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To Donate: Riley's Story
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Riley had been doing really great after coming home from Cornell last week but Wednesday night he seems to have had another set back. He had had a great day but that night at home the cat came up from the basement and Riley got excited and started to go after her. He made it maybe 10ft before he started yelping in pain and thrashing around. We were able to get him calmed down and sedated but it's clear that these incidents are alot for both him and us! Keep your fingers crossed over the next few weeks!
Update 9/10/2010: Sorry for the late updates. We update Riley's Facebook page almost daily so please friend him :)
We talked to Dr. Looney at Cornell's pain management center who was also very discouraged that this had happened again but was finally able to diagnose him with something, CRPS. It is basically that when he fractured his leg he damaged the nerves and during times of excitement (seeing the cat) the nerves in the injured area get over loaded and cause extreme pain. the problem is that the more times this happens the more of a chance there is that the nerve damage will travel to his spine and will be unfixable even with amputation.
All four of Riley's doctors consulted with each other on whether or not it would be best to just call it what it is and amputate the leg or if there should be one more shot at trying a more potent nerve block and increasing meds. The reviews were a little mixed because obviously everyone would love to save the leg but there is risk to his spinal cord and the meds cause kidney and liver damage plus the blocks are expensive to keep trying.
Ultimately it was decided that we should give it one more shot with a large nerve block and increase his meds short term so as to not cause too much damage. Dr. Looney, who has been unbelievably great, is donating the nerve block to Riley! we are so greatful for everyone's help over the last few months!!!! So we are taking Riley back to Cornell on Monday for the nerve block on Tuesday and are going to hope for the best. If this fails then the leg will have to go :( but at least we can say we tried everything.
Update 9/3/2010:
Well good news and bad news.... Good news is that Riley is going to remain a four legged pup (at least for the next few months). Bad news is his leg was supposed to be removed this week (because he hurts) but turns out he's got early signs of hip dysplasia, which spells trouble for three legged dogs! In an effort to keep his bum right leg more comfortable, the doctors at Cornell did some MRIs and sonograms of the nerves in Riley's right leg, and found that he has a cluster of pinched nerves going into his busted elbow. They have attempted to rearrange some of the nerves in a way that may be less painful and gave him steroid injections in his joint. He'll also be on a new set of pain meds which will hopefully help him with less side effects. Another good news note is that his left wrist may not have to be completely fused! One of the doctors at Cornell thinks they may be able to do a partial fusion which would still allow him a minor amount of movement in that joint, which is better than no movement. That surgery wont take place until December or January though.
So for now we are working with the pain management group to help keep his right leg comfortable and trying to get a head start on managing the hip dysplasia. The doctor's said the most important thing for that would be to keep his weight healthy and undergo constant water therapy. We are definitely open to ANY and ALL other suggestions though!
Thanks for your support!
Update 8/16/10: We have met our goal thanks to all of our wonderful supporters!!!! Riley and I cannot thank everyone enough for your unbelievable caring and generosity in our time of need. I want to remind everyone who pitched in that what ever funds are left after Riley is healed will be divided amoungst not for profit groups including The Shamrock Foundation and Cortland SPCA - a no kill shelter.
As for a Riley update... He is doing well. He already chewed up his orthodic brace but luckily Fairmount Animal Hospital was able to suture it back together. Riley loves the water and we are happy that the brace allows him to get wet unlike the cast. He has another appointment at Cornell to assess his legs the beginning of Sept. and we will post more then.
THANK YOU!!!!!!!
Update 8/11/10: Not too much to update this week and I guess no news is good news... Riley is at Fairmount Animal Hospital today getting his new orthodic brace on his casted leg. We recieved that from Orthopets.com. They have a great website and a lot of useful devices to help injured dogs! He's still in pain but hopefully it won't get any worse having the cast off and the brace on. We have an appointment the end of this month with Cornell to assess his legs agian and schedule surgeries. Hopefully all goes well until then!
Update 8/5/10: Riley is doing well. No surgeries yet but still keeping up with our weekly vet visits. He still has the cast on his right leg but his orthotic brace from orthopets.com should be here soon. They have a great site so please check it out! Hopefully when that comes in he will be able to start some aqua therapy to build up his chest/leg muscles and get his body ready for surgery. Donations have slowed down but we are close to our goal and are very grateful for what we have received thus far. We sent out some personalized thank you cards so look for them in the mail this week and if you don't receive one let us know and we'll get one to you :) Thanks again!
As far as our fundraising efforts, things are going very well, and I'd especially like to thank everyone at SRC and SRCTec for all of their help and donations. Between the hugely successful 50/50 raffle and bake sale, we raised approximately $900 dollars. We'd also like to thank all of the contributors to Cornell's health fund for the grant Wendy English helped us to receive. We will be continuing our fundraising efforts with a garage/yard sale this weekend which will include a plethora of great items from the generous donations of our community. You can see our Craigslist ad here or in the Syracuse Post-Standard.
I'd just like to thank everyone again for the tremendous outpouring of help. We all really appreciate it, and Riley does as well. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers, we'll update you again after Riley's visit to Cornell on Friday.
7/15/10: Riley is currently at Cornell University Animal Hospital. He had complications arise while preparing for surgery that have adjusted the hospitals plan of action. It was determined that his right leg needs to be amputated however, doing so could further damage his left leg at this time. The doctors at Cornell are going to make Riley a special brace to accommodate his right leg until the amputation can safely be done in two months and we are going to pray that his left leg needs no further surgery. Any donations towards his hospital costs will be greatly appreciated and can be made by contacting us or clicking the Paypal button to the left of your screen. Thanks for all you support and prayers.
We recently adopted a 6 month old puppy, named Riley, from a rescue organization that saves dogs about to be put down for health reasons, and rehabilitates them. His adoption records indicated that he had fallen down stairs and broken a leg, which had healed beautifully, and he was well recovered. Unfortunately when we received Riley it was clear that this was not the case. He had a painful looking limp, both front legs were swollen and by the end of the first day he couldn’t get up. I contacted the rescue group, and apparently Riley was beaten with a golf club at about 8 weeks old and had broken both front legs in three places. The necessary surgery could not be afforded, so his legs had been casted and everyone hoped for the best.
After several expensive visits to an orthopedic specialist here in Syracuse, it has been determined that Riley’s right front leg needs to be amputated due to lack of initial treatment, and his left front wrist will most likely have to be fused. The specialist stated that both legs would have been saved if they were never casted and furthermore, that he was appalled that leg saving measures were not taken on a puppy so young. Now after a recent re-injury of the fractured legs he is in desperate need of medical care.
Depending on the condition of his left leg at 8 months old we have been given a surgical estimate ranging from $2500 - $6000 for the amputation and possible surgery. Originally the rescue organization promised to pay for any complications that arose with Riley's legs but the bills arising are higher than anyone anticipated. Riley is a super-sweet, loving puppy with a happy disposition that does not deserve the treatment he has received thus far. It is important that he not be made to suffer any longer for the mistakes of others, so we want to step up and get him the treatment he needs to make the rest of his life the best it can be.
Given that we have two months before the surgeries, We are planning to hold a fund raising garage sale on the weekend of July 24th, collect cans and bottles to turn in, and accept donations to raise funds for our poor pups legs. If you have any bottles, cans, items for the garage sale, or monetary donations you'd would like to contribute please contact us or click the secure donate link above. Any help or advice you could give would be greatly appreciated. All excess proceeds will go to the Cortland SPCA, which is our local "no kill" shelter. Thanks for all your help and positive thoughts!
