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Help support Michael's cancer and amputation related cost and help save our family dog

  • Positive outcomes!

      27 July 2023

    It has been awhile since the last update for our friends and family. After three tough weeks in hospital and 5 surgeries during this period we are finally on the other side and life is significantly improving. Michaels last surgery was a skin graft to close the wound. After 4 weeks the graft has fully healed and Michael has been signed off to start the process of getting a prosthetic. Hopefully in a month he'll have his first leg.

    We have also had all the home modifications completed making the house safe and accessible for Michael which has made a huge difference.

    Michael has also had his permanent custom wheelchair ordered which will hopefully arrive in three weeks!

    Today we found out that chemotherapy has finished as there is no clinical known advantage of finishing the remaining cycles. Although we will have lots of ongoing follow up monitoring appointments over the next two years to check nothing comes back for now we are officially finished with chemo !

    We are so grateful for all the support and love we have received from everyone.

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  • Surgical updates (Harlow and Michael)

      8 June 2023
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    It's been a busy week and a hectic Thursday but we thought we would update our friends and family following our journey.

    In order to try keep the length in the residual limb and have the best options for a below the knee prothestic in the future Michael is having to have staged surgeries. Each surgery they are going in washing and debriding the wound and closing it a few cm. They are then covering it fir a couple days with a vaccum dressing connected to a negative pressure pump to reduce the swelling and promote healing. So far Michael has had three surgeries since the 31st May with three more planned over the next 10 days.

    On a positive note Harlow had her surgery today and is at home feeling very sorry for herself but on a lot of good pain killers. Her surgery went well and the vet is confident after physio and about 6 weeks of healing she should be fully mobile and going for walks like normal.

    As well as Harlow having her surgery today, we also had the ramp installed today! This will now allow Michael to access the house safely.

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  • First stage of surgery completed

      1 June 2023

    Another update for anyone who is following along:

    After going in on Monday for a bandage change Michael was admitted to the hospital needing to have surgery as soon as possible as the wound had broken down and reopened in so many places.

    Due to the increased wound break down they told us it will now be a two stage surgery. First surgery to clean out wound and shorten stump. Then they seal it with a special vaccum dressing he then stays in hospital for 5 days and they do a second surgery to try close the wound with potentially needing to do a skin graft to close it.

    Michael had the first surgery yesterday. It took a lot longer then expected but he is doing ok just very sore and looking forward to getting the second surgery done and coming home.

    We are waiting to hear from the surgeon today to find out exactly how the surgery went and if it will impact his ability to have a prosthetic in the future.

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  • Thank you !

      28 May 2023

    After a very tough start to the week and feeling like we never catch a break we have been so overwhelmed with the amount of generosity, donations and offers of help we have received.

    The huge amount of support has helped us remember how good life can be and how amazing our friends,family and community are. We cannot say thank you enough for every one who donated, shared the page, and reached out to us.

    We have managed to raise enough funds to pay for Harlow's surgery and have some money left to put towards home modifications.

    Harlow is booked in to have her surgery in the first week of June and after 6 weeks of recovery she will be back to her old self !!

    We also have a consult booked with the plastic surgeon to discuss surgical options for Michael early June.

    Although there are still a lot of challenges to come things are starting to look up 😊

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  • Second surgery

      22 May 2023

    Unfortunately our luck doesn't seem to improve much. Chemo has unfortunately caused the skin around the wound on the amputation to start dying and the wound is not and won't heal by itself. This now means that we face two surgical options one is shortening the stump and resealing the wound or having a plastic surgeon using a flap to close the wound. This unfortunately means a minimum 3 month delay to the healing time a thus a prosthetic and pushes chemo out for another 3 months. In the meantime Michael has to have a vaccum dressing connected to a pump that runs 24/7 to try encourage healing.

    We have also spoken to the few vets in Christchurch that do the tendon surgery Harlow needs and we have been told to expect a fee estimate of $5k plus.

    We really appreciate all the donations and we are blown away by the support and love we have been given.

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    • 22/05/2023 by Elena

      I might be able to help with Harlow and his surgery and rehab. Can you please email me at elena@animalphysionz.com