Alivia was recently diagnosed with Cushing's - Alivia has passed

Happy Tuesday!!!!

I hope you and Alivia had a good night. Thinking of you.

Love,
Addy

Leslie, Lori, Marianne, Terri, Rene, Addy and EVERYONE!

Alivia update: Ali continues to do well. She is amazing me again! She continues to get stronger evey day. Even her Cushing's symptoms seem to have subsided, somewhat! No panting and her appetite and thirst seem NORMAL!!! I am even having to keep her from going up and down the steps too much. When she does overdo it, she starts to get a little week in her back legs. Rene, thanks for the tip about the supplement. I'll ask about it.

Leslie, every day is Alivia Day to me! :D

Ali is a little stinky right now, which is very unusual for her. I think it is from being crated so long in the hospital. She HATES baths, so I have been being easy on her and letting her recover before subjecting her to that. It's been chilly and rainy here, too. I feel so fortunate with her recovery that I am taking everything slow and cautiously! :p

Alivia sends much love to everyone!!! There was so much positive energy coming her way that she had no choice but to get better!

:D:D:D Yeah! Another good report for Alivia! :D:D:D

Great way to start the day!

Keep up the good work!

Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

Hi, all.

My updates are uneventfully boring and I am SO happy about that! Alivia continues to do well - getting better every day! :D

I spoke to the Office Manager of the emergency hospital yesterday. The place that kept Ali all day on Mother's Day to supposedly do an ultrasound, but ended up doing nothing for her the entire day. They released her that evening saying it was spine pain, but did not explain why she had a fever of 104.9. I even asked about pancreatitis because it was obvious the pain was in her abdomen, but they said it wasn't that. Well, I think I figured out why they didn't do the ultrasound. Ali had one a few weeks before and I just found out their policy is repeat ultrasounds less than 30 days apart are not charged. So, because there was no money to be made, they chose not to do it!! As a result, Ali suffered an additional 36 hours, her condition got worse and she could have died! I paid over $600 to them that day, then the next day had to pay Ali's regular vet for an emergency visit and another vet for an ultrasound (would have been no charge at the emergency hospital if they would have done it!) and then was billed another $500+ by the emergency hospital to finally admit her Monday evening so she could be transferred into the care of her IMS the next day!! Plus, I had to take a day off work Monday to get medical care for Ali. I already paid the bill for the first day (which incuded unnecessary medications), but I refused to pay their bill for the next day. The Office Manger listened and said she had to talk to the ER vet and she would get back to me. Oh, and on Sunday, when I picked Ali up and they said it was "spine pain" the vet was "too busy to talk to me", even though I had just paid over $600 and there was not a single person in the waiting room.

I don't have a problem paying for care for Ali when she actually gets care, but that whole day was a fiasco! What really breaks my heart is Alivia suffered a full day and a half longer than she should have. I don't think I should have to pay the second bill. I think they should refund the first bill, too, or at least part of it, but that probably won't happen. So, we'll see.

I agree with you 100%. You should not have to pay ANY bill for their substandard care.

You go girl!!!!!

Love,
Addy

P.S. We love uneventful;)

Hi, Addy!!!

How are you?

Now that we are at "uneventful" , I can fight the vet bill mess. :mad: The people that know about the whole thing agree with you that I should not have to pay any of it. I can't think of anything they could say to justify what happened. I am just so thankful that Ali was able to pull through it despite the delay!

Love from us both!

Mary Beth and Alivia (getting stronger every day!)

Mary Beth,

I'm so sorry you are having such a frustrating time with the bills and the fall out. You both have been through a lot in the last couple weeks. You did so much for Ali, while trying to work, balancing it all and eventually it just took over. You did a great job bringing Ali home!

This time should be for healing, for both you and Ali.

It is what it is. Enjoy your girl.

Love,
Rene & Snoop

I am very thankful that the end result for Alivia turned out well. She was and is my first priority. The 6 days of treatment cost well over $4,000 and I would gladly pay that to get Ali whatever care she needs. What I am angry about is the $635 I paid for a hospital emergency visit where instead of doing what they told me they would do, they put Ali in a crate for a full day and basically did nothing to help her. Their lack of treatment caused her to suffer an extra 36 hours and if I had listened to them she would have died. It breaks my heart to know she spent the day in a crate, scared and in extreme pain for no good reason and no one was doing their job to help her. If they would have told me that was what they were going to do, I would have immediately taken her elsewhere. That is the only day I have a problem with paying for. Our dogs are so vulnerable in situations like that. We are their voice to make sure they get proper care and I do feel I need to speak up for how she was mistreated. Maybe, by me complaining, they will be a bit more thorough when another dog comes through their doors in pain.

Okay, that was my soapbox speech. ;) Ali continues to improve and her Cushing's symptoms also seem to have lessened! (Holding my breath and keeping my fingers and toes crossed!) She is no longer panting and is back to sleeping under blankets and drinking and eating like normal. She still doesn't have her full strength back, but she is getting stronger every day! :D:D:D

Hi Mary Beth,

We just LOVE uneventful! :D:D

I know so well the anger you feel at the way Ali was handled. When Squirt had her first ultrasound, a tumor showed up on her spleen - plainly! But the IMS who did the test didn't feel the need to make any note of it - not in her charts, not to the staff, not to me. When she had the second ultrasound, the IMS who did this one told me about it and showed me the first film that clearly showed the tumor then - FOUR MONTHS PRIOR!!! :mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad: Luckily, the first IMS had left the hospital by then or I would still be in jail! If I had seen her the day I learned of her neglect, there is no telling what my reaction would have been because I was LIVID....and am still very angry at her for putting my baby's life in danger. :mad::mad::mad::mad:

You are absolutely correct - we are their advocates and when we are misled it is our babies that pay - through no fault of their own nor ours.

SIC 'EM, honey! :D

Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

Hi Mary Beth,

Here is a link to the AVMA State Legislative Resource page for PA.:http://www.avma.org/advocacy/state/resources/pa.asp

I totally agree with you about the care and not paying that hospital emergency visit. I don't know if it would help you to write to someone on that list about this.

So happy to hear that Ali is continuing to improve.

Love and hugs,
Lori