Lilly Beans' plight

Earlier this month. Lilly's eyes were swollen.  It looked like she had some sort of pink eye.  We took her to the vet the next day, and her vet referred us to the San Diego Eye Clinic for Animals.  She saw Dr. Schorling (she was seriously the coolest doctor, ever), and Dr. Schorling noticed Lilly had no color.  Lills was also very lethargic, and hadn't been eating.  Bren and I attributed it to depression since we knew she lost her eye sight.  Dr. Schorling referred us to the vet internal specialist, so Bren ended up taking Lilly Beans next door to Dr. Slusser. 

Lilly in Dr. Schorling's office

Lilly's "eye infection"

Lilly's RBC count was super low.  It was at 9% (normal values are between 37%-55%).  The vet assistant I spoke to said she rarely sees a dog standing when their hct is that low.  Bren ended up opting for the blood transfusion.  Poor girl.  So after her blood transfusion, we spoke with Dr. Slusser and he told us Lilly might have cancer or she might have a rare disease in which her bone marrow stops producing RBCs.  My brother and I wanted to know what we were dealing with so we had them take bone marrow samples from Lilly.  The notes in her paperwork just say "Lilly has been diagnosed with a possible immune-mediated condition which as caused anemia and vision loss..."  So she's on steroids and immunosuppressants, as well as folate, 25cc of Vit B12 shot once a week, and some eye drops.

Lilly B feeling better

Once Lilly finished her transfusion, her hct (hematocrit or PCV-packed cell volume) was up to 47%.  Then a couple days later, they took her hct level again and it was 49%.  A few days after that, it was at 33%.  At this point, it was a couple days before our departure for Oregon, and I called Dr. Slusser and asked if she was OK to travel.  She had to have her hct taken again, and if she was >25%, then she was good to go.  Thankfully, she was at 49%!

Lilly had her first vet appointment here in Beaverton this past Monday.  Her hct was at 43%, and her vet, Dr. Franklin wanted to check her again today.  Her hct dropped to 38%.  He tweaked her med doses and gave us his home phone number.  He seems concerned, but like Dennis said, if there was anything to be really concerned about, he would have been straight forward.  We have another appointment with Dr. Franklin next Monday.  Hopefully Lills' hct goes up with the medication changes.

For the most part, Lilly has been really active.  She explores all over the place.  She's very cautious and sweet.  It was funny because whenever we walked into the Animal hospital, everyone lit up because they were all excited to see Lilly again!  Dr. Schorling, especially, was sad to see Lilly go; she told us she always becomes attached to animals with serious cases.  She used to be very high strung, spastic and skittish.  It was hard to hold her and pet her.  Pretty much, she is a very spoiled dog. 

She's been adjusting to her vision loss very well (as have I).  She knows she has to swallow her meds, so that hasn't been too much of a problem.  I always give her a treat afterward as a reward.  She's gaining weight again and has plenty of energy to try and figure out her way around the new apartment.  She's my little googly-eyed baby girl.

after her latest hct was measured

My poor pup has been through so much, and now she has to get used to a completely knew environment!  She is such a little fighter and I am soooo freakin proud of her.