Eli needs us again
17/05/2022 - 9PM
Thrilled to have just had these photos and videos from Caz this evening. As you can see, Eli is now home. The picture of the table shows the shipping order of drugs required to get our boy back on his feet. The best news this evening is that, for the first time since last Monday, Eli has managed a tiny sip of water and a few select pieces of ham… All by himself! With any luck, this may now mean he will start to eat by himself, little and often, now that he is home. He DOES have the feeding tube fitted, and we are hopeful that we may just be able to use this to administer his drugs. Whilst he IS starting to eat a tiny bit, the vet is mindful that he does not wish Caz to try and get the medication down him orally, in case this upsets Eli and makes him refuse food once again. For this reason, medication will be administered through the feeding tube at a rate of 1ml per minute… The last lot of meds took 50 minutes to get down! The other brilliant news is that, this evening, Eli managed to have a massive wee (yes, I know that’s not something anybody would normally get excited about, but having had him refusing to pee and requiring catheterisation, this is a HUGE deal).
So that’s our news for this evening. As they say, “all good in the hood”! Wishing you all a peaceful night, and hopefully more good news in the coming days.
Many thanks, with love, Eli xxx
17/05/2022 - 4PM
A massive thank you on behalf of Eli and all of us at Ridgeback
Rescue. Eli
Update – 17/5/22 – 4pm
An ENORMOUS THANK YOU to everybody who has donated to help us
cover the cost of Eli’s ongoing DS treatment. He is, as you know, a very poorly
boy but I wanted to update you all with the information I have to keep you in
the loop and will, of course, continue to do so as and when more updates come to
the fore.
Over the weekend, Eli has continued his treatment with anti
inflammatory medication, pain killers and antibiotics to try to get the swollen
area under control and to make him more comfortable. He has been shaved in what
his owners have delightfully referred to as a “reverse lion” pattern,
ie, where you’d expect a lion’s mane to be, our boy is now as smooth as a
baby’s bum!
As is often the way with our sensitive Ridgebacks, he’s not
doing at all well in the vet kennels – refusing to eat and hardly peeing which
has necessitated the insertion of a catheter to make sure he does not contract
a UTI on top of everything else.
By Monday (yesterday) he was brighter – still not eating, but
much brighter and happier in himself, and it was felt safe enough for him to
undergo the planned MRI scan to try to get a fuller picture of what we are
dealing with. We pointedly and very bluntly asked the question as to whether
continuing his investigation and treatment was fair and ethical and in Eli’s
best interests. We were assured it absolutely was and that we are still hopeful
of a complete and positive end outcome for him.
As he was not eating, Eli had a feeding tube inserted while he
was sedated for his MRI so that he can be hydrated and fed, which in turn will
make him feel so much better.
The results of the MRI revealed an abscess over the DS site but
it is unclear as to the cause of this – whether any DS was left after the
initial surgery 18 months ago is still unknown as nothing of this regard has
shown up on the scan images. It is felt that this may be the root of the
problem but until the team get in there physically, we won’t know for sure.
With the extent of the swelling of the abscess at the moment, going in to
perform surgery now would not only be dangerous because of the risk of infected
matter invading the area, but it would also make seeing what is going on very
difficult indeed meaning important details could be masked.
The good news, however, is that the MRI clearly showed NO spinal
cord involvement and NO vertebral infection so the neurological impact has been
averted.
The plan now is for his lovely mum Caz to pick him up this
evening to bring him home for a week. Before she can collect him, however, she
is going to be taught everything she needs to know about feeding him through
the tube and looking after him while the antibiotics do their thing and, in a
week’s time, he will be brought back to the specialists to undergo surgery and
hopefully set him free from this terrible condition once and for all.
Caz will send footage of Eli this evening I’m sure and, when she
does, I will share it with you all. We are as keen as you to see how he is
doing. We wish him well with the next week and now feel comfortable with our
decision to give him a chance at recovery. We would NEVER drag out the
treatment of a dog if there was not a very real chance of full recovery and
believe me, we have wrestled with all of the facts, information and
ramifications both ethical, emotional and physical related to this case. In the
end, both the veterinary professionals, the Trustees at Rescue and his owners
have all concurred that prospects are good and we are here to support and back
Eli when he needs us the most.
Once again, an enormous thank you to all of you who have donated
and pledged money at such a financially difficult time for all of us. We know
the impact donating will have on your own personal purses and we simply
couldn’t be more grateful for the support.
THANK YOU ……. xx
For anyone having trouble with the donation link, you can donate in the following ways:
Eli campaign:
https://cafdonate.cafonline.org/20728
PayPal using this link below (please use friends & family):
A massive thank you on behalf of Eli and all of us at Ridgeback
Rescue. Eli
Update – 17/5/22 – 4pm
An ENORMOUS THANK YOU to everybody who has donated to help us
cover the cost of Eli’s ongoing DS treatment. He is, as you know, a very poorly
boy but I wanted to update you all with the information I have to keep you in
the loop and will, of course, continue to do so as and when more updates come to
the fore.
Over the weekend, Eli has continued his treatment with anti
inflammatory medication, pain killers and antibiotics to try to get the swollen
area under control and to make him more comfortable. He has been shaved in what
his owners have delightfully referred to as a “reverse lion” pattern,
ie, where you’d expect a lion’s mane to be, our boy is now as smooth as a
baby’s bum!
