Ernie update

[Lauren]

I wanted to share an update on my dog Ernie, in case it is helpful to anyone out there. It has been almost a year since he had a really severe onset of IMHA. We brought him in when his PCV was around 18, and they started mycophenalate and pred immediately. Several hours later, he’d dropped to 10, and they started transfusions. I think he got about 4-5 transfusion over the course of 2 days, but his IMHA was so severe that his body destroyed blood cells as fast as they could put more blood in. He started to show neurological signs because of excess bilirubin and it was determined that his only chance was to try plasmapheresis.. We had to transfer him to the nearby teaching hospital, where he had 3 rounds of plasmapheresis. His bilirubin was higher than they had ever seen, at 90. 2 weeks after we initially brought him in, he was finally released, weak and tired, but on the mend. We are currently off prednisone and only on a small dose of mycophenelate once a day plus clopidogrel. His tapers have gone smoothly so far, and if they continue to, we will be off all drugs by his year anniversary of being in remission. He’s actually in better spirits than he was before getting sick, and we are so so pleased we were offered the plasmapheresis that saved him. It was crazy expensive, and we didn’t have insurance, but worth every penny to have him around with us now!

[Vally]

Ernie, you superstar. This is great news. Lauren, good luck with the future tapers.

The money is horrendous, but yes, I don’t think any of us regret how much we have spent.

Vally
Xxx

[Ramona]

Yay Ernie and Lauren! That’s fantastic news! Thank you for sharing! Xoxo Ramona & Charlie