Audrey’s Journey

All of Audrey’s expenses are being covered by special fund raising activities.  No funds donated to the shelter for any other reason are being applied to Audrey’s bills.  No shelter animals are being neglected by the care being given to Audrey.

See Audrey’s Initial Video	shortly after she arrived.

If you can donate to help Audrey – we have a GoFundMe account set up for Audrey at http://www.gofundme.com/audreyprcspca and we have our PayPal  buttons on this site. Or you can call MSU directly and donate to Audrey’s care (case 22740) by calling 662-325-1181.  They accept MC, Visa, Discover, and AMEX.  Their mailing address is:

Animal Health Center College of Veterinary Medicine P.O. Box 6100 Mississippi State, MS 39762

Audrey was surrendered to the Pearl River County SPCA on 6/18/2015. She could not use her back legs and struggled to move her head.  Audrey was 9 weeks old at the time, a purebred rat terrier and runt of the litter. This is the story of her progress.

7/16/2015: Audrey’s latest update has her trying to lift her hips as she scoots around the house!  She is also trying to stand up on her own. She has not yet come close to making it up but she is definitely trying to use her stronger rear leg to help lift her up. All this progress has delayed her sharing her experiences at MSU, but she will get to it. She can’t wait to share information about her cute Dr. Kornberg and the excellent care she received from him and everyone at MSU vet school.

We are still looking for help in covering her medical bills.

7/13/2015: Audrey has been doing her physical therapy like a trooper.  She has almost no muscle tone in her rear legs which is understandable since she has not been able to use them since she was born. While she is not using her legs yet, she does not like to be left in one place and will scoot herself around and a lot quicker than she did before her surgery. Her foster mom keeps her entertained between PT sessions by carting her around in a special sling every time she leaves the house.

7/11/2015:  Audrey made it back home last night.  Foster Mom is ecstatic! Audrey can now move her head and does it constantly to check out her surroundings.  She can roll over on her own, and eat without having to have her head supported any more. She barks and complains when she does not get enough attention.  The Vet School was reluctant to let her go (no medical reason – they had become very attached).  The students said that Dr. Kornberg had become very attached and that he NEVER had done that with any other client.  We are pleased with her progress even though there is still a guarded prognosis for her ever really walking well.  Her quality of life has been significantly improved by the results of the surgery so far.  Audrey has promised to provide snippets from her diary while she was at MSU in a few days.  Keep tuned in.

7/9/2015: Audrey has had her surgeries and is now doing physical therapy, she is able to walk on a treadmill “underwater”. She was unable to use her legs for a good part of her life so she is still getting used to them, she wants to be carried likes she was for most of her life and wants a lot of attention, the vet team that has been caring for her think she may be a little bit of a diva. Audrey will be going to her foster home on Friday and will continue her physical therapy. It is still unsure how much mobility she will have in her legs but it looks promising! Audrey’s medical expenses are still piling up so please donate and share her story.

Here is a video of her “dry land” physical Therapy and pictures of her getting her e-stem treatments.  Audrey’s PT     Looks like she is staying her feisty diva self!

 

7/1/2015: We got a call from a very excited vet.  3 weeks before they had hoped to see Audrey trying to use her legs, they have seen movement!  We are very excited for her also.  They have postponed her date for coming home so that she can have the benefit  some extensive physical therapy.  Her muscles have atrophied a bit because she obviously has not been able to use them.  There is still no guarantee that she will be able to walk in the future but her future does look brighter.  We are hoping for some video and more pictures by Monday.  (she changed vet student care givers this week and we aren’t getting quite as much feedback).  MSU will train the family in how to get the physical therapy when she comes home.

 

6/28/2015:  Not only is Audrey off her IVs, she is getting out for a fresh breath or air.  She needs help doing it but she sure looks bright eyed and bushy tailed. The following was the text message I got with her new pictures.
The med student sent more pictures. I will send copies of her text so you know what they are. They are calling her The Heart Stealer.
Some of them are silly yet still adorable so I figured I’d send them all along and let you guys choose! That last picture was taken this afternoon. I positioned her feet in a normal position and was supporting her. She’s still not feeling or using her hind limbs but my fingers are crossed for her, as are those of all the other people involved with her. Have a great evening!

You can see ways to help cover Audrey’s Medical expenses here

6/27/2015 PM – Audrey is off of all her IVs as of this morning. She is taking her medications by mouth now. She is eating well but not interested in drinking so they are making her food very mushy to make sure that she gets the liquids she needs. She is doing well enough that they plan to move her out of ICU late tomorrow or Monday. Here are pictures of her from yesterday:

You can just see her bandage on her back	Not to worry, the red is not blood but the adhesive for her bandage	Waking up and sitting up	Looking like her sassy little self.  Probably still pretty doped up

6/26/2015 – Audrey is still progressing on schedule.  She has lots of visitors from all the people that have met her and worked with her.  They come by to check on her, talk to her, and give her some soft rubs and pats.  They have agreed to send pictures of her progress.  She is supposed to stay there, mostly in ICU, until next Friday, 7/3, when they expect to be able to release her back to the foster family.

You can see ways to help cover Audrey’s Medical expenses here

6/25/2015 PM – received a call around 10 PM saying the Audrey was doing well, vital signs where they should be and she was eating and drinking on her own. Good news was she was awake and moving.  Bad news was she was moving more than they wanted her to at this stage so they are going to keep a close eye on her.  We should be getting regular twice a day updates around 8 and 8.

6/25/2015 – Audrey’s surgery started around 11:30 am.  We received a call around 3 o’clock saying that the surgery was complete (ahead of schedule).  The doctor ran into NO complications and everything went smoothly.  He did discover that the pressure on her spinal cord was a lot more severe than he had first thought. She is resting and sedated to limit her movement for now.

You can see ways to help cover Audrey’s Medical expenses here

6/24/2015 – Foster mom and friends make the long drive to MSU with Audrey. The first test they want to do is a Cat Scan which is estimated at $800 and we take a deep breath and say OK.  The Cat Scan reveals more detail of what our Vet had found with the x-rays.  The twist makes her spinal cord press against the edge of the spinal column which is what is causing her mobility issues.  We are advised that if nothing is done, her condition will deteriorate over time until she has no control over her bodily functions.  There is cautious optimism that surgery will enhance her quality of life and MAY give her back at least some use of her back legs and free up her head motions.  Surgery estimate is 4-5 hours and $4000 to $5000. We were advised that we should not wait more than about a week or the surgery will be harder and less productive.  The decision was made to leave her at MSU and have the surgery performed the next day, 6/25.

Costs – the visit fee was waived, the Cat Scan bill, with our discount was $582 and the final written estimate on the surgery was $3200 – before our discount.

You can see ways to help cover Audrey’s Medical expenses here

6/22/2015 – Her foster mom contacted the Veterinary school at MSU and has an appointment for Wednesday.  We have been told there is a $75 visit fee and additional charges will depend on what tests the Doctors examining her feel are appropriate. Since we are a 501 (c) 3 organization, we qualify for their non-profit discount which will be a help.

You can see ways to help cover Audrey’s Medical expenses here

6/20/2015 – Right now she is receiving free chiropractic care and massage therapy. We need donations for a specialist appt and maybe surgery. Also, looking for a wheel chair for this tiny baby under 2 lbs. All donations can be made to our PayPal account on our home page: www.prcspca.org, please specify that your donation is for Audrey the rat terrier. Thank you! If you can’t donate at least please share for this sweet baby!

6/19/2015 – We took her to our Vet – Picayune Veterinary Clinic, where x-rays were done.  It turns out she has a very significant twist or kink in her spine that appears to be a birth defect.  Her Mom weighed 5 pounds and had 6 babies so she “grew up” in tight quarters.
You can see ways to help cover Audrey’s Medical expenses here