Help Heal The Damage

Want to know how you can help?

Jenn of likealilyamongthorns featured these Delia Earrings, part of my Carmella Collection yesterday in her wedding blog, "The Adventures of a modern Housewife". They'll make a wonderful addition to any bride's outfit on that big day!

Read the write-up, and purchase, and or send the link to your frends and help Carmella in the process.
http://amodern-housewife.blogspot.com/2010/03/wedding-wednesday.html

 If you have a wedding or formal occasion coming up I have an intrigueing variety of jewelry pieces that are sure to make your experience one-of-a-kind and extra special! I also take custom orders if you have specific colors or styles in mind for the bride, bridesmaids, and any others who require something you don't already see in my etsy shop; http://Giftbearer.etsy.com

You can also purchase one of the ad slots to your right in my sidebar (click on the link at the bottom for instructions on how) at a cost of $5.00, or donate in any amount with a credit card or Paypal account through Paypal by going to the link that says "Please Donate To Carmella". I still have a long way to go to pay off her medical costs.

I just returned from GA. Veterinary Specialists after a long day. While we were there Carmella was excited at all the other dogs coming and going and whined almost non-stop wishing she could play with each one of them. The building was a large gray stone-looking brick structure with what looked like a cast iron sculpture out front of a tree and boys climbing up it after a cat that was perched on the furthest limb. Surrounding that on two crossing sidewalks were tufts of long ornamental grass growing like tentative topknots in hard-packed soil bogged down slightly by the recent rain.

My friend and I entered through the front entrance with automatic doors and made our way through a series of wooden benches to our left and right up to the reception desk in the center of a large atrium. Carmella could hardly contain herself and pulled almost hard enough to knock me down. It was quite a feat holding onto her leash and signing in, then filling out the preliminary paperwork. Tying her leash to a bench on the right I managed to complete the form and return it to a staff member as she walked by but not before Carmella began dragging the bench part-way across the floor. I caught her just in time and pulled her back. She was intent on making contact with an elderly Golden Retriever who sat nervously on the floor at the adjacent bench her owner was sitting on.

Unsure of Carmella's intentions she wimpered and looked up at the woman who looked back at me a little awkwardly as Carmella shreiked loudly at her dog in malamute-like tones tugging so hard at the leash she nearly choked.

My friend went outside to answer her cell phone and it wasn't long before Carmella and I were called back to wait in a room for the neuro vet. I think it must have been 30-40 minutes before she was ready to see us and in the meantime Carmella had to go to the bathroom, so I took her out front among the sparse tufts of grass. She peed and pooped without much delay and was then ready to go back inside. My friend came out just as we were headed for the front door and we went inside, she in the waitingroom, and Carmella and I to the inner room where we waited for the doctor.

The neuro vet looking to be in her early thirties, slim, with long dark brown hair pulled back in a long ponytail came in soon after trailed by a vet tech and an intern, and shook my hand a little too hard as though to convey something, though I'm not sure exactly what. Something about her seemed too deliberate but she smiled and introduced herself and the intern and asked how Carmella was and inquired about the symptoms that brought her in. Just as I came back into the room I'd heard her discussing Carmella with a man in the next room whom I supposed was Dr. Johnson (the male neuro vet who had refused to do the CSF procedure back before Carmella had started jerking and languished over his decision for weeks while Carmella began developing neuro symptoms that increased by the week). I just caught the tail end of their conversation but I'd heard him say something about Dr. Sears to the female neuro vet. I wondered whether he had told her that he'd refused to treat Carmella 17 or some months ago and why (that it wasn't in the medical literature).

This new vet asked me lots of questions about her myoclonus and any other neuro symptoms, and also asked whether she had any more respiratory symptoms. I thought "why would she now?" Then she did a thorough neuro exam checking her reflexes, looking in her eyes, looking to see whether she responded to sharp objects, etc, as the vet tech and intern looked on. Eyesight was good, reflexes good, other than the leg and the myoclonus all alse checked out. That was the good news. Then came the bad.

She asked me whether Carmella was on any medication for the myoclonus and I told her no she wasn't. She admitted that there wasn't much that would work for myoclonus and that the only thing she knew of that worked enough to really reduce the jerking significantly was a drug called Procaine which she said could have cardiac side effects so the dog needed to have an EKG prior to starting it and that it comes in injectible form or pill form. The pills have to be given 3 times a day.

She went on to say that not much else that she knew of could be done and that myoclonus wouldn't show a lesion on an MRI because any structural changes would be on the cellular level and microscopic if any, and it could be caused by purely electrical disturbances originating from possibly neurotransmitters in the nerve root "or the invironment around it" (where it meets the spinal cord in the shoulder).

She seemed to be extrapolating from what she'd read; things I've also read in medical journals. Her phrasing was "They think it's caused by that". She seemed to be reaching for answers that weren't verifiable by any tangible means like one who has heard a myth passed down by their ancesters and tells it again from old stories one heard as a child, so certain of the truth of this theory through sheer faith, yet so uncertain by any accepted scientific standards of proof. It is one of those theories accepted by the specalty more by default than by reason. She seemed to want to leave it at that and think no further. She said that she didn't "want to biopsy the nerve root"; that "that wouldn't be fair to her" as if to imply that would be the only way to find a focal point.

I mentioned the possibility of a stem cell transplant and she replied that was not being done yet outside a lab and that she couldn't do it. I told her that I didn't think she could but that there are two vets that I know of in town already doing it on dogs and that one in Alpharetta had been on the news just recently. The other was on Hwy. 78. I silently wondered how she could have been totally unaware of this great discovery hitting the market when it's all over the internet now and on the local news. It's even in journals, (but I guess not the ones she reads).

She seemed embarrassed or irritated; one or both by my giving her that information and said she would be really glad if there were a cure, but her words had a hollow ring to them as though she didn't really mean it if she couldn't have known it first.

