Friday, October 10, 2008

Benji is OUT of Surgery

Well, Benji got out of surgery at about 3 PM. The surgery went well but took longer than they anticipated because they was alot of abnormal tissue behind his eye. They sent it off to pathology to be tested to find out exactly what it is.

I have taken more pictures but will only be able to post later tonight. Have no idea what time Benji will be discharged.

Bugsy is in with him. She sniffed him a bit bu tI think she is a little nervous herself and she is also a little hot because of the heat lamp on Benji. I am sitting with them the whole time. I just took a break so I could come and update you all.

He is still really out of it, but did lift his head as soon as Bugsy was put in the cage with him!

I think the next time I post will be after we get home unless something changes.

No comments:

SURGERY IS SCHEDULED


BENJI is scheduled for surgery on Sept. 18th!

I have to have him at the vet's between 8 and 9 am! Depending on how he is doing, he might come home later that night. If there is a chance of that, we will stay in Acton for the day instead of driving back and forth.

As far as BunFest, Haviva said to wait and see how he is doing. If he is eating and acting normal then we can bring him, If not, he will need to stay home.

I do not as of yet have all the funds, but once the auctions are ended, I know Benji will be at ALL FUNDS RAISED!

Haviva was excited when I told her! When I said that I want to book his surgery she had gasped that deep breath and said "Fantastic!" She is thrilled that the funds have been raised so fast! I am too so excited that Benji will finally be A OK!

I am sure I will be very nervous and worried while he is in surgery, but that hasn't hit me yet. I am so grateful to everyone. I will forever be indebted to all of you for helping to save Benji's precious life. Will keep you posted and updated always!

Cynthia

DONATIONS

SEPTEMBER 6, 2008
Well, I have been getting emails asking what is the status of funds because people (and buns) are getting excited!
Ok, here it is for all.................

Total as of Sept. 6, 2008 at 6:30pm Eastern time
.......................................$1145.00 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Balance left ...................................... $155.00


How awesome is that! Plus there is more to come in from the auctions! You guys are THE best!

I love you all!

I will be calling Haviva on Monday to schedual Benji's surgery for after the 12th of september. I am confident that the balance will be in by then!

AUGUST 31, 2008

As of 8:30 am Eastern time ...........................................

New balance ............ !!! $723.00 !!!
AUGUST 27, 2008

Left to raise .............$577.00


New balance ............ !!! $536.00 !!!
Left to raise ..... $764.00
--------------------------------------------------------


UPDATE - August 20, 2008

I just got off the phone with Haviva from the Acton vet clinic. She has given me a rough estimate of about $1300.00 for Benji's surgery.

They have done quite a few eucleations and I feel very comfortable with the vets here.

I am going to pick up the anitbiotics for the possibility of the parasite Encephalatizooan cuniculi. There is money left over from donations that I will put towards that.

Donations CAN be made directly to the clinic and Benji has a file there so this is the info needed:

Benji Philip
ACTON VETERINARY CLINIC

10 River Street
Acton, Ontario
Canada L7J 1C1
519-853-1450


http://www.actonvet.com/

Haviva has put a note in his file letting the secretary know that this will happen. All receipts will be saved and I will mail them out to you unless you wish to remain annonomous.
Thank you all so much for the support you have given us both financially and emotionally.

Cynthia, Nathan, Jonah and Naomi (cats) Bugsi and Benji

PROGNOSIS

It is now about 7:30 pm and we have been home for about half and hour. I needed to collect my thoughts before I came to tell you all what needs to be done.

Fist, I must say that Dr. Whelan is amazing! He was real good with Benji and not only did he explain things to me but also let me use the special devices to look into Benji's eye so that I would know exactly what was being explained. He also let Nathan see and answered any questions that Nathan had too! We spent about an hour there.

From my understanding, there is a good possibility that Benji's eye could have been saved if he was given treatment as soon as the symptoms appeared while Benji was with his original owners. This breaks my heart that now Benji has to go throught this major ordeal.
Right now, Benji cannot see from his right eye and hasn't been aboe to for awhile. There is "no potential for vision" either.

The diagnosis is: "Right corneal scar, shallow anterior chamber and marked posterior synechiae."

