Residents of Dubbo, Sue and Carmel were on a holiday to North America .Their pretty and petite domestic short hair female cat named Tilda was left in Sydney under the capable responsibility of carer and friend Margaret, a truly wonderful and kind hearted person- the perfect choice.
Just days after Sue and Carmel’s departure, the Dubbo cat, like most other felines was exploring her own holiday destination on the third floor balcony of her parent’s holiday apartment in Abbottsford. Unfortunately, one night she misjudged her steps and Tilda fell to the ground floor.
She was found the next morning and was presented to Happy tails Veterinary Hospital as a trauma patient. The veterinarian in attendance immediately went into emergency mode and stabilized Tilda with intravenous fluids, pain relief and antibiotics. X rays and diagnostics test were performed to check if there were any other complications both internally and neurologically. Within 48 hours Tilda bounced back to health and was sent home on rest and confinement.
However in the days that followed, Margaret noticed that Tilda was not her usual spirited self. She was quieter, not eating and began vomiting at home. Dr Alison Shen at Happy Tails re-assessed her and noticed that Tilda was dehydrating, weak and identified blood in her urine. Alison re-admitted Tilda into hospital for further diagnostic tests and monitoring.
In hospital Tilda showed symptoms of abdominal discomfort, fluid accumulation in the abdomen and an area of consolidation causing a bunching up like mass. An emergency surgical procedure called a laparotomy had to be performed by veterinarian Dr Jay Dulichan .This is an exploratory surgery in which the abdomen is opened up and the contents and organs of the abdomen is examined for any abnormality. A grave sight confronted Jay on the opening of the abdominal cavity. The abdomen was filling up with blood tinged fluid. There was a smell of decaying tissue. The surface layer of most organs had pin point hemorrhages and an adhesion had formed between the intestines, the pancreas and the surrounding tissues-which was the “bunching “we palpated earlier.
The organ of concern was the pancreas which was three times its normal size and its vital attachments to the surrounding tissue were questionable. The pancreas is an important organ as it produces insulin for glucose regulation in the body and it also secretes enzymes for aiding in digestion. If the pancreas was damaged then Tilda prognosis would be grave.
Dr Jay salvaged much of the tissue and organs and Tilda was on critical care monitoring and frequent blood tests, electrolyte and fluid analysis. A feeding tube was inserted from the side of her neck into her stomach to enable her to get food into her system. The list of probable causes were short listed and all available tests were pursued with some of the tests being performed out of NSW.
Critical care nursing was diligently followed by Happy Tails team of dedicated nurses compromising of Melissa, Emily, Chris and Debbie whose constant monitoring and care made Tilda comfortable and loved. Frequent night treatments and visits were performed by Dr Audrey Shen and Alison Shen.
Three days past surgery Tilda was still weak and was not making much progress. The fluid in her abdomen began filling up again and it was time to go into to theatre again for a re-assessment. Sue and Carmel were on a daily telephone contact with the staff at Happy Tails and they knew that second time round into theatre was not good news and hoped for the best. In theatre Jay noticed that an inflammatory process was occurring in the abdomen causing a lot of surrounding abdominal tissue (called omentum) to ‘die’ off , this had to be completely removed. The good news was that the pancreas was still surviving.
Tilda’s condition was critical and her chances of survival were poor.Tildas poor prognosis was discussed with Sue and Carmel. They unfortunately had to abandon their holiday in Hawaii and they took the next available flight to Sydney. Carmel’s parting words to Jay were “please pray for a miracle for Tilda.”
Hope, TLC and a lot of intensive supportive medical care was all we had at this stage. After much discussion between the Veterinarians at Happy Tails, it was decided that Tilda should start a trial course of strong anti-inflammatory- type treatment. Within 12 hours of the first treatment Dr Jay was surprisingly greeted the next morning by a bright and purring Tilda who meowed for food. She willingly ate her first meal in 9 days and seemed to know that her parents were on their way to fetch her.
On touch-down at Sydney International Airport, Sue and Carmen wasted no time and travelled immediately to Happy Tails Veterinary Hospital and were ecstatic to see an almost healthy looking Tilda.
Tilda made a full recovery and within 2 weeks she was completely off all her medications. Seven months have passed since and Tilda is enjoying the good life in Dubbo. Sue and Carmen regularly phones the vets and nurses at Happy tails to keep us updated. Margaret, her carer from the Central coast also makes it a point to say hello to us when she visits Sydney. |