I had the sense that she was paddling hard trying not to drown in her own cluelessness, covering it up with a guarded and clipped defensive demeanor as the conversation got more specific. Her friendliness quickly faded to a tense and deflective stance in which she resembled a bird perched high atop a way-too-slender limb on the verge of cracking beneath her feet.

She said that the fallen arch in the leg was, as I thought, due to the jerking, and that it probably wouldn't get better but if the jerking was lessened it might prevent it from getting worse. Without controlling or stopping the jerking it would certainly continue to deteriorate. The ligament has been stretched too much; not her specialty she said, but an "orthapedic problem". I asked what could be done about that part of the problem and asked if a splint would work and whether any sort of physical therapy could prevent further damage. She responded by telling me I'd have to ask an orthapedist and a physical therapist. That sounded kind of smart-alecy to me, as she did not recommend any names, just left it at that and stared back at me almost defiantly as if to say, "So there!"

I told her that I really don't know what to do with that information. She continued to flounder.

(I'd assumed they had those specialists there but felt it was futile to ask at that point as she seemed to be taking every one of my valid questions as a personal attack. As she offered no help hooking me up with them I did not want to take another trip out there across town on a maybe). She did sign my insurance form, handed me a card and a one-page typed report, shook my hand hard again, and I checked out and put the papers in my briefcase.

My friend was waiting in the atrium and I told her what happened. She was flabbergasted. that she was just dismissing us like that with no follow-up. I said, "Well at least this documentation will help somewhat when I approach the stem cell transplant vet. It may not need to be pinpointed exactly if she's right that it's coming from the nerve root in the shoulder. Stem cells could probably be put there and they'd migrate directly to where they're needed, and since this is already shown to be successful for ligament regeneration it might help in that spot at the wrist too!"

Perhaps despite her uncooperativeness and lack of preparation this vet had really given an answer anyway although mired in layers of porcupine quills. If she's right that its cause is due to problems with neurotransmitters I don't know whether stem cell transplant fixes that or not. I'll have to do some more reading about that to determine if it would. I still have access to some of the top specialists in that field on the committee I spoke of in one of my earlier posts. They are likely to be a storehouse of information since they are doing alot of research on various stem cell techniques. As I recall some mentioned in their bio that they sub-specialized in neural cell regeneration! Perhaps they will know the missing piece. Armed with that specificity I can then approach the stem cell vet and discuss the best way to go about it.

This dog didn't deserve what happened to her and deserves to be restored to complete health again. Because so many dropped the ball I am now paying to correct the mis-steps they made, as is Carmella.

My goal this year is to sell all my current inventory, help Carmella with the proceeds, and begin to phase in all new pieces! With the community's help I know this can happen! With Love and Action All Things Are Possible.

Strike Two! Still Waiting...

I gave it till around 3:00 pm today before checking my e-mail to see whether there was any word from the Board Certified female neuro vet located in Sandy Springs. Nothing, so I decided to call her. Surprisingly she herself picked up the phone. Hoping this was a good sign I proceeded to introduce myself and ask if she'd received my e-mail and she said,

"Yes, you're the one who wants the injection in the dog's CNS."

"Can you do it?"

"No, I couldn't" she said through what sounded like a heavy Asian accent of some kind. "I would have to see studies, or citations or something."

"He's tried and tried to publish, but they won't let him in", I said. "You can talk to him yourself. I have his number and e-mail address."

"That is not sufficient" she remarked blithely, as if blowing away a puff of smoke from a cigarette.

Was is really that easy to just turn one's back and walk away? Apparently for her it was all in a day's work. Right away I sensed she'd go home tonight and not miss a moment of sleep over Carmella, and then came that big cop-out, that ever-familiar, convenient rationalization.

"Dogs don't always progress. She might not? Maybe." It was more of a question than a statement, a futil and impotent attempt to veil her own inadequacy.

"Well she already has started to. This morning I took her out and the jerking was happening this time as she was standing on her leg. That didn't happen before, and this time it was pretty major. She had to lift up her paw several times."

Almost immediately, the vet started talking over me as if she believed if she drowned out the truth with her own voice that somehow absolved her of her guilt. Like a baby hiding behind a blanket, she told herself that the problem didn't exist because she didn't see it.

"You can bring her in, but I can't do it. It would be unethical." Bring her in and do what? I thought. Give her Phenobarbital to mask the problem, give her a valium to relax her while she slowly deteriorates and dies? So that you can lie to yourself and pretend you're helping her? So that you can charge me another $75.00 for an office visit just to refuse in-person what you have over the phone and deny her the one thing that will kill the virus and save her life? Hell no! I thought, enraged at the ludicrousy of the moment. "Unethical" my ruby red one! You want to know what's unethical? Unethical is when you have the training and the skills to save a life but you choose not to. Unethical is letting a dog twist in the wind while a deadly virus slowly shuts down every brain function one-by-one, stripping her myelin from each nerve like the shucking of the outer covering of a bundle of telephone wires with a wire-cutter! Unethical is letting fear for your own ass decide how you practice medicine instead of compassion for a living thing!

"How is that unethical? I have pictures of her improvement from the first shot already?"

"She's not even my patient".

You're right, I thought, and she won't ever be either with that attitude.

"You should really have a University work with her, not a private practice vet. There's a vet at UGA who knows alot about Distemper, not Marc Kent, not Platt..."

I looked at my list of Board Certified neuro vets. "Dr. Scott Schatzberg?"

"Yes, that's it, Schatzberg. Ask him. He should know whether the treatment you are seeking has any merit."

Her statement left me cold. I didn't need someone to tell me whether it has merit. I've seen it! So I'm expected to leave my brain and all my senses at the door? Obviously if it's never been published it's less likely he would have heard about it unless he'd heard by word of mouth.

