This past May I lost my best friend and companion, Lindy, to a disease called IMHA (Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia). Its a disease that causes the white blood cells to identify the red blood cells as foreign and destroy them. Lindy started showing some fatigue and I took her into the vet the following morning. That afternoon they came back and informed me after doing some blood work that I needed to schedule a follow up visit for an ultrasound to see if there was any cancer. In the mean time they started her on antibiotics in hopes that the lod blood count is caused by an infection and that it may help stop the white bloods from destroying the wrong cells.
I took her to the ER vet the next morning for the ultrasound and they came back and said they didnt find any cancer and they are sure its IMHA. The thing with IMHA is there are 2 types, Primary and Secondary. If you want to learn more, you can follow this link. The mortality rate is about 70-80% depending on the source.
Long and short of it is that she didnt survive 4 days past the initial diagnosis. She was diagnosed on a Thursday and I had to put her to sleep on Sunday morning.
We had one last amazing weekend in the Olympic Mountains before knowing what was happening and Im happy to have given her one last adventure before passing on. Ill end this post with some photos from that last trip. She explored the forest, laid in the sun, played in the water and guarded the campsite one last time like she always did.
Rest well, little one.