 The Meisha's Hope Bandanna |
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The Meisha's Hope Bandanna |
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When a dog is diagnosed with autoimmune hemolytic anemia/immune-mediated hemolytic anemia, its owner/caregiver is seldom prepared for dealing with such a serious life-threating illness. Many times their first question will be, what can I expect in terms of survival and quality of life for my dog.
The "Success Stories" page is presented in order to answer those questions. We hope to show owner/caregivers whose dogs have recently been diagnosed with autoimmune hemolytic anemia/immune-mediated hemolytic anemia that there is indeed hope. Over the coming months we will feature dogs who have been diagnosed with this disease and who are now living normal lives. Many of them have had no reoccurrence of the disease whatsoever. I hope you will be encouraged and filled with hope as you read these stories. I plan to change the stories on a monthly basis, so stop back often.
Mia Grace is a 4 ½ year old spayed female American Eskimo dog owned by Liz and Mark of Christiana, TN. Mia was diagnosed with autoimmune hemolytic anemia on September 22, 2008.
When Liz was asked to comment on Mia’s symptoms prior to her AIHA diagnosis she replied, “Mia’s illness appeared to come on very quickly. Mia has always been a dog who plays nonstop and is very attentive and super sweet. In September, 2008, she suddenly stopped eating and barely had the energy to stand up. Initially we thought it was because she had just returned from the dog sitter, where she had been cared for while my husband and I were on vacation. Within 24 hours, however, we realized something was terribly wrong. Mia could not stand up without falling, much less walk. My husband took her to the nearest veterinarian (not our normal veterinarian) late that afternoon. After tests were run Mia was diagnosed with AIHA and started on 50 mg prednisone, 25 mg Azathioprine, 50 mg Doxycycline and 10 mg Pepcid. Mia was hospitalized at the veterinary clinic overnight and when I visited her early the next morning her health had deteriorated drastically from the previous evening.
”Against the pleadings of the veterinarian, I transported Mia 20 miles to our regular veterinarian. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust this doctor, rather it was because I had complete faith in our regular veterinarian that I chose to move Mia. During the 20 minute drive, I thought Mia had passed away 3 times. I screamed at the top of my lungs and shook her to keep her with me. She was lifeless and did not respond to me at all. Once we arrived at our regular veterinarian, blood work was done and I was told Mia had a PCV of 8. Mia was immediately given an Oxyglobin transfusion and she perked up just a little bit. Since our veterinarian is not open 24 hours, we picked Mia up that afternoon and brought her home so we could watch her closely in case she got worse during the night. We didn’t sleep a wink that night, instead we just stared at her lifeless body in her crate beside the bed. At 2:00 AM we realized Mia had taken a turn for the worse and rushed her to an emergency veterinary clinic. After giving a brief synopsis to the emergency veterinarian, Mia’s blood was checked again. Her PCV had dropped to 3. The veterinarian pulled my husband aside and told him Mia had less than a 1 percent chance of making it. Mia was started on a blood transfusion and we were asked to step out of the room to keep Mia’s excitement level down. There was nothing we could do but pray and bide our time. Mia remained hospitalized for the next 2 days as her PCV slowly increased to 10. When we picked Mia up from the emergency clinic to bring her home, the veterinarian simply smiled with a look of amazement as we carried a living miracle out the front door. She was far from being out of harms way, but over the next few months Mia slowly, but steadily, recovered. Since she was on prednisone, our wonderful veterinarian allowed us to bring Mia to his office every morning (Monday-Friday) for the next 3 months so they could watch her and let her ‘relieve herself’ throughout the work day. As Mia’s PCV continued to rise, her medications were slowly reduced and then discontinued.
When Liz was asked to comment on the current state of Mia’s health she replied, “Mia is doing great! Her PCV at her last blood check on December 31, 2009 was 55. Mia is on no medication for the treatment of AIHA. Because Mia had such a severe case of AIHA she will no longer be vaccinated or given any heartworm, or flea/tick preventative. We do a heartworm test every 6 months and the ‘flea comb’ has become a very familiar tool to us. Mia is doing so well you would never be able to tell she was ever sick. She is back to playing just like she did before her illness. I still find myself checking Mia’s gums all the time, especially if she seems tired or is not eating normally. When Mia gets off of her schedule she doesn’t eat real well, but once she is back to a normal schedule, she is fine. Given the fact that Mia was so very ill, when she was diagnosed with AIHA, I never thought she would make it to be a ‘Success Story’. But with good veterinary care and many, many prayers from us and so many others, she made it!! I am so thankful for the Meisha’s Hope Web site and other AIHA/IMHA web sites. My husband and I got some VERY good information on this disease from these sites and I would recommend that anyone having a dog with this disease do as much research as possible. The knowledge you gain will prepare you for what to look for, what to suggest to your veterinarian and provides support through your fears, tears, and prayers. Mia is such a blessing to us and we are so thankful for each and every day we are allowed to spend with her.”
The Meisha's Hope Award
Do you have a wonderful veterinarian who has gone beyond the call of duty in treating your AIHA/IMHA dog? If so nominate him or her for the 2010 Meisha's Hope Award. To learn more Click Here
New!! To read about the winner of the 2009 Meisha’s Hope Award and the Honorable Mention Nominees Click Here
To read about the winner of the 2008 Meisha’s Hope Award and the Honorable Mention Nominees Click Here
To read about the winner of the 2007 Meisha’s Hope Award and the Honorable Mention Nominees Click Here
To read about the winner of the 2006 Meisha’s Hope Award and the Honorable Mention Nominees Click Here
Editor's Notes
To view more Success Stories, click below to visit the Success Stories archives.
If you have a dog or know of a dog who has survived AIHA/IMHA for at least one year and you would like their story told on this page please email me at jdickson@cloudnet.comBack to TOP of page All contents on this site Copyright © 1998 - 2010 Joanne Dickson. All rights reserved.