Soon we got off the phone after she wished me "good luck" with my dog, and suddenly I was crying. Yea right, I thought. Good luck. The expression had a sardonic sound to it. Knowing that good luck is really what people do and does not just magically appear I was not about to fall for that one. It has routinely become what people say these days from afar when they risk nothing and don't get involved. Notice that a husband accompanying his wife to the hospital and just before surgery doesn't say "Good luck". The reason for that is that he is going to know what she knows as it happens, with her every step of the way. Short of accompanying her inside the OR he is going to be there, taking on the problem by her side. In all likelihood he will be the first person she sees in the recovery room after the medical personnel.

As soon as I regained my composure I put in a call to Dr. Schatzberg. I tried several times and got just an answering machine and the name on it sounded like it said Dr. Nonn, not Schatzberg, so I wondered if he might be on vacation and that another doctor might be covering for him.

Then I sent off an e-mail. There seemed to be two lines and first I tried it with just what was on the first line and got no "undeliverable" messages back, but when I tried it with both lines it did come back as "undeliverable" so I'm still not sure whether he got either of them. I will call again tomorrow.

Here is a re-print of my e-mail below:

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Dear Dr. Schatzberg,

I adopted a puppy from an animal shelter that I named Carmella, and she turned out to have Distemper. I looked far and wide to find out the best treatment available and came across Dr. Alson Sears’ protocol using Newcastle Disease Virus Vaccine (the LaSota strain) off-label, which is as far as I know the only thing that has really eradicated the virus successfully in dogs. My regular vet tried it on her (an IV to treat the virus in the body) and it worked quite well. When she was first diagnosed they didn’t know if she’d even make it through the weekend, but the treatment really brought her back! The only problem is that she also needs to have it injected into the spinal area, the Foramen Magnum, because it does not cross the blood-brain barrier when injected in the body. Her Central Nervous System is still infected, and although she is dramatically better in every other way, her neuro symptoms are gradually getting worse. My vet has never done a spinal tap before, so although he would do it if he had the skills he does not feel qualified. I have had a hard time finding a vet who is both qualified and willing to do this, and it appears that there are only two board certified neuro vets in Atlanta (and about 4 listed in Athens).

It is a real shame that the medical journals up till now have refused publishing Dr. Sears’ papers on this discovery, and I really think an academic institution should step in and do clinical trials on this treatment and begin to document and publish findings on its effectiveness. As of yet I have not been able to find anybody but Dr. Sears even attempting to look for a cure for distemper. I looked through PubMed the other night for several hours and although there are studies that circumstantially hint that this could work, most of the studies are aimed at testing better vaccines to prevent; not cure the disease. Somebody should be very interested in this, as I have pictures showing that after the initial shot by IV Carmella’s pads completely healed within just about 2 weeks after injection with NDV. This bird-based vaccine, mostly used in the poultry industry is manufactured by Merial right here in Georgia, and Dr. Sears has a formula that is a dog-based serum which he has given people permission to post online and to use to treat infected dogs. One vet I have spoken with tells me that he knows a vet in Alabama who uses the dog-based serum regularly in the body and reports great results with it. This is good, but these dogs need vets who are willing to test and treat in the Central Nervous System as well, and the most likely candidates to take on this challenge are neuro vets with an interest in research.

Maybe Merial would fund a study if you put in an application. It’s something to seriously consider. They seem to have done a fair amount on Distemper and may be very interested if their product could be proven to kill the virus; not just be used as a vaccine to prevent it. It might be worth testing both the NDV and dog-based formula. Publishing something would remove it from the virtual no-man’s land it currently sits in, and could be of great benefit to science and to Veterinary Medicine, not to mention having the potential to make a significant dent in the epidemics in shelters which probably cost billions of dollars nationwide.

It seems that given Carmella’s success with the first injection that as long as she gets this early enough she should have a good prognosis with the spinal injection as well. If ever there was a good candidate for a successful outcome it is her. Her secondary pneumonia is almost gone after several weeks of antibiotics (2 weeks of that with Azithromyacin), and she is otherwise healthy. Her weight is back up, and she is eating and drinking well. She has boundless energy, (unlike before the first shot when she was lethargic). She should be able to withstand anesthesia. I don’t want to wait until the symptoms are too extreme because then it might be too late to prevent permanent damage from the Distemper virus.

Currently she has mild to moderate chorea in the right front leg and sometimes shoulder which happens intermittently. So far it has not affected her activity overall and happens mostly when she’s at rest. In addition she has an occasional moment of clumsiness, but so far no seizures or overt paralysis. Even so, over the past day or so I’ve noticed a gradual worsening and this morning her right front leg was jerking perceptibly even while she was standing on it while I took her out for a walk and she had to lift her paw on a few occasions. (Some of the vets I’ve spoken with in recent weeks took the position that “maybe” it won’t progress but I think that ship has already sailed).

I hope you can help her, as I’ve run out of people to ask in the Atlanta area and I don’t know how much time we have before she gets even worse. She is a beautiful, loving dog and I want to do everything I can to save her.

If you’d like to speak with Dr. Sears to find out more about this treatment he developed I have two phone numbers for him and an e-mail address; (phone numbers removed from public view), and e-mail: AntiDistemper@aol.com
He and I have been in contact for a few weeks now. He is willing to speak with any vet I work with on this.

Please contact me as soon as possible. It would be a big load off my mind if you will do this. Carmella deserves this chance. She is a very special dog, and not only to me. When you meet her in person you will know what I mean.

