Coco Is Improving!

[Michelle Conallis]

Greetings Vally & Patricia!
I just wanted to update you on Coco’s condition. As you may remember, Coco, our 10.5 year old shih-tzu, was diagnosed with IMHA. On August 20, her labs indicated Hematocrit at 20.8% and RBC at 3.18. A few weeks later, her HCT fell to 14.8% and RBC to 2.19. On September 17, our vet determined it was time to administer a blood transfusion to give Coco’s body a rest and replenish lost red blood cells.

After much online research on IMHA over those weeks, I came across the Second Chance AIHA Dogs website and forum and reached out to you for advice. We were worried, anxious and confused about next steps to help save our Coco. You were both so extremely helpful and kind and after reviewing Coco’s labs, recommended that we consult with Dr. Dodds. Dr. Dodds responded right away and immediately recommended our vet begin implementing her suggested protocol for treatment. We also changed Coco’s diet to include more nutritional, iron rich meals and began administering Pet-Tinic and Liquid Hepato daily as suggested.

Fast forward to present day and Coco’s labs indicate her Hematocrit is at 40.5% and RBC at 5.37!! Our vet has also slowly began lowering Coco’s medications to see how she reacts. She will be off prednisone completely as of this week! Unfortunately, she recently developed a staph infection, but we are combating that with a specific antibiotic that seems to be helping.

We know Coco is not completely in the clear yet, but with your help and Dr. Dodds suggestions and treatment plan, Coco has made great progress in almost 4 months. We are so grateful and blessed to have found you and your forum! Your support and kind words helped us during a very scary and overwhelming time and we (including Coco!) cannot thank you enough! You have given Coco a second chance and we will all be forever grateful to you! Keep up the great work and please keep sharing your knowledge!

Shelly, Tom & Coco

[Vally]

Oh I am so so happy and doing the Happy Dance.

Coco, you are one very very clever girl. You mum and dad are pretty hot too.

xxx

[Patrice]

Shelly,
I am so happy to hear that Coco has improved so much! You have done so much to make sure that she would recover. I know it was often scary and hard but you never faltered in your courage and hope.

As you have discovered, treatment involves multiple approaches. Great vets, proper diagnosis, the right medical treatments, high quality nutrition and a positive home environment. We have seen this been so successful so many times.

The staph infection is an unfortunate side effect of prednisone but it is treated easily and the risks will diminish once the prednisone is gone. The best way to handle staph is good hygiene. Keep your hands clean and try to keep the areas of staph clean. They do tend to ooze and that will spread the infection. Staph is usually not serious but keep everything like bedding washed well until you know for sure that it is gone. You may see the area loose its fur/hair and that will also recover in time.

Please keep us up to date on how she is doing, we love hearing good reports!
My best, Patrice