Bella Phillips
Bella has been in my life now for almost five years as of May 2020. When I first knew Bella was going to be mine permanently I took her to a regular vet for a basic checkup. Right away the first thing they noticed was Bella had a heart murmur. My Vet took X-rays and explained that she had an enlarged heart and in the future it would eventually cause her to have more issues. A few years went by with no issues and one day everything changed. Bella was getting out of bed and suddenly fainted and began to urinate as she was gasping for air. This lasted for about 5 seconds and then she slowly came to. Bella acted normal as if nothing ever happened. It was a very scary thing to witness.
I took Bella right away to my vets office and they explained to me it was from her heart. I thought it was from having a seizure. The doctors prescribed her a medicine called furosemide and eventually took her off after a few months. Bella was doing well and about 4 months later she had her worst episode to date which ended up being full blown congestive heart failure (CHF). She was very lethargic and started drooling heavily, she was even having difficulties controlling herself from pooping. It was extremely scary to see her in that condition. I rushed her to the emergency room right away and they immediately began to give her diuretics via an IV drip to drain the fluids from her lungs. We stabilized her and checked out of the clinic. Now she was prescribed furosemide again indefinitely.
I made an appointment with a veterinarian cardiologist, Dr. Mikaela Mueller from Seattle Veterinary Specialists. Dr. Mueller explained that Bella was in stage C of her heart disease and that her mitral valve was failing. Bella was officially diagnosed with mitral valve disease (MVD). Dr. Mueller prescribed two more medications in addition to the furosemide, Bella was prescribed Pimobendan and Enalapril. Dr. Mueller explained that Bella would need to be on these meds for the rest of her life (Bella now was given 6 months to a year to live). Dr. Mueller did tell me another option was available, a mitral valve repair surgery in Japan and London (RVC).
I decided to have Bella’s records sent to the RVC to see if she qualified for the surgery and I received word back shortly after that Bella was a good candidate! From there I booked the closest date I could and went through all the hurdles of getting Bella ready to go to London which included the following steps,
Registration as an ESA animal
Getting an updated rabies shot
Getting a health certificate so she’s allowed in the UK
Booking a flight that allowed ESA animals to fly into London
Book lodging accommodations
I then was told about a Facebook group called Mighty Hearts MVD Community and was introduced to Nate Estes who was a life saver on guiding me through the entire process which allowed me to get everything done. Eventually our date came up and we made it safely to the UK (which was such a blessing but that’s another story all together). Finally Bella got to meet Dr. Dan Brockman and his amazing staff who were very so nice. I felt good about the surgery after my pre-op appointment because they made me feel so comfortable with the procedure by clearing explaining everything.
During my time I met a few other families who were also having the same surgery and I was relieved to see their dogs made it through the Initial procedure. Bella’s surgery day came and she did great. I was so nervous, finally Dr. Brockman gave me the call after Bella made it through the first stage of surgery and her heart was beating on its own. Then I was told Bella was moved to recovery. Bella recovered really well, each day getting better and better. Bella was even released a day early! We stayed for another week as many do to make sure she was going to be ok. Bella was placed on aspirin, blood thinners and continued to stay on pimobendan until they felt her heart was strong enough to not need the meds anymore. Bella had a small blood clot that eventually went away on its own.
We finally made it back home to Seattle and continued to follow the three month recovery instructions given to us by the RVC. I’m happy to say five months later Bella and I received the best news ever at her recent checkup. NO MORE MEDS are needed! Bella is now doing wonderful and plays nonstop like a puppy. This experience was life changing and has given me lots of new perspectives on life. It’s a stressful process to get through no doubt, but in the end it’s worth every step.
Love Nolan & Bella
Breed: Chihuahua/Jack Russell Age: 11 Diagnosis: Stage C Surgery Date: September 16th, 2019 Hometown: Seattle Washington, USA Owner: Nolan Phillips Primary Vet: Afford A Vet
Cardiologist: Dr. Mikaela Mueller Surgical Team: RVC, Drs. Dan Brockman & Poppy Bristow
