Help for Hercules Spleenectomy Surgery and medical

2/5/2024 Update:

It's been 6 months since Hercules' Splenectomy. Recovery was tough but he had been doing relatively well lately. We had an echocardiogram done back in November due to a heart murmur he developed after surgery that did not go away and we know that he is in early stages of heart disease however, the Cardiologist said he wasn't a candidate for medication at that time but last few days has now developed a slight cough out of nowhere along with labored breathing upon standing from laying position and just walking from room to room.

I have dropped him off this morning at his vet office to be seen and praying this can be treated and easily managed. I still have a balance remaining from all the surgery and follow up visits and treatments and now this.

We would be beyond grateful for any help you can lend for him, including prayers, good ju-ju and positive words as my entire world is crumbling before my eyes.

I will not let him suffer though. I'm praying for a miracle this can be an easy fixed or managed. We still have so much to do on this earth together.

Thank you for our love & support.

Jolene & Kev Fiona (his sister) and Hercules

8/3/23 PUPDATE on Hercules

I received a call from his Dr with his latest labs from Monday (7/31).

Basically, we are still around the same with his red blood cell ct. It has now only at 27 % so still remains somewhat anemic with him being at a such a slow rate of production. His platelets are way up 634 now!!

His liver enzymes GGT, WBC are also elevated and a couple of other things elevated that may just be due to surgery, medications (probably the steroids) and age.

So the game plan as of today is to begin to taper down his steroids. He will now do half his dosage which will put him at 20mg 2x day, stopping the doxycyline (amox-clav course competed on Tuesday), stop the Yunnan Baiyao. Add in a B12 supplement and just give his body a rest from further tests, sticks and pokes for a few weeks.

An internal specialist was consulted with on his case and these were their recommendations to do at this time. We are still holding the liver biopsy which we may ultimately send off to get tested as we are coming up with really no concrete answers or diagnosis and since he does have a nodule in his liver they found on the ultrasound it will likely need to be done....however, that will run around $300 so for now, we will continue to hold it until later as we see how he comes along.

They say he is a strange and weird case (just a couple of the words I've heard) lol so being that Hercules has ALWAYS stood out on his own and marched to the beat of his own drum...even in illness, he remains a stand alone guy LMAO my lone wolf hahaha

With that said, he currently remains a medical mystery right now, so in the spirit of Lydia Deetz,...all I hear now in my head (as if Hercules is thinking out loud) is.... "I myself am strange and unusual".... :)

He is definitely NOT acting like my Hercules or even feeling like him with this body losing so much muscle mass and limpy noodle- feeling body... I know the drugs have helped him but he feels almost "simulated" now if that makes sense but hopefully cutting these steroids down he will begin to feel even better without them in his system and we can eventually stop them completely. The goal is just to give him a better quality of life as we let his body heal and see what he is going to do. I am trying EVERYTHING in my power and my bag of tricks to help him back to himself and his health to get stronger and better everyday.

I'm still in urgent need of raising the remaining medical bills to date (approximately $5,000.00 to go from the original $11,000.00,) so PLEASE HELP to share his Go Fund Me campaign and if you would like to help donate there are other options to do that without the fees we will be losing through GFM, I also have Zelle, Venmo, Apple Pay and Cash App available.

I can't say thank you enough to those who have helped us out with a donation, shared his fundraiser, have prayed, sent reiki and healing vibes, lit candles or have been my emotional support though this whole ordeal. Lord knows, I am NOT ok but he is my priority and it makes me so sad and have feelings of hopelessness that my A1, My Goose, my road dog is not 100% but to those who check on us daily and spend time with me whether that's helping me with resources, dietary needs, ideas and advice or just making sure I am breathing and taking care of myself too- I love you guys for that more than you know. ♥

UPDATE 7/28/23

We have some really good news to

share on our GOODEST & BEST BOY Hercules.

Labs show that his platelets went ⬆️ from a low 69 now to 300!!! His PCV which is red blood cells was confirmed still at 25% which is still low (normal range is 35-55%) but we are hoping it will continue to go up and typically red blood cells take longer then platelets.

And there’s something new…… he has reticulocytes present which means his body is making NEW red blood cells and he’s regenerating!!! And the BEST news is the biopsy of the spleen has been re-checked and final addendum added NO Hermangiosarcoma CANCER!!

Despite having multiple round cells present (which is typically seen in Lymphoma) it’s within a mix of cells and possibly a symptomatic but re check concludes it’s also NOT Lymphoma.

What caused this attack on his spleen and body is still an unknown and most likely he still has something else underlying that’s been brewing for quite a long time but as of now that tumor and nasty looking spleen is out of him , he’s on an all new diet, he has his beach body in affect, his tail ia wagging once again. He is feeling AWESOME and is visually HAPPY and most importantly he is still here with us!! ❤️

He will remain on the steroids as long as he is able to tolerate it. It was a total gamble to go this route and a risk I was taking because it could’ve actually had an adverse affect and make him worse but it was a last ditch effort and I’m sooooo glad I tried it and even happier it is WORKING positively for him!!

I can’t even put it into words how all of this has been to go through and to truly witness the miracle of a last minute turn around for him after watching him deteriorate quickly and seeing all he had been through and seeing how awful he had become by Friday, I was convinced I would be granting him his peace by Monday.

He still has a grade 2 1/2 heart murmur which we will keep an eye on for now. So he cannot do anything wild and crazy and we are still keeping him as quiet and calm as possible.

He has to go back Monday 7/31 to recheck his blood work again. He’s on another two weeks of his antibiotics and he will also continue the Yunnan Baiyao for a bit longer.