Sincerely,

Pippit Carlington

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Buy exquisite art jewelry and save a dog! You can help Carmella by shopping in my Etsy store. Proceeds are going to pay her medical expenses. If I have to go to UGA for her to receive treatment that will likely be an added expense on top of what it is already , so your purchase is greatly appreciated at this time.

http://giftbearer.etsy.com/

Why Don't They Want A Cure For This Disease? Haunting Question, Sickening Answer

When I looked for studies the other night regarding cures for Distemper and didn't find any at all even looking for one, I had the nagging question why? Surely other researchers have thought about it. How could they not? It reminded me of the work I'd done while working on the Marshall Protocol research team and the answer we found as to why none of the researchers other than the one who'd developed the protocol I was on had been looking for a cure for Sarcoidosis. The answer to that question when we discovered the truth was downright bone-chilling. In that case it turned out that the small elite group of researchers who controlled what got into medical journals were all funded by drug companies who had a competing interest with any cure. These companies were only interested in creating maintenence medications designed for the sole purpose of "living with" the disease. The problem was that often even after taking such medications patients developed major organ failure and then death, so in fact the whole premise the drugs were built on was a Big Lie. (I received an e-mail from one such woman in just the past two weeks).

The doctors who were funded to do research on those drugs went to great lengths to conceal the truth, so much so that they would stop at nothing to make sure that nobody would touch any cure which came out with a ten foot pole. They were placed on the committee that set the standards in the treatment of Sarcoidosis through NIH, NHLBI, the department under which Sarcoidosis falls. That was the committee that put out the very propaganda that doctors were using as guidelines on how to treat paitients!

Looking at this as a model, I wondered if something similarly sinister might be going on in Veterinary Medicine. After doing some thinking it occurred to me that the reason in this case might be two-fold; that drug companies and even some vets think they can make more money if they assume a dog could live up to 8 years with the disease and intermittantly have to give it "supportive care". Of course they downplay the fact that the disease continues to do damage and that if a dog lives to age 8 it is likely to suffer severe symptoms like seizures and paralysis at that point. Maybe that’s their idea of “doing well” but it’s not mine. When you consider that NDV only costs about .83 a vial, so two vials of it only amounts to a few dollars in cost to treat both the body and the CNS, neither the drug companies nor the vets are making much on that (other than the anesthesia and other surgery costs for the CSF procedure), and the other possible motive is that the people in top positions of power in Veterinary Medicine might be secretly hoping that all infected dogs will just die off through "natural selection" if they do nothing to cure them, and that Distemper as a disease will at some point be self-limiting once the number of dogs vaccinated starting early in life reaches a certain level.

I wonder whether the latter explanation has ever occurred to any of the vets working in research settings or in private practice, and that maybe they are being fed a line of bull by their own industry? Hopefully with a little critical thinking the ones who became vets for the right reasons can see their way clear to question why nobody who runs these journals is interested in publishing a possible cure. It is not always the treatment that's suspect. Obviously if people are empirically reporting that something works, and there are no horror stories of anything going wrong with it when used correctly there must be something there. All these people could not be making this up.

It also seems to me that case studies and clinical trials could be done right now by the vets who have used NDV (and the dog-based serum) in the body and have had success with that. At least that would spur more interest in doing clinical trials on its use in the CNS.

It's time for those vets to step up to the plate and do some writing and submitting to these journals. If they get enough requests from seperate vets and institutions it will be increasingly difficult to keep them out.

In Sarcoidosis in humans it took for doctors to disregard the bull they'd been told by the group of biased researchers and try the protocol anyway, but I don't know whether vets have as much guts. Everyone seems to be hoping another vet will be the first to take the risk, and everyone is pretty much sitting on their hands. Just where does the buck stop? How many dogs have to die of neglect before someone will take this up and do something about it?

Carmella has been restless the past 2 days. She is almost hyperactive, constantly chewing on things including my hands, my pants leg, and other clothing. She has chewed up both cords to my fax machine and now I have to buy a new heavy duty electrical cord before I can use it. Last night she chewed up the strap on my backpack. Her chew toys don't seem to be enough anymore. I finally had to take her out of the computer room and put her back in the kitchen while I was working in that room for fear she'd chew up those cords too.

Her jerking is about the same when she's not in constant motion, but I wonder what else the virus might be doing to her brain while all these vets are weighing their options.

If the fence did not have a board missing I'd let her out in the back yard to run around for awhile but the repairman has not been back to fix it.

I found that letting her play tug-of-war with an old towel got some of her excess energy out but it took a long time before she was tired enough to lie down and chill out.

Well, tomorrow people will be back in their offices and I can pick up where I left off in looking for a vet to do the CNS injection. I hope to hear from the female neuro vet that I e-mailed on Friday and hope that her answer is yes.

You can help Carmella in her recovery by helping with her vet bill. At least then money will not be a barrier to her receiving all the help she needs. As of yet I have had very few buyers in my Etsy store purchasing pieces since the beginning of this effort. I need to raise at least $1,000 and I'm nowhere near that goal. If you would like to help an animal here's your chance to do so in a very concrete way. I hope that my work is not missing the mark in what people are looking for. If you don't see what you want in my shop please contact me through Etsy and place a custom order. Buy jewelry and save a dog!
http://giftbearer.etsy.com/

Chicken...Buck Buck Buck!

And I'm Not Talking About What's In The NDV Vaccine

Photo: Courtesy of Greenfingers.etsy.com

maker of smudge sticks, other herbal preparations, and eco-friendly items

Dr. Brantly came sheepishly to the phone this afternoon, intent upon making his point, and with voice quivering he said, "Hello? Ms. Carlington? Are you calling about Bear?"

"No, Carmella, " I replied thinking that not enough sleep and too little coffee was possibly muddling his head for a short second.

"Oh, yes, Carmella." The doctor seemed to snap his mind back into focus.

"So, have you had a conversation with Dr. Sears yet?"

"Nnno...?" he hesitated. "I haven't called him just yet. I'm still planning to though, just mainly to get information, ask questions, and discuss with him. " There seemed to be a "but" coming and there it was. "I, I, um really don't feel comfortable doing the injection at this point. After all the reading up I just don't know whether it would be safe unless she were faced with imminent death."

