Help Gertie with Splenectomy & Other Med Costs

Hey everyone, Joelle here!

Main incidents we need help covering and are raising money for:
 
-Various blood work and tests since August 2021 to December 2021 - $2,070.98
-Anaphylaxis bee sting emergency room visit, November 2021 - $1,005.00
-Splenectomy, December 2021 - $7,808.01 (estimate - I will adjust the goal if the total is lower or higher when we check out of the hospital)
Total= $10,883.99

 

As some of you know, our dear Gertie the Gremlin has been facing many medical issues this past year. 2021 was NOT her year! The TLDR is that starting in February of 2021, she's been in and out of primary care, emergency hospitals, has endured many tests, and experimented with many different possible solutions. The main reason for this constant medical help is chronic digestive issues that continue to stump the vets. HOWEVER...

 

Because we've been trying to get to the bottom of her digestive problems, last week she went in for an ultrasound. During the ultrasound, they found a tumor on her spleen. This was an incidental find, and it is the opinion of multiple doctors who have looked at her case that this has nothing to do with her other digestive issues, but it is so lucky that we found it.

 

 

 

 

As of typing this, she just had a splenectomy (they removed her entire spleen) and she is still at the hospital and must spend the night. The surgery went well and they are SO GRATEFUL that they were able to schedule her in last-minute for surgery because the mass had actually ruptured! If she went without surgery, the doctor believes it would have ruptured again in a few weeks and we would have had to rush her in for emergency surgery. I can't express the gratitude I have that a surgery opening occurred today which allowed Gertie to go in when she needed to. We're hoping she'll be home before Christmas.

 

 

 

 

We are still waiting for results of the spleen biopsy and other biopsies they took of her intestines and stomach (in attempt to figure out what's up with all her digestive problems). The vet says there's a 50/50 chance it can be cancerous, so we are crossing our fingers that it's not. This is a terrifying thing to hear. If those results don't turn out good, we will have to assess what's the best next steps for our sweet girl.

 

As you may imagine, this has put a lot of emotional and financial stress on our little family. We love Gertie more than is even possible to explain. (If you know us, you know she is our WORLD! Everything we do revolves around Gertie and her sister Ripley :D) I feel uncomfortable asking for help, so PLEASE do not feel any pressure to give. I am asking though because this is an enormous amount of money that we quite simply do not have. We were doing alright at the beginning of the year and were able to slowly pay off her issues, but with the new incidents starting at the end of the summer, we just can't keep up any more.

 

 

 

 

We are calling on the compassion and loving generosity of our family and friends and fans of Gertie and asking that if you have anything to spare (even $1 will help!), please consider donating. Please don't donate if you do not have the means. Money is tight and even more so this time of year. I don't have any expectations and I love all of you for keeping Gertie in your thoughts regardless. I just want to put it out there for those of you who may want to help and have the ability to. We are so grateful that we are both employed full-time, but this is a financial set-back that will put us in the hole for a very, very long time.

 

Main incidents we need help covering and are raising money for:

 

 

Thank you so much for listening and considering donating. I truly am so grateful for every person who cares about our dogs. Dogs are family. When you adopt them, you accept that things like this may happen and you gotta do whatever it takes to keep them healthy and comfortable. So I really appreciate the support and extra help for our little angel hyena, Gertie. I will keep this GoFundMe updated as we get new information on her health and treatment plan. Don't hesitate to reach out.

 

We love you,

Joelle, Andrés, Gertie, and Ripley