Remarkable Vets needs a CT Scanner

Hi all,

Meet Kenobi...

Kenobi is our 2.5 year old Bernese Mountain dog living in Queenstown in the South Island of NZ. Unfortunately he was unwell, he had a collapsed lung due to an abscess that burst leaving a hole in in his lung that allowed air to escape into his chest cavity. He had to have the chest cavity drained of air multiple times with 4.5 litres of air drained the first time, 3.8 litres the second time and lastly 6.8 litres of air so his condition was pretty dire. In simple terms the escaped air in his chest squashed his lung and made it hard for him to breathe properly.

Kenobi needed surgery to repair the damaged lung but even before that happened he desperately needed a CT scan to give the vets more information on his condition and we found out that this was impossible as there is not anywhere he could have one close by.

The vet's asked Queenstown Hospital to let them to use the CT scanner located there however this was not to be for reasons I am not sure of. This is not a criticism, just forms part of the story so far.

On 7 May 2021 in Queenstown, Kenobi had a procedure to insert a Thoracic drainage tube, a risky procedure in itself, to make it easier to drain the air out of his chest while the vets figured out how to get him a CT scan and where to send him for surgery. This was a logistical headache as Kenobi needed to be transported in a way that meant the tube in his chest did not move at all as it could cause him more damage. Kenobi would need to be carefully monitored while being transported to ensure it remained in place.

Option 1

Christchurch, a 5.5 hour drive away, has a CT scanner but as it turned out could not fit him in in the timeframe he needed to be seen

Option 2

Auckland in the North Island, at least a 28 hour drive away (including a ferry crossing where he was unattended), came with its own set of risks while driving him but there was no other way to get him there as the specialists confirmed he could not be flown at high altitude because of the compressed air.

Following a consultation in Christchurch, still without a CT scan that was so desperately needed, with specialists from ARC in Auckland the decision was made to do the drive to get him to Auckland for both a CT Scan and surgery.

Kenobi arrived in Auckland had the much needed CT scan and underwent surgery to remove the damaged lung lobes and seal up the hole. A number of CT scan's were then required following surgery to check that it was healing appropriately. Had we not been in Auckland this story may not have had a happy ending. The CT scans being integral to the success of both the surgery and subsequent recovery.

This fundraiser is not for Kenobi, I have him covered, but the predicament the vets are in without access to CT scanning equipment left me feeling utterly helpless and needing to do something as I'm sure I'm not the only pet owner who has faced this situation or similar where access to a CT scan would have been beneficial in helping our pets.

So this is where you all come in... My goal is to raise funds to enable the absolutely amazing team at Remarkable Vets get CT scanning equipment so they can better do their job and help our family pets.

Thank you all for taking the time to read. I am incredibly grateful for the support.

Dig deep and lets make this "Pawssible" as soon as "Pawssible"! After all Pets are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.

NOTE: I have transferred the fundraising funds from GoFund me to the Remarkables Vet Fund account, closed the page and started a Give A Little page instead as the $AUS was proving tricky.