Jake's Surgery and After-Care Costs

> These photos are Jake at around 3am this morning (8/30/17) before we were forced to go home and await his surgery today. The gauze t-shirt is holding his catheter/IV apparatus in place.

I have also posted Jake's story on Steemit. If you are a Steemit user, any upvotes and/or resteems would be really helpful. 

Jake has been having some issues lately with constipation and anal swelling, but every time after introducing more fiber into his diet, it appeared that he had recovered, so we didn't think it was anything serious -- until yesterday evening when we came home. Jake was lethargic, didn't get up to greet us (super red flag), there was vomit/spit-up all over the floor, and his little rear end was extremely swollen to the point where he couldn't walk. We rushed him to the emergency vet.

After reviewing some x-rays, the doctor determined he has a perineal hernia . To make matters worse, his bladder was partially protruding into the area between the anus and scrotum, giving his little rear end a very rounded appearance as if his internal organs were going to spill out of his body. Google "perineal hernia" if you're curious. Because it involved his bladder and was preventing him from urinating, this suddenly became a situation that requires emergency surgery in order for him to live. Jake is only 8 years old and has a lot of time ahead of him.

Unfortunately, the veterinary branch we took him to last night did not have a specialist surgeon available to do the surgery, so we had to transport him to the sister hospital in Culver City at around 2am after they finished running some inital diagnostics and placing a more permanent catheter/IV. This isn't the type of surgery that just any vet can perform.

We just received a call from the surgeon a few minutes ago and they're about to start his surgery literally as I type this. According the doctor, Jake's hernia might be worse than they had anticipated. She said usually the hernia only affects one side, but Jake's is looking like it is bilateral. They're going to do their best to correct it in this surgery and do some poking around to assess the situation better, but there's a possibility doing both sides in one surgery might be too much; he might require further surgery.

This whole situation just keeps getting worse and worse... For anyone who has dogs or cats, I'm sure you can understand the despair my family and I are going through right now. Honestly, the feeling is no different than if my son or any other family member were going through the same thing. I'm completely exhausted and so worried on many different levels. My baby's life is in the hands of God right now, and all we can do is pray that everything turns out fine.

I'd be lying if I didn't say I'm worried about the financial implications of this ordeal as well. We paid over $847 last night to the original hospital just prior to transferring him to Culver City. For the surgery and after-care, we were quoted a range of $6,600 to $8,600 -- and that doesn't include if he needs a second surgery in the future.

To me, telling them to go ahead was a no-brainer. He's my baby and I will do everything in my power to save his life. If it ruins me financially (including any money I was able to make with crypto trading) then so be it. It's only money, right? Lives are more important than money.

I paid the $847 bill with cash (part of my rent money) last night. For the surgery, I applied for Scratch Pay (approved for $4,250 with an interest rate of nearly 25%) and CareCredit for $2,500 (no interest if I pay it off within 6 months). If the surgery goes above $6,750 ($4,250 + $2,500) I'll be pretty much screwed and will have to start selling off what few investments I have.

In case anyone thinks I'm B.S.ing, here's the invoice we paid last night with the name/phone of the hospital on it. You're welcome to call the Culver City branch and ask about Jake.


We appreciate any help you can give (even if it's just a prayer/positive thoughts).