Currently, he’s on a prescription diet using Royal Canin Gastrointestinal low fat canned food but we are in process changing his entire diet over to possibly raw or at least more balanced home cooked meals.

Please keep the prayers and good energy coming.

I’m so grateful and humbled by the generous donations many of you have made to help Hercules and his medical bills and have raised approximately half of our goal. That’s so AWESOME!! To those who have contributed, helped share and/or have prayed or sent good juju and healing vibes we say THANK YOU again!!

There is more than one way to donate (Venmo, Zelle cash app, and Apple Pay for zero fees taking out)!

We appreciate donations in any

Amount since his bills are large it all helps! Thank you!!

Love to all ❤️ ❤️

Mama J

UPDATE 7/19/23

Hercules is home and his body is hard at work recovering but he is still very fragile. Apparently he had lost a lot of blood during surgery and his PCV levels were very low to the point that they called me at 11:30 pm on the 13th to let me know he was facing a possible blood transfusion and developed a heart murmur. I had to drive down there to make payment and I asked to see him. Thankfully by 4:30 AM he was still holding stable and they took the blood transfusion off the table. His levels came back to 19 Friday night which is still low but we are hoping they have since increased and we have a re-check this coming this Wednesday. Thank you to everyone that has donated and we are truly grateful for your kindness & generosity. This has been such a scary ordeal. We are still awaiting the pathology results and are praying hard it is benign.

UPDATE 7/13/23 9:00 pm

Hey everyone just wanted to make a quick update about Hercules.

His splenectomy went well. He was so loved by all the staff and was such a good boy they said. They removed his extra large spleen that weighed a whopping 5lbs it was triple the size of a normal spleen of a dog his size.

It had the large 8.7 cm tumor as well as multiple lesions I couldn’t believe how big it was!

He is stable for the most part but his red blood cell count dropped from 35 to 25 after surgery and his gums are pale and he’s very very sleepy still, so for safe measure, they want him to go to an overnight hospital for close monitoring.

I got him admitted at VCA Emergency Vet in Mission Valley (Hotel Circle) for the night per our Vets request. They have him in back getting him situated and comfortable and set up on his IV.

I HATE that I have to leave him at all but I know how big of a surgery this was and it’s safest for him to be here being monitored by specialized RVTS & Drs who can see something going south before I would be able to.

We need massive prayers for him that he can get through this night and move forward rather than any declining and of course a benign biopsy result.

He has a nodule on his liver which was noted on the ultrasound but surgeon didn’t see it visually during the surgery so it’s probably deep within but she took a sample which is being saved for now for possible biopsy pending spleen results.

I’m a basket case as you can imagine but I’m grateful that part is over he is in the best place right now and hoping he can be able to just come home sometime tomorrow morning

This stay is obviously not going to be cheap in addition to today's surgery and the care he received Monday Tuesday and Wednesday so PLEASE keep sharing his fundraiser AND PRAYING

I’m also grateful for ANY amount you are able to do towards this unexpected emergency expense.

The outpouring of love and support is so comforting. Also the words of encouragement many of you have sent is so helpful more than you know so THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart ❤️

Keep sharing and keep praying

___________________________________________________________________

Hi, We have a serious issue going on with our beloved Hercules aka "Hercs" and he is in need of a Splenectomy, which will be taking place tomorrow 7/13/23.

He has a tumor which is located central right side and is about 8.7 cm (equal to the size of a small grapefruit).

He became very ill last week, wasn't eating much or at all, no appetite, had diarrhea and some vomiting through the weekend his belly is swollen and just wasn't himself.

Monday we got him into his vet he is running a fever and upon exam an enlarged spleen was suspected. We started him on IV fluids for the day and again on Tuesday. Tuesday it was confirmed via ultrasound that he had a tumor and it had bled. He is on a chinese herb called Yunnam Baiyao to stop the bleeding.

His Dr feels he is a good candidate for a spleenectomy and he would have a 50/50 chance it's benign.

As of now he is a ticking timebomb and surgery was initially scheduled for Monday but somehow the universe intervened and it is miraculously able to happen tomorrow (7/13/23) which is such a relief becuase I wasn't comfortable having him wait those few extra days.

For those that know and love Hercules, know what an AMAZING dog he is. We are long time volunteers at the San Diego Humane Society where he has attended many events, including a reading program with kids, birthday parties, attended public schools and libraries, San Diego Juvenile Hall therapy visits, in addition to his therapy work in various other programs. He has brought countless smiles to people's faces and brightened many people's days.

I want nothing more than for him to get well and get back to what he loves most and that is helping people and continue getting his infamous belly rubs that he loves so much.

Hercules is a rescued American Staffordshire Terrier who earned his CGC Certification in 2015 and has volunteered countless hours of community service and is an Ambassador for his breed as well as for the San Diego Humane Society.

We truly appreciate everyone's love, kindness, prayers and support. The last 72 hours have been nerve-racking and one of the toughest things I've had to work through. I have been dealing with my own health issues over the past several months and this is obviously completely unexpected.

In addition to the Go Fund me, you can use Venmo, Zelle, Cash App $HelpHercules or Paypal (Family & Friends) but right now PP it's taking fees until I can get the account converted..

His vet office is Amici Pet Hospital of Little Italy under Hercules Figueroa for direct donations. [phone redacted].

We just want our baby safe and well, get this hurdle behind us and on to healing and back to living!

In Gratitude,

Jolene and Kevin

Hercs Human Parents