As is often the way with our sensitive Ridgebacks, he’s not
doing at all well in the vet kennels – refusing to eat and hardly peeing which
has necessitated the insertion of a catheter to make sure he does not contract
a UTI on top of everything else.
By Monday (yesterday) he was brighter – still not eating, but
much brighter and happier in himself, and it was felt safe enough for him to
undergo the planned MRI scan to try to get a fuller picture of what we are
dealing with. We pointedly and very bluntly asked the question as to whether
continuing his investigation and treatment was fair and ethical and in Eli’s
best interests. We were assured it absolutely was and that we are still hopeful
of a complete and positive end outcome for him.
As he was not eating, Eli had a feeding tube inserted while he
was sedated for his MRI so that he can be hydrated and fed, which in turn will
make him feel so much better.
The results of the MRI revealed an abscess over the DS site but
it is unclear as to the cause of this – whether any DS was left after the
initial surgery 18 months ago is still unknown as nothing of this regard has
shown up on the scan images. It is felt that this may be the root of the
problem but until the team get in there physically, we won’t know for sure.
With the extent of the swelling of the abscess at the moment, going in to
perform surgery now would not only be dangerous because of the risk of infected
matter invading the area, but it would also make seeing what is going on very
difficult indeed meaning important details could be masked.
The good news, however, is that the MRI clearly showed NO spinal
cord involvement and NO vertebral infection so the neurological impact has been
averted.
The plan now is for his lovely mum Caz to pick him up this
evening to bring him home for a week. Before she can collect him, however, she
is going to be taught everything she needs to know about feeding him through
the tube and looking after him while the antibiotics do their thing and, in a
week’s time, he will be brought back to the specialists to undergo surgery and
hopefully set him free from this terrible condition once and for all.
Caz will send footage of Eli this evening I’m sure and, when she
does, I will share it with you all. We are as keen as you to see how he is
doing. We wish him well with the next week and now feel comfortable with our
decision to give him a chance at recovery. We would NEVER drag out the
treatment of a dog if there was not a very real chance of full recovery and
believe me, we have wrestled with all of the facts, information and
ramifications both ethical, emotional and physical related to this case. In the
end, both the veterinary professionals, the Trustees at Rescue and his owners
have all concurred that prospects are good and we are here to support and back
Eli when he needs us the most.
Once again, an enormous thank you to all of you who have donated
and pledged money at such a financially difficult time for all of us. We know
the impact donating will have on your own personal purses and we simply
couldn’t be more grateful for the support.
THANK YOU ……. xx
For anyone having trouble with the donation link, you can donate in the following ways:
Eli campaign:
https://cafdonate.cafonline.org/20728
PayPal using this link below (please use friends & family):
15/05/2022
You may remember Eli … the beautiful boy who we rehomed that was subsequently found to have a Dermoid Sinus in situ back in January 2021.
After a very short time with his new owners, Eli’s DS swelled up causing massive pain and discomfort with no option other than undergoing emergency surgery. Our wonderful supporters at Ridgeback Rescue stepped up, rallied round and donated money to cover his surgical intervention and we were thrilled to see him make a fantastic recovery, living his best life with Caz and Lou.
https://ridgebackrescue.co.uk/a-thank-you-on-behalf-of-eli/
No doubt due to all that he has been through, three year old Eli is already going quite grey and now, nearly 18 months down the line, Eli has deteriorated massively. His DS site has re-swelled, leaving him screaming in pain and under careful assessment with the specialists as an in-patient for a couple of days.
This morning things have become even worse. Eli has woken with a very strange gait suggesting neurological problems as a result of the infected DS site. It’s as if his brain is not talking to his front paws properly, almost as if it doesn’t know they are there. Eli is still in the care of the specialist vets, on massive doses of painkillers, antibiotics and anti inflammatory medication in the hopes of getting him stable enough to proceed to MRI and further surgical intervention in a joint procedure by his current specialist team and the neurologists too.
It looks as though a tiny portion of the original dermoid sinus was left and has now become re-infected, causing all of his ongoing problems. Eli’s bill so far is already around £2k … and the likely total cost is going to be somewhere around £10-12k … but Eli is still a very young dog who deserves a chance. He will always be OUR boy and we would never abandon him or his family when they need us the most, so Ridgeback Rescue will be picking up the tab necessary to save his life.
We know times are hard. We know we are all finding it really difficult to make ends meet, but we wanted to keep you updated on Eli’s progress … and should you find a spare £1 behind the sofa, perhaps we might call upon you once again to help us support Eli and his incredible owners.
We exist as a charity to support the dogs IN our care from the moment they come through our door, and for the rest of their lives, no matter what is thrown at them. The whole purpose of Ridgeback Rescue, and all the fund raising we do, is to make sure that when a situation like this comes along, we are actually in a position to help. Yes, we know it is an exorbitant amount of money to spend on one dog, but we also know that if that one dog was YOUR one dog, you would hope somebody would be there for you too.
We are in no way expecting to raise enough to cover the entire bill for Eli’s surgery, but anything you could give would be greatly appreciated.
A massive thank you on behalf of Eli and all of us at Ridgeback Rescue.
For anyone having trouble with the donation link, you can donate in the following ways:
Eli campaign:
https://cafdonate.cafonline.org/20728
PayPal using this link below (please use friends & family):
