Rebel’s Pericardiectomy Surgery

At the end of May of 2022, Rebel had to be rushed to an emergency vet because he was displaying signs of discomfort, vomiting, and acting a bit neurological. Thinking that he may have been bitten or stung by something (typical in Arizona), the vets determined he was likely in anaphylaxis. He was given Benadryl, IV fluids, and was sent home. 

However, something still didn't seem right with him and wouldn't eat a thing so I made an appointment with our regular vet. They noticed that at the emergency vet, his liver levels were extremely high. Given that Rebel had a history of Valley Fever (treated 2018-2020), they decided to test him for VF again and sent us home with some denamarin (liver detox). They also put him on a diet because he had gained quite a few pounds since his last visit. A few days later, we confirmed that Rebel was VF positive (1:16) and that it was likely impacting his liver. We started him immediately on Fluconazole. 

Several days later, he still wasn't eating, but I had been starting to notice that his belly was oddly big. Bigger than what you would expect in normal weight gain. I also noticed that he had a bit of a hacking cough on just one night, and was breathing fairly rapidly the next night. I called the vet several times within those few days and they said it was likely gastrointestinal distress from the fluconazole. When they told me to come grab some Fortiflora, I decided to bring him along so that they could see what I was seeing. As soon as the saw his big belly, they had me seen by our vet. She did some x-rays of his chest and abdomen and ran a test called a ProBNP, which is designed to detect cardiac distress. Sure enough, his heart was enlarged in the x-rays and his test results came back extremely high. We were IMMEDIATELY sent over to an emergency center for a pericardiocentesis. They drained 8 fluid ounces from around his heart. 

It was determined that the most likely cause of his heart issues was Valley Fever. He has since been on a battery of meds: fluconazole, prednisone, pimobendan, & the denamarin. Now we are in a bit of an arms race: will the fluconazole kick in fast enough for his immune system to fight the fungus in his heart, or will his heart begin to fill again with fluid causing this whole nightmare to happen again? I called every clinic and specialist and finally managed to get him seen by Arizona's most recommended cardiologist. He has a thickened pericardium and they are recommending surgery - a pericardiectomy. I have had several consults with several surgeons and have decided to go through with the surgery (~$10k) at Salt River Veterinary Specialists.

As of right now, Rebel has been stable. There was no fluid around his heart 3 weeks after the pericardiocentesis. He has no evidence of adhesions (sometimes when this happens, the pericardium begins to adhere to the heart itself). But surgery is his only shot of living a normal, happy life.

Therefore, I am humbly asking for any donations towards his vet bills and surgery. This is all happening around the time when I had to move out of my house fairly quickly, we'd been living out of a hotel, and money is thin to say the least. Any amount is greatly appreciated.