In November 2018, Maria was diagnosed with stage 4A Ovarian cancer. It all was diagnosed very quickly due to her not knowing the underlying symