Otto's Medical Expenses
Donation protected
Hello, folks, I am posting this to let everyone know what happened this last week. On Sunday morning, October 18, my 5 year old red and white piebald Dachshund Otto woke up and was walking very oddly. His back legs were moving, but in a very strange manner. I was concerned and sent some emails to friends but my first thought was to let him rest for a while and see if he got better.
I let him rest on the couch into the afternoon. But at some point I realized that his back legs were not moving at all, nor was his tail. Now I had already started to read some articles on the internet and realized that given Otto’s breed and age, there was a very extreme likelihood that he had herniated discs. Also that he would need surgery on them as soon as possible, as the odds of permanently losing the use of his back legs increased dramatically within the first 24 hours of the paralysis. So I called my friend Warren and we agreed to take Otto to the hospital. After a false start, we took him to the Animal Medical Center in Manhattan, on East 62nd Street.
They agreed that he would need immediate surgery. He had an MRI to verify and at about 1 AM on Sunday night/Monday morning his surgery began. He was operated on for about 7 hours. I received a call on Monday morning that while he was coming along well, because of the types of medications he was on and the sensitivity of his situation, he should not be visited the first day after his operation.
On Tuesday Warren and I were able to visit him.
The day after the operation, he was already showing improvement, in that he had some movement in his tail and legs. Otto has a more than 90% chance of returning to normal movement in his back legs, mostly because the surgery was performed quickly enough to maximize its effectiveness.
I took him home the afternoon of Wednesday, October 21, and he will need to recuperate slowly. Happily, he is already showing signs of recovery, he can walk on all four legs, and he seems happy to be back home. However, the first 4 weeks, or maybe a little longer, he will need to be kept crated most of the time, as he needs his spine to heal after the surgery. He will need to have additional visits to the Medical Center to monitor his progress for the next few months.
Now, some of you may be aware that I have had some difficulty getting steady employment since I was laid off in early 2013. I do not have any animal health insurance. The only reason that Otto was able to have the surgery that will keep him active for the rest of his days is due to the help of a friend who generously authorized the payments that would allow for the surgery.
Otto’s medical expenses up to this point are a little over $6,000. There will be additional costs in the next few months as his progress is monitored. That is a lot of money, but compared to what some places charge (including a hospital I had him at earlier), it is still a bargain for what was major surgery, an MRI, and 3 nights in the hospital. I know that when I was in a hospital for 3 days 4 years ago, when I had a look at the pre-insurance charges for my visit, they were a lot higher. But it is more than one or two people should be expected to pay, especially when it is not even their own dog, they were helping a friend.
My two dogs are the best part of me, I know. Otto is a very sweet and loving dog, and very friendly with most people, with a great personality. I am happy that he will soon be active and walking again. I think it was a useful and important thing for him to be granted this surgery and additional healthy time on this planet.
I have set up this gofundme page, https://www.gofundme.com/pz742ptc,
to raise the costs of Otto’s surgery and recovery. The generosity that allowed this surgery to happen-surgery that had to happen as rapidly as it did or Otto’s chances of complete recovery would have gone down drastically-needs to be rewarded. I ask you from the bottom of my heart to help in any way to defer Otto’s expenses.
Thank you.
I let him rest on the couch into the afternoon. But at some point I realized that his back legs were not moving at all, nor was his tail. Now I had already started to read some articles on the internet and realized that given Otto’s breed and age, there was a very extreme likelihood that he had herniated discs. Also that he would need surgery on them as soon as possible, as the odds of permanently losing the use of his back legs increased dramatically within the first 24 hours of the paralysis. So I called my friend Warren and we agreed to take Otto to the hospital. After a false start, we took him to the Animal Medical Center in Manhattan, on East 62nd Street.
They agreed that he would need immediate surgery. He had an MRI to verify and at about 1 AM on Sunday night/Monday morning his surgery began. He was operated on for about 7 hours. I received a call on Monday morning that while he was coming along well, because of the types of medications he was on and the sensitivity of his situation, he should not be visited the first day after his operation.
On Tuesday Warren and I were able to visit him.
The day after the operation, he was already showing improvement, in that he had some movement in his tail and legs. Otto has a more than 90% chance of returning to normal movement in his back legs, mostly because the surgery was performed quickly enough to maximize its effectiveness.
I took him home the afternoon of Wednesday, October 21, and he will need to recuperate slowly. Happily, he is already showing signs of recovery, he can walk on all four legs, and he seems happy to be back home. However, the first 4 weeks, or maybe a little longer, he will need to be kept crated most of the time, as he needs his spine to heal after the surgery. He will need to have additional visits to the Medical Center to monitor his progress for the next few months.
Now, some of you may be aware that I have had some difficulty getting steady employment since I was laid off in early 2013. I do not have any animal health insurance. The only reason that Otto was able to have the surgery that will keep him active for the rest of his days is due to the help of a friend who generously authorized the payments that would allow for the surgery.
Otto’s medical expenses up to this point are a little over $6,000. There will be additional costs in the next few months as his progress is monitored. That is a lot of money, but compared to what some places charge (including a hospital I had him at earlier), it is still a bargain for what was major surgery, an MRI, and 3 nights in the hospital. I know that when I was in a hospital for 3 days 4 years ago, when I had a look at the pre-insurance charges for my visit, they were a lot higher. But it is more than one or two people should be expected to pay, especially when it is not even their own dog, they were helping a friend.
My two dogs are the best part of me, I know. Otto is a very sweet and loving dog, and very friendly with most people, with a great personality. I am happy that he will soon be active and walking again. I think it was a useful and important thing for him to be granted this surgery and additional healthy time on this planet.
I have set up this gofundme page, https://www.gofundme.com/pz742ptc,
to raise the costs of Otto’s surgery and recovery. The generosity that allowed this surgery to happen-surgery that had to happen as rapidly as it did or Otto’s chances of complete recovery would have gone down drastically-needs to be rewarded. I ask you from the bottom of my heart to help in any way to defer Otto’s expenses.
Thank you.
Organizer and beneficiary
Bill Coleman
Organizer
Brooklyn, NY
Warren Becker
Beneficiary