Recommendations:
"Benji would benefit from this eye being removed. There is no potential for vision in this eye. I cannot determine what caused the initial problem and whether the ulcer was all that Beni had. I would advise that Benji be given a course of albendazole or fenbendazole in casae there was any involvement of his lens with a protozoal parasite Encephalatizooan cuniculi. Dr. Hess can also take blood sample to check if Benji has been recently exposed tot his organism.
Benji has markedinflammation in this eye and the iris has adhered to the anterior lens capsule and tghere us a very small anterior chamber. MY advice is to remove this eye in the near future.
If Benji's eye becomes red, this will indicate that there is more inflammation in this eye and the surgery should be done sooner."
The estimate I got from Dr. Whelan was way more than I had anticipated. I am going to get another estimate from Dr. Hess (the one that initially discovered this problem) and see how much he will charge.
For Dr. Whelan ..........................$1990.44 ......... I have now lost it and am in tears.

Bugsy went to Benji and started to clean his eye (from the eye drops and is now cuddling with him. i took a picture and will post it asap.
I am distraught with saddness. My poor baby. I know that once his eye is removed that Benji will feel so much better. It is just the fact that his eye could have been saved if the original owners had done something. This poor inocent rabbit has paid the price of their neglect with his eye.
I promise to do what I can to make sure he gets the surgery.
Cynthia

TODAY!

Well, today is the day Benji gets to see the specialist. My stomach is in knots but I am excited as well.
I will let you all know what the vet says once we are back home later today. It won't be before 6pm. The drive alone is about an hour or so and we will be in traffic on the way home.

Cynthia

WE DID IT!

It is thanks to all of you that I will get to see the specialist on the 18th! My mom says that hse is so grateful for all of you and your generosity! Without you, I would most likely not been able to get in on the 18th!
If I am not mistaken, with funds that will be coming in directly to the specialist's, we have met our goal to get me in!!! (I am doing loads of binky jumps with Busgy!)
Mom has tears filling her eyes making it hard to type but they are tears of happiness! We are so loved and we feel it too!
Mom says that she will come and let you all know how I am doing every day and that she is not going anywhere. I have too many buddies here now and I hope that I can meet some of you some day!
My eye is still bugging me but mom is putting the drops in my eye 2 times a day. Sometimes I won't sit still for them cause I want to run around! But I know that I need them so I let mom put them in.
I will post this great news in my blog as well so everyone can binky jump with me!
Hugs and kisses,
Benji, Bugsy and mom (Cynthia)

UPDATE

I noticed yesturday that Benji's eye has ulcerated again. I started putting in the eye gel and hopefully that will help.
We are still $85.00 away from our goal to see the specialist.

DONATION UPDATE!

UPDATE AGAIN!
WOW! I have to count the donations 3 times to make sure i was adding correctly!

We are now.....$85.00 away from the amount needed ($350.00) to see the specialist! I am so cinfident that Benji will get in this time and not have to postpone the appoinment again!

Thank you to all angels!

Add Comment 0 comments
AUGUST 1, 2008

There are so many wonderful angels out there! Benji is now only $90.00 away from the consultation appointment with the specialist!
Thank you all so much,not only for the monetary donations, but also for the moral support!
We love you all!

July 30, 2008

More donations coming in! We are now $164.00 away from Benji seeing the specialist.
So much more moral/emotional help is coming in too and I can't tell you how vital this is to us.
You guys are amazing and we love you all!

July 29, 2008

Another $20.00 donations today! Woohoo! Loads of binky jumps! $190.00 left to rasie for the appointment with the specialist.

July 28, 2008

Great news! A generous $45.00 donation just came in!
Thank you so much! My hope has been renewed that Banji will get the treatment he needs!

Shortly afterwards, there wer 2 more donations of $30.00 and another of $5.00.

I am so greateful for all of your donations. Every penny helps!

July 13, 2008

I just love to watch the rabbits when they are in a playful mood. Yesterday, Bugsy kept doing her binky jumps one after the other for about two minutes straight! It was so cool!