"Well according to Dr. Sears she will be sooner or later even if she's not going to die immediately. I'd rather she not die at all until she would normally. I don't want her to continue to get worse and then have a lingering horrible, and certain death in which she suffers."

"She might not". He sounded as though grabbing at straws, and in fact he was.

"Do you mean you think her immune system could fight off the virus in her brain on its own?" I asked dubiously.

"Yes, it's possible. Some dogs have static symptoms like seizures or jerking and still do quite well."

"And you're saying that antibody tests show that those dogs have killed the virus; that it's no longer detectible?" I had him there.

"Well...no. Very few vets will even do a spinal tap to test the CSF for antibodies. We really haven't gone that far to see how those dogs did. Just based on their symptoms, they seemed to not be progressing."

"I'm not sure what you're mainly worried about. Is it doing the spinal tap or the injection? Are you worried that you might hit the chord and paralyze her?"

"No, that is a risk, but it's not that. It's the way the NDV's shelf-life is preserved that I'm worried might not be good to be injecting into her spinal canal." He also expressed a fear that she'd go into shock, and I said that from what I've learned from Dr. Sears if you run IV fluids that will handle that effectively.

"You're worried about the preservatives they use being harmful?"

"Yes".

"Well have you read the formula to make the dog-based serum from scratch? That wouldn't be filled with preservatives". It was beginning to look as though the man was quickly running out of viable excuses.

What now? I thought, and there it came...predictable.

"Yes, but I still don't feel comfortable doing it. It's still too experimental". The last desperate defense of a man who had no defense. So is everything, I thought, until it becomes commonly used. What kind of logic was that, I wondered. Certainly not scientific. If all the techniques used now in other deadly diseases had been simply tabled indefinitely because they were "experimental" chances are we'd be an endangered species by now, and so would our dogs.

Then a brilliant idea struck me as if fired from a gun. Last night I had been searching on Google to look up Distemper research and it became apparent that the drug company that manufactures NDV, Merial, had done quite a bit of research on Canine Distemper, but mostly in Ferrets.

"Merial seems to be quite interested in Distemper. They had links all over Google as I was reading last night, and people who own ferrets seemed to be a strong advocacy group for that sort of research. I didn't find as much in dogs, but what if some vets were to team up and submit a funding request to Merial for grant money to do a clinical trial? It seems to me that would put alot of this fear to rest, and once an offocially recognized study were done vets could stop freaking out about it. If there is real merit to this and it is the only real cure for Distemper don't you think it deserves a chance?"

"Yes, that is a good idea, but it would probably be the academics; neuro vets with the big credentials; those in research facilities who would be the best ones to submit a proposal. Places like UGA have all the equipment, MRI, CT, and contrast for guided imaging."

"Yes, or ones in private practice specialty clinics like Dr. Johnson."

Dr. Brantly agreed. He sounded relieved to put this responsability on the academics and the specialists.

"Well, maybe a task force with those as the lead investigators and including other vets who are interested could be put together. It seems to me that the only way that vets in the community will get used to this is by being directly involved, because there are only so many neuro vets to go around. I found exactly two board certified ones in Atlanta; Dr. Johnson and one other, a woman in Sandy Springs, and about 4 in Athens around (or on staff of ) UGA. I did find out a few names and I'll be contacting them too."

"I did contact a vet in Alabama who has had great success using the dog-based serum."

"Well, good! What about having her treat Carmella?"

"She has only done the first part (in the body; not in the CNS), and she also is afraid to attempt the tap procedure."

"Well that's exactly why a clinical trial really is timely. If vets don't use it then what good is having a cure?"

We left it that I would send him any relevant research that implied this would be safe and effective, and that he'd call me to let me know if he thought of anybody who did feel comfortable doing the procedure, and he asked me to let him know if Carmella got any worse.

When he and I got off the phone we both knew the unspoken truth; that he could not scientifically guarantee me that she wouldn't.

When I checked my e-mail there was a message from Dr. Sears.

"Just about any vet can stick a needle in the Foramen Magnum without an ultrasound or MRI. Find one that will try."

In response to the fact that Dr. Johnson was working on Interferon he had this to say, "As to interferon, it does not work. Does not interrupt the distemper virus. We tried that years ago. There are now 9 different interferon's and none of them work against this virus. They do work against some but not this one. Induction with NDV sets off a variety of Cytokine's, many of which we have no names for. They just work. Especially against distemper."

And his response regarding shock happening: "Absolutely, once the NDV is introduced into the spinal space shock occurs. So what. If an IV line has been placed before anesthetic then fluids can be given and the shock is under control. Treat or death is the eventual outcome."

Regarding the trouble I've been having finding a vet to commit to this procedure, (I had to leave a few choice statements out in the interest of decorum, LOL, so as not to alienate other vets who might end up being important allies), but I can include some of it.

"I was able to find a Vet in primitive Indonesia. I cannot believe that there isn't a vet with needle savvy in all of Florida (he meant Georgia). I have now treated 4 dogs (in the CNS). One 36 years ago, and 2 10 Mo's ago, and 1 three Mo's ago. The 2 in Indonesia are both alive and without secondary symptoms at this time, Daveyo's dogs.

Hopefully yours is next.

Doc Sears"

Carmella still needs your help. Her bill is growing. Your purchase from my Etsy store is much appreciated. I'd like to thank the few individuals who have recently bought jewelry in the last 2-3 weeks. I just tonight added a new pair of earrings to my Carmella Collection. Remember that with love and action, all things are possible!

http://Giftbearer.etsy.com

Carmella Collection- Lillies of the Valley (earrings)

Caution...Dangerous Curves Ahead

The weekend was a time of waiting and watching. Carmella seemed her normal jovial self, swaggering up to grab hold of my pants leg, and barking at the teenaged kids down the street playing football or a squirrel that wandered into the back yard and peered back at her through the protection of a window divided only by thin strips of wood.

