Help Fund Edwin's Heart Surgery

The Short Story

Welcome to my fundraiser. This fundraiser is to raise as much as possible of the approximately £17 - 20k needed for my seven year old chihuahua's life saving Mitral Valve Repair surgery at the Royal Veterinary College, London and associated vet bills. Edwin is insured with MoreThan at the premium rate but it caps at 4K per condition. The average life span without surgery at Edwin's stage of disease is 12 months. My pets are so vital to me, more than I could ever put into words. I honestly don't know where I would be without them and it breaks my heart that I am unable to provide one of them with something lifesaving. Despite being disabled and unable to work, I have never had to crowdfund before to afford pet care. I don't do this lightly at all and it isn't the only avenue I am going down to raise funds. I know this is a lot of money and to some it may be hard to justify spending it on a dog's life, especially when times are so tough for so many but I can't justify not trying. I wouldn't be able to live with myself.

If you are able to spare any change or even just share this, I would be so grateful. You can also follow Edwin's journey and find future ways to help on his Instagram or Facebook page (@thelifeofedwin).

The Long Story

Back on the 24th January 2021 my seven year old chihuahua, Edwin, was diagnosed with a heart murmur and an enlarged heart due to a leaky valve, otherwise known as Mitral Valve Disease. The mitral valve is responsible for making sure the blood flowing through the heart can't leak backwards, causing issues. I took him to the vet due to a sudden onset cough after he went for a walk. He was having prolonged coughing episodes, so the next day I made an appointment. Thankfully the vet took it seriously right away and was concerned for his heart. As this was a Saturday, they booked him in for X-rays on the Monday.

The first photo is the full X-ray of his chest and the second shows where his heart is enlarged.

That swollen area was pressing on his trachea and causing the cough. The vet said the cough probably saved his life as it alerted us to the heart issue. At the time I asked the vet about referring Edwin to a cardiology specialist but he said there was no need as it was ‘basic cardiology’ and there are no surgical options. He then prescribed Vetmedin, which Edwin takes twice a day. After joining a MVD group on Facebook, people expressed how important it is to have a cardiologist and I also learned there is a very expensive surgery that a select couple of cardiology surgeons perform. One of which happens to be just across the pond in London.

I was to bring Edwin back in three months or so for a check up and in the mean time I was to record his respiratory rate daily. After much thought, I decided to look for a cardiologist anyway. Just to be as thorough as possible. On the 25th May 2021 Edwin had his first appointment with vet cardiologist, Neil Walmsley.

The cardiologist, Neil, got me to go through Edwin’s history. He then gave me a refresher on heart anatomy and went through what he would be doing and looking for. I think because Edwin otherwise seems so healthy, he was thinking it wouldn’t be bad. Then he sounded Edwin’s chest and said the murmur is actually very loud.

He then shaved a patch on each of Edwin’s sides so he could do the echocardiogram. He was able to show the valve and how it was damaged. He also used colour to show the blood leaking backwards and how much. Again, I think he was surprised. He said they would class cases as mild, moderate or severe and given the leakage Edwin has, he would be classed as moderate, leaning towards severe. He also found that Edwin is either in the early stages of pulmonary hypertension (where fluid collects in the lungs) or is heading that way.

If Edwin was a person, he would be on a waiting list for a valve replacement but sadly those aren’t available in dogs yet. However, as mentioned above there is a surgery performed in London and Japan but the cost is currently approximately at least £17k. So many can't or don't opt to explore that avenue. So in the mean time my cardiologist’s treatment plan is to continue with Vetmedin and also introduce Lasix (a diuretic for the fluid on the lungs) and an ace inhibitor. I asked how long on average dogs with this level of disease live for and he told me that typically it is a year. Which obviously was quite a shock to me. I knew it would reduce his life expectancy but I guess I didn’t expect by that much. Edwin is only 7 after all and without this he could easily live twice that. I’m a little numb right now and the surgery may not be possible for Edwin but I'm going to do everything in my power to try and have hope.  Please share Edwin's story and be part of that hope.