They are also very clever! I have a baby gate to the entrance to the living room and kitchen. Well, first Bugsy figured out that she could jump levels to get over the gate. For some reason she loves to be in my room under my bed! Then Benji figured out that if he pushes hard enough, he can push the gate so there is a gap to get through! He doesn't like being separated from Bugsy!

They also know when it is time to eat! They have the routine down pat now! I just have to get the food out of the fridge and they come out from wherever they are at, and hop into their hutch. They know that at 9pm, it is time to eat and go to bed! They are such smart bunnines!

JULY 10, 2008

We are back from a great week at single mom's camp. My gang was very well taken care of and spoiled! They were well fed, played with and given freedom to run around as usual!

Benji is still doing fine but funds just aren't coming in. There isn't that much time to raise the funds for his appointment in August. The summer seems to be zipping by.

If you could please donate a little. I understand that times are getting tough for everyone. But if many people donated a little instead of a few people donating alot, it would make it easier on everyone. I am not sure how much time Benji has before complications set in.

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Benji is doing well, although he isn't too fond of real hot weather. He pants alot. I try to keep the house as cool as I can. He is one smart bunny though. He knows were the cool places are in the house and he often will lie down on the cool linolium floor.
I will be gone this week. Heading to a single mom's camo with my son. I have a friend coming in 3 times a day for the bunnies and cats. I know that she will take good care of them all. I will also leave written instructions on everything that they need and like! Oh, and also my contact info so that she know how to get a hold of me if needed. The camp is only about 30 minutes away so we could be home pretty quickly.
Although I will miss my babies alot, this is a well needed get away. I am so grateful that this camp is subsidized otherwise we would never be able to go.
I will post as soon as we get back.
Hugs to you all,
Cynthia

Wednesday, June 25

Having worried about Benji not getting the funds needed to get the treatment he needs has put stress on me for sure but this past Monday early evening really did me in.
My 12 year old son was riding bikes with his friend and as they rode through the park which is right next to my complex, two young men tried to lure them away by offering them money.
As a parent you always wonder if what you teach your kids registers at all but you NEVER want to find out this way.
Well, the boys rode quickly away and went to his friend's mom and then they all came here and I called the police. My son is ok but he was pretty shaken up by this.
It was a late night for all of us with the police taking the boys statements and then trying to get my son settled for the night. He slept in my room that night. He is doing well now.
Needless to say that I am even more catious about where and when he goes outside.
This has all been so very stressful. I just thank God that He had His hand on the boys and protected them.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Well, today was the garage sale. Got rained out at about 10:30am. What a disappointment. I did manage to get $26.00 more dollars for Benji though!
The lap top I had with Benji's video wasn't working. I couldn't understand why because it worked fine last night.
Benji needs our help. Please, from the bottom of my heart I am asking. For Benji.....

Thursday, June 19, 2008

I just got another $3.00 towards Benji's funds from an online survey I took. I have another $3.00 coming soon too!
Keep them coming!

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Well, I had to postpone Benji's appointment. They are so booked that he can't get in until August 18, 2008. I just pray that his condition doesn't get worse before then.

His appointment can't be postponed any longer than that. His vet in Acton said I could wait a little for the surgery, but this appointment is just for the specialist.

I am just praying that he will be ok

Saturday, June 14, 2008

I feel awful. It looks like I will have to postpone the appointment for another month. If I am lucky it won't be longer than that. It is really hard to get fast appointments with this vet.
I am particitpating in a church neighbourhood garage sale on the 21st and selling my dresses there. All I make there will go towards Benji.
With only 3 more days to raise $310.00, I would take a miracle to get it all by then.... perhaps?

June 9, 2008

Well Benji is managing to stay cool in this sweltering heat. I added a run off the hutch to give Benji and Bugsy more room when they are in the hutch. They both really seem to like it. I have also bought herbs and planted them in a huge pot so that they will always have fresh food. It was so funny when I came in the house with the pots! Benji could sniff them and found them while they were still in the bag that I brought them home in! He started munching on them right away! So I have about 6 herbs growing in the garden for my bunnies! I hope that I can continue growing them in the cold winter months as well. With the gas prices sky rocketing, food prices are going up too (as I am sure all are aware of this).