Once outside on the leash she looked through the chain link fence into the back yard and wanted to run around back there, but the repairman who'd fixed the fence hadn't fixed it very well, as a plank fell off no more than a day after he'd been out here and pronounced it complete. It turned out that the plank had been nailed into air on the other side; not into the cross-board at all, so it was never attached in the first place fell back with the first gust of wind, and left a gaping hole big enough for a dog to escape through. It lay ineffectually with nails facing up in the yard. Having Carmella get out and end up hit by a car or picked up by the pound would be the last thing I needed. He has not been back to repair it, and the rest of the job was pretty sloppy, leaving mounds of uneven cement poured haphazardly into a sink hole that would only continue to sink. Such is life when you don't have the money to pay a "real" contractor, and I'm not in good enough health to attempt to do it myself. I had to settle for now for taking her back there on the leash and walking around with her. She really wanted to run and exercise her legs, but these days my legs aren't up to more than a few feet of that before I give out. We both came inside exhausted.

Carmella lay down and immediately her front leg started jerking again. I found that if I put my hand on it I can feel what seems to be current running through it. It's a very strange feeling. I felt it tonight too.

When I checked my e-mail today there was a message from Dr. Sears. He told me that the NDV CSF procedure would be trickier now that these symptoms (Chorea) had appeared. He believes it is in the early stages of what will eventually progress to either seizures or paralysis, and he said that this can progress slowly after periods of stability or it could progress fast depending on two factors; the genetics of the dog, and what strain of Distemper the dog has.

I called Dr. Brantly's office around 3:00 this afternoon and somebody who answered the phone said he was with a patient so she would have to give him my message when he came out. I told her that Carmella was getting worse in terms of the jerking and that it was more frequent and more obvious now.

Awhile after that a call came in from a receptionist who had not gotten the message but had been asked to call me on behalf of Dr. Brantly based on Friday's information that nothing had changed. He wanted her to tell me that he was not comfortable doing the procedure right now and that he was still researching, and that he would most likely call Dr. Sears tonight after work. He had waited to call him so that he could speak on the subject intelligently. She conveyed at this point that he was afraid of paralyzing or even killing her if he did not do the procedure just perfectly, and upon further questioning it seemed as though he had not done many spinal taps, and maybe appeared overly confident in the beginning when he'd said "I'm pretty sure I'm going to do it", asking that we come in more as a formality than anything else. As the call to action became increasingly imminent it seemed he got cold feet. The problem is, where does that leave Carmella? I hope not out of luck. The ticking time bomb in her head will not merely go away. Somebody will have to do this thing or it's just a matter of time before she dies of this horrible disease.

I wonder why Dr. Johnson didn't do it before she had these symptoms when he had the chance and the skills? If he's done enough spinal taps not to hit the chord then he clearly would have been qualified. I wonder if he ever thinks about her or wonders how she is? Surely he knows the score if left untreated.

And then there was one other vet who could have done it successfully and chose not to.

I am not going to give up. Sooner or later the right vet for the job will reveal him/herself. I just know that it is not God's will for Carmella to die. Anybody who meets her knows very quickly that she is not merely a dog. There is a purpose for her life. Who knows, maybe that purpose is to open the minds of vets to think outside the box, and to change the current thinking about what is cureable and how new medical discoveries become accepted.

Tonight I will be looking at various university vet schools' websites to see what I can find in the way of names of neuro vets. Auburn, and possibly University of Tennessee. I hope I don't have to go that far away, but will if I have to.

Please check out my Carmella Collection of jewelry and many other unique jewelry lines at http://Giftbearer.etsy.com/ , proceeds are going to Carmella's vet bill. Your help is greatly appreciated.

Calling Dr. Brantly...

The past few days have been spent waiting on pins and needles for the two vets to make contact. Dr. Sears left several messages for Dr. Brantly on his voicemail and so have I. Dr. Sears left both a home phone and cell number and has been anxiously awaiting his call. At this time Dr. Brantly's office is closed for the day and still no word from him. I've been staying close to the phone just in case he might call with some new insights after speaking with Dr. Sears and maybe with any luck, word that he's ready to go ahead and do this thing!

Dr. Sears wrote me to say that the fear that Dr. Brantly had about an antibody reaction was very unlikely, as it would require damage to some membranes; alot more than just piercing through with a needle at the base of the skull into the spinal canal. He reported that a dog who was treated after 8 years who had been known to have Distemper as a puppy and assumed OK without more than the shot in the body did not show neuro symptoms until later in life did not survive when it finally was done at the paralytic stage, so having it done before symptoms are severe is better. He is anxious to speak with Dr. Brantly and communicate what he knows from his experience in treating the disease.

I really need to start making some more jewelry, as although I made sales to two buyers over the past few days of these sparkly, precision-faceted genuine gemstone stud earrings, I've got a long way to go before the vet bill is paid off.

In case you readers are interested in these, I have more pairs of Amethyst but the Rhodalite Garnet is sold out now. If you'd like more than one pair please convo me on Etsy and I can put up a listing with the number you need. There are about 10 pairs of Amethyst still available.


Amethyst- $18.00/Pair

Rhodalite Garnet (Sold Out)

If there's enough interest in these simple stud earrings I'll start to phase in more choices in stones and set some more of them to offer on Etsy.

Well, I'm off to make more jewelry. Be sure to keep checking my shop to see what new pieces come out! There are bound to be many exciting surprises; always fresh and interesting! Put Giftbearer on your list of places to buy jewelry from, and help Carmella get well with your purchase!

http://Giftbearer.etsy.com/

Not So Fast...

With all the false starts in this process I think I may get whiplash. I thought this new vet was about to give the green light to the CSF procedure, that everything was pretty much set to go, but I guess I shouldn't count my chicken vaccine until it's hatched. Just when that might be seems to be anybody's guess from one day to the next.

Saturday was one of those roller coaster rides I wished I could get off, sooner rather than later. First, the trip out there by taxi cost me $22.00 each way after I realized nobody I knew could take us to the consultation and going by cab was the only option. I wasn't about to keep the guy waiting if in fact he was ready to commit, and I worried that rescheduling would only derail whatever mojo had finally been set in motion to bring this thing to a happy conclusion.

The taxi driver got lost on the way over, seeing as the Google map instructions said to turn right where it should have said left. We arrived a little early though so it didn't throw us off schedule, and I took Carmella over to a grassy area on the side of the building so she could pee, which she promptly did, not having liked being cramped up in that small cage on the way there. She was a ball of nervous energet never having been anywhere but home and Dr. Norwood's office since being brought home from that jail cell of a shelter.

The clinic was set back off the main road through a gate that looked like the entrance to a ranch, and the several hundred feet of blacktop which acted as parking lot seemed to swallow up the place. At the back of the property sat a flat rather unassuming one-story building divided in the middle by a quaint little courtyard with a plot of grass framed in rought-iron decorative fencing and a few little sculptures in the center. To the right was the front entrance with glass door and windows slightly tinted. Carmella and I went into a long waitingroom with a tile floor and decorative New Orleans style benches. To the left just beyond was a bird cage with two cocatiels inside perched atop a wooden dowel swing, and on top of the cage a black cat curled in a comfy bed. As we passed it regarded Carmella with large watchful eyes, its head turning with her as she and I walked by the first receptionist desk where a 30-ish woman with slighly longer than shoulder-length brown hair sat typing, just getting off the phone. I approached the desk and said, "Hi, this is Carmella. We have an appointment to see Dr. Brantly."

"Oh yes, " she replied smiling, looking from me to the dog. She came out from behind the desk and reached down to pet Carmella as she jumped up to lick her hand. "Hello, Carmella!" She said enthusiastically reaching into a pocket to pull out a milk bone. Carmella ravenously chewed it into a thousand little pieces, then bolted it down.The receptionist picked up a clipboard and asked, "Have you had a chance to fill out the new patient information sheet?"

"No, not yet" I answered reaching to take it from her. Carmella seemed as if she'd had a shot of adrenalin, and I found it hard to hold the leash and fill out the form too. Several more people came in with their dogs and she could hardly stand being in the room with out bounding over to them. She began whining and barking to get to where they and their owners sat, like a hound intent on the hunt. Trying to get her to sit or lie down had no effect. She was riveted on the other animals. The receptionist asked if I had the form ready and I told her I had managed somehow to get most of it done but that Carmella was pulling so much it made it hard to write. She told me they had some rooms down the hall where I could take her away from the other dogs if I wanted. We followed her down past another receptionist desk and saw two such rooms each containing one of the same ornamental rought-iron and wooden slat benches, and a magazine rack. We entered one and closed the door.

"You can let her run around free in here if you want. I'll be back in to check on you in a little while." The receptionist turned and went out closing the door behind her, and I let Carmella run around but left her leash on just in case somebody came in and she made a beeline for the door. I finished filling out the form as she investigated around the room looking for something to play with. Finding no dog toys in there, Carmella set about trying to chew the tile, the edge of the bench, my foot, her leash, and just about anything she could get her teeth on.

She crawled on her belly under the bench at one end and I heard the sound of something tearing. I looked and saw her come up with a wad of kleenex in her mouth, which she proceeded to tear into little bits of confetti. I leaned down to see a box underneath the bench to my right. Finally I had to put it on top of my napsack in order to save it from being torn to shreds.

It was quite a job to prevent her from tearing the place apart while we waited for the doctor and I hoped he would be out soon because quite frankly I was getting exhausted trying to keep Carmella from doing irreperable damage to the furniture or knawing clean through her leash. It was past 11:00 and still the doctor had not come out, and soon after a vet tech came in to take some information. She sat on the floor against the wall that had photos of Westies hanging on it and wrote in the chart as I recounted the events of the past few weeks. After she'd entered it all she got up to leave, telling me the doctor would be in soon. I waited about 15-20 more minutes with Carmella bouncing off the walls when finally there was a slight knock at the door. I grabbed Carmella's leash, and in came a man who appeared to be in his 30s or early forties with thin red hair, dressed in scrubs. Carmella was sitting on my lap at this point and he reached out to pet her introducing himself as Dr. Brantly. Carmella took this opportunity to lick his hand and when he shook my hand it was full of slobber. Yuck! Christ, where's the Kleenex now, I thought.

I thought he was going to have us go with him into another room but instead sat cross-legged on the floor. Carmella jumped off my lap and went to check him out, wagging her tail. She normally didn't take to men, especially strange men, but she seemed to know that he was no threat and immediately jumped up on him. He inconspicuously looked her over, listened to her heart and checked to see if she had any trouble with her sight by flicking his fingers in front of her eyes, talking to her as if she were just visiting somebody. I'm not sure she was even aware she was seeing a vet and that this was an examination. He certainly was not like any vet I've ever taken any of my dogs to before. He gave her a few more of those milk bones (it seemed as though that was a built in part of the place's approach), and when Carmella decided to chew on his stethoscope he just jokingly told her he couldn't afford another one of those and deftly removed it from sight, called her a "pretty little girl", petted her on the head, and began moving her by the shoulders from side to side to check her balance. She seemed to accommodate well and did not fall, but never stopped moving. I was afraid she might pee on the floor in all the excitement of the new environment but she didn't.

I asked him about the jerking she had when asleep or at rest and he said that it could be from something else other than the Distemper because it was intermittant, and of course she was not showing it then because she wasn't staying still enough.

The eventual and predictable topic came up about not having any journal articles written about thec NDV, and I told him that be that as if may, it was clear to me that this worked because she was at death's door and within two days of the IV being given her pads were already improving, and that I didn't need a bunch of research papers to tell me that my dog was dramatically better, that I'd even gotten pictures to prove it. I pointed out that all she had been given that week other than NDV were antibiotics and we all know antibiotics don't cure Distemper. I told him how ill she had been and how much her energy had come back, how well she was eating, and that she had even grown; a dog who was given a 50/50 chance of making it through the weekend when I'd first taken her to Dr. Norwood.

Dr. Brantly was not able to find several things he was looking for in the chart including Dr. Sears' number, some of the test results, and the concentration of Zithromax in the oral suspension Carmella was currently on.

He said that as he could see no clear-cut neuro symptoms at the time he wasn't in a big hurry to do the procedure, and was worried that it being so long since the NDV was given in the body may have allowed antibodies to form and that if those entered the CSF through blood when he stuck her it might cause an adverse reaction. I urged him to speak with Dr. Sears and ask him if that was likely to happen, and I also said that if that was not likely then I would like to be absolutely sure that the virus was not lurking in there to attack her later when we'd all turned our backs, and he admitted that could happen.

He said if she had been showing overt neuro symptoms in front of him he'd have gone ahead and moved on it expeditiously, but seeing as she looked pretty good he was not so sure he wanted to set it up right now.

He gave me his e-mail address and asked me to have Dr. Sears call him. I told him I would, then Carmella and I went out into the waitingroom where the receptionists were admiring her big ears and regal, arched neck, saying they were almost certain she had Pharoah Hound in her.

One receptionist called the cab I had taken on the way over and was told they could not pick up in that county.

"What do you mean you can't pick up in Gwinnet" she told the driver. "You gave her your card to come back and get her, didn't you? I've never heard anything so ridiculous. So what do you suggest she do? You can't just leave her stranded here!"

The man on the other end seemed unmoved. Finally he gave her the name of another cab company and she called to have one sent over.

I waited for quite some time and finally a large van pulled up and stopped out in the middle of the parking lot. A Jamaaiican man sat in the driver's seat idling the engine, not making a move to get out and help, as I struggled with Carmella's cage in one hand, and my napsack in the other. As I approached I asked if he could open the door. He didn't budge and I asked again.

"Excuse me, could you please open the door for me, I've got a heavy dog and both hands are full". He responded that I should just open the door. I told him I couldn't and tried to hold both up where he could see. Rather than getting out of his seat he told me just to put my bag in the front seat. I really didn't want to do that because he looked kind of questionable and unkempt, fearing he might take off with my wallet, but seeing as there was not much else I could do I took the risk, then opened the door and hauled Carmella's carrier and myself up into the back seat, then quickly grabbed my napsack and put it safely at my feet. I was nervous the whole way home thinking it looked as though he was under the influence of some illegal drug (something more than just weed). The van was in disrepair and the door handles looked as though they might come off in my hand.

I was thinking all the way home, "All this and still no appointment for the procedure! JFC!"

We made it home in one piece and I was glad to be home, as was Carmella. I let her out of her carrier, took her out on the leash, then after she'd had a chance to go to the bathroom, brought her back in. I checked my e-mail and there was a message from Dr. Sears saying he'd been in touch with Dr. Norwood, and that he was happy with the treatment and that Carmella was doing well, that he'd left a message for Dr. Brantly, and ending the e-mail saying he is very interested in following the case.

I wrote back asking a number of questions including some of the things Dr. Brantly had brought up. I also asked him how we'll know when she's cured for sure.

I took some new pictures of Carmella and added some of them to my Indie Public account to a photo album.

When I logged onto Etsy I found that I had made a sale! This was none too soon, as I am going to be getting that bill any day now (including a $75.00 charge for the consultation on Saturday).

Check out my Etsy shop at http://Giftbearer.etsy.com/ all proceeds going towards Carmella's vet bill.

On The Road Again!

Well, we're back on the path. After much calling around it looks like we finally have a vet who is willing and able to do the spinal tap procedure with the NDV, found at a clinic that does both traditional and alternative medicine, and it's only about 8 miles from my house! He is one male vet in a practice with all women, and after the receptionist told him what needed to be done he told her he's almost sure he's going to do it. This vet just wants me to bring Carmella in on Saturday first so he can look at her and read her history before giving the definite OK. He's the most promising prospect we've come across so far! I gather that we will have to schedule another day for the procedure itself so that he can plan his schedule accordingly, since it is like surgery. She will have to be put under general anaesthesia, and watched closely afterwards to make sure she doesn't go into shock and they'll have to be ready with anti-shock meds just in case.

I'm so excited that soon she will be fully cured of this and that the dark shadow will be gone from our lives.

Since the weekend she has been like a new dog; growing in both length and height, gaining weight (4 Lbs in just a few days), eating well, and playing.

I never thought I would be happy to see a puppy chew on my sleeve, but I know that means she's feeling much better and that's a good sign! Her coat is starting to get shiny, and she no longer has the smell of dead, rotting meat on her or coming from her mouth. She has the sweet puppy smell she's supposed to have.

She doesn't have the tremors when she's moving but I just notice them when she sleeps or at certain random times when she's lying still.

I called Dr. Norwood's office and had his receptionist fax over Carmella's progress notes and test results to this other vet so he'd have it before Saturday.

Today is a joyous day!

Many thanks to Bev Gallerani of MangoTango for your help the other day.

Coral Treasure Fine Silver,
Sterling and Dichroic Glass Necklace
http://MangoTango.etsy.com

I am getting ready to pay some toward the bill, so purchases would be greatly appreciated. Check out my Carmella Collection and other unique pieces of art jewelry I have available! You can all help Carmella in her recovery from Distemper.

Cell Clusters (from the Carmella Collection)
http://Giftbearer.etsy.com/