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Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - Happy Hopeful Holidays
| Greetings to all, I want to take just a bit of time to wish everyone on here a happy holiday season and a blessed and joyful New Year filled with HOPE. I have stood in each one of your shoes at one or time or another in the last 16 years. When my dear Meisha was diagnosed with AIHA in January 1992, I was in such shock. Like most of you on here, it was a disease I had never heard of. I was told IF Meisha went on to recover the most time we could expect with her was 2-3 more years. Thankfully my vet was wrong and we went on to have 9 years and 10 months with her after her AIHA diagnosis. We went through several relapses and then finally a time of 6 years of sustained remission. During that time, my gal looked and acted so well, you would have never been able to tell she had been sick a day in her life. The final crash came on October 31, 2001 (how ironic since this was her favorite dress up holiday) and her death on November 23, 2001. I was in such shock after her death I could not shed a tear until Christmas Eve. When the tears finally did come, I thought they would never end. But they did and then the real pain set in. But in time that pain subsided as well and now when I think of my dear gal, it is only with joy and thankfulness that she was allowed to be a part of my life. She taught me so many lessons such as unconditional love, persistence and patience that I could learn no where else. So much has changed in regard to AIHA in the last 16 years. There was the advent of Oxyglobin and the increased use of Cyclosporine. There are also new treatment options coming down the line that I think will be very useful. One of these options is being tried in a study funded by the Meisha’s Hope AIHA/IMHA Fund #338 at Morris Animal Foundation: http://www.cloudnet.com/~jdickson/newhope.htm Also as we all know blood clots are a huge problem with AIHA/IMHA. The Meisha’s Hope Fund is sponsoring several studies in regard to this problem. One is a study trying a new drug for clots, one study is working on a test to see which AIHA/IMHA dogs are at risk for developing clots and one study is trying new heparin doses. From the info I have received all these studies are seeing results that are very promising. So there is indeed HOPE for those dogs diagnosed with AIHA/IMHA in the future. I am also seeing many more dogs surviving each and every year. I think that is because more owner/caregivers are educating themselves on the disease so that is very hopeful as well. Finally to those of you who have lost your dogs to AIHA/IMHA, know there is HOPE that that pain will subside and you will remember only the good times you were able to spend together. We remember Meisha and her canine sister, Margo (who died 18 months after Meisha) each Christmas by putting some of their personalized ornaments on our Christmas tree. As we hang these ornaments, we recall some of the wonderful times we shared with these two beloved gals. Once again, Happy, Hopeful Holidays to all. You can view our online holiday greeting card at the following URL: http://www.cloudnet.com/~jdickson/newhope.htm |
| Joanne MN |
| Whoops, Here is the URL to our holiday card http://www.cloudnet.com/~jdickson/card.htm |
| Joanne MN |
| Joanne -- thanks for sending your message of friendship and hope for the holidays. Your involvement with fighting IMHA and the progress that has been made provide hope to those people and their dogs fighting the disease as well as those who have lost but continue to hope for eventual victory over this disease. I didn't find this website until after we lost our Wiley to IMHA, but the people here have been so helpful to me in handling my sadness. You're right that the pain does subside, but it clearly does not disappear. We all just learn to handle it. At some point, the sadness does give way to gladness that these wonderful dogs came into our lives and we shared such loving relationships. The love we shared with them in this life, and will share in the next life, more than outweighs the pain of losing them. But, it does take time to get to that realization. I put the MAF and the Meisha's Hope Fund on my Christmas list this year, as I have the last three years. Let's all do what we can -- no contribution is too small -- so that someday, others will not face IMHA as the daunting, life-threatening disease that it is now. The human intellect has developed treatments to fight cancer, help diabetes patients live longer lives, eradicate polio, and beat many other life-threatening diseases. We can beat IMHA too. |
| Brenda VA |
This thread was discussed between 17/12/2007 and 18/12/2007
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