This past month has been one of hardship and lots of ICU cases. It has even rattled my nerves, and mine don't rattle that easily. No matter how excited we get about an animal in critical care improving, we know things can turn poorly quickly.
Our little Niko has been doing amazing. We have posted videos of him doing rehab and improving each day. About five days ago, his Doctors noticed he was not his normal energetic self and wanted to sleep a lot more. Bloodwork was normal, so he was taken to one of our Neurologist in Savannah. He noticed Niko was a little less active than he expected but nothing alarming. His values changed the next day, and we were beginning to think he might have a liver problem since his liver values were going up. We then noticed he was paddling his feet as if he did not realize he was doing it. Niko has been in the hospital since we first received him. I decided something wasn't right and rushed him to Charlotte to the Neurologist that did his surgery.
Niko was admitted into ICU where they began to stabilize him so they could do his scans. His Surgeon proceeded to do neurological tests to see where the problem might be coming from. Blood tests were also taken that all turned out normal. Niko's Neurologist, Dr. Bergman removed a small amount of fluid off Niko's brain, and his brain function improved. He then did a Cat Scan to see if he could determine if something was wrong with the shunt or the line that drained the fluid. What he discovered was that there is a kink in the line that is not allowing the fluid to drain off the brain into the abdominal cavity. The problem is that the kink is 3/4 of the way down. If it cannot be fixed, the line will have to be cut, and it might be too short to drain into the stomach area. He will then have to find another area, possibly the lung area where the fluid can drain. He will not know until he gets in and sees exactly what has happened. Niko is stable and is having surgery in the early afternoon.
Our sweet little pup will not survive without getting the fluid off the brain. The excess fluid takes the place of brain matter which will not develop in those areas. Without brain function, he will not live. Problems with shunts draining and working properly is always a side-effect of putting them in for humans and animals. Without them, people and animals will die that have severe cases like Niko. I have enclosed the scans so you can see exactly where the kink is and how far up it is. As soon as Niko is stable, and we know if the procedure worked I will post an update. Please, keep this little boy in your prayers. We would greatly appreciate any amount to help us with his surgery and medical care. We can't give up him. We have to do all we can to give him the best possible chance of survival. Thanks for caring and helping us with his medical needs. We greatly appreciate the support.