JUNE 7. 2008

Well, I had no luck selling my dresses today. Alot of people commented on how beautiful they were but I guess it was just the wrong type of person to need them or not need them. Mind you, the flow of people wasn't the greatest. It could have been due to the sweltering heat of 32 degress celcius! Just too hot to do anything.
Benji was ablt to stay cool in the house though. He just laid around most of the day but now is active running around and doing his binky jumps! Every now and again he brushes up against my leg to get some scritches behind his ears. He is so cute!
Please, I beseach you, help Benji gets the treatment he needs before he gets any complications.

June 6, 2008

I am not sure why but Benji has started chasing and trying to bite the cats. They got along for such a long time. I hope that this is not a sign that Benji is starting to experience pain from his eye.
Time is running out to raise the funds needed for his appoinment on the 19th.
Please, please, any amount will help. Even if it is change found under the couch cushions!

June 5, 2008 11:38 AM

Hi Cynthia..I just wanted to let you know I'm praying the funds come through for sweet little Benji. I just know there's going to be a breakthrough soon.
Everyone... please... help Cynthia help Benji. He's such a sweet little guy and really needs your help!! Please help make this miracle happen.
Sending loads of love and prayers

Joanna

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

I will be going out this Saturday to try to raise funds by selling my sun dresses. I have to believe that people will buy them. After all, they are good quality.

May 30, 2008 10:51 AM

Joanna said...
Hi Cynthia...I just left a long comment, but somehow it didn't go through. I hope this one does.


I want to apologize for being so lack in posting here and e-mailing. Life has been very hectic, especially since Mike has been so ill. But I promise to do better.I'm going to post on Mike's blog again about Benji. I know he has quite a few people checking on him each day. I'm hoping that some of them will check out Benji's blog and help spread the word to get funded for his appointment.
Hang on Benji.. there are a lot of people who love you and your Mom.

Love & Blessings,Joanna

With only 19 more days left to raise $310.00, I need to have faith that the good Lord will provide. He is such a sweet bunny and so loving. I don't want to see him in pain. PLEASE help!

Vet Hospital Info

If you would like to donate directly to the hospital, please specify that it is for BENJI PHILIP.

They will take your credit card info and only process the amount you wish to donate at the time of the appointment and then send you your receipt at that time.

Also, I would ask that when you've made your donation, that you would contact me at sequiaphil@yahoo.ca and let me know of your donation.

This is only to keep track of where we are since I know the hospital would not appreciate my calling them to find out... they are extremely busy.

I will keep all donors anonymous unless requested otherwise or given permission to post. Thank you for helping me keep track of our fund status by doing this. Here is the hospital information again for the specialist.


Mississauga-Oakville Veterenary Emergency Hospital
2285 Bristol Cir
Oakville, Ontario, Canada
Dr. Ziggler

The Phone number is: 905-829-9444
Again, Benji does NOT have a patient number yet.

Donation Update

MAY 27. 2008

Yahoo! Received a $35.00 donation. Thank you so much!
I can't tell you how it felt to see the donation. It was amazing! Benji is excited too!

$315.00 more to go for his appointment!


9:45pm
Another donation of $5.00! How wonderful. Thank you so much. $310.00 left.

May 24, 2008 10:33 AM

Cynthia,

The blog looks wonderful. You are such a great Mom to Benji. He is so lucky to have come to you.

I'll be praying he gets the funding he needs.

Love & Blessings,
Joanna, Mike & Gidget



Benji's Appointement

Benji has a refferal appointment with the specialist on June 19 th. I was informed that this visit alone will cost about $350.00 Canadain. This does not include the taxes or any unforseen needs.

I do not want to postpone this appointment because if I do, that just means delaying the treatment for him. The longer Benji waits for treatment, the more chances he will get complications from the synechea like glaucoma, which is painful.

He is going to the Missisauga/Oakville Veterinary Emergency Hospital, which is an hour drive away, but one that I am ready to take.
This is their web site: http://www.vetemergency.ca/

My hope is that there will be another treatment for his synechea other than removal of his eye.

Please, help me get Benji in on June 19 th.


Thank you in advance,

Cynthia