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine. Finnegan was able to move with me during my undergraduate career and now he has moved with me to Auburn. Initially, he transitioned well to the move, but after 1 week he developed an ileo-impaction, which is a type of colic. It was an up and down battle at the ER, but he finally passed the impaction without surgery. He then was continuing to reflux for days, which isn’t uncommon, but he was maintaining a fever and began having some diarrhea. We tested for salmonella and so far all tests have come back negative. The diarrhea has since ceased, but the fever continues. He finally stopped refluxing and his tube was removed. He developed a slight cough at the time, but his lungs sounded great. We continued to monitor his vitals and decided to do some bloodwork since his fever was still present when not maintained with medications. The bloodwork revealed his wbc count was low and now during his physical checks his lungs were starting to sound different. An ultrasound was completed, which diagnosed him with developing pneumonia. A trans-tracheal wash was performed, and he was put on broad spectrum antibiotics. We were hopeful this would take care of it, but after another ultrasound his lungs are still getting worse. A chest tap was performed to drain the fluid in his lungs and collect a sample for culture. He stayed stable for a few days, but now he is spiking a high fever through the medications and his lungs have become rapidly worse. Today, the culture came back and we were able to pinpoint a more specific antibiotic for the bacteria growing in his lungs. Currently, there are fibers growing in his lungs that are essentially causing infected bubbles of fluid to become trapped, making it difficult for the antibiotics to penetrate into this area. Finnegan is also beginning to have systemic inflammation, which is not ideal for becoming stable again. Our goal is to continue to medically treat him with hopes the new antibiotics will make him at least stable again. Once he remains stable for a while, we will be able to take more steps towards helping him, whether that be through continued medical treatment or surgery. Right now, it is up to Finnegan to fight an uphill battle so later we can fight for him the rest of the way.

As you can imagine, this has not been a very affordable adventure. Finnegan is family and he is my “heart horse”. Having to put a price cap on a family members’ treatment is heartbreaking and it is emotionally draining. Releasing this financial burden would not only help me, but it would help save Finnegan’s life. Any donation toward his medical treatment would be more than greatly appreciated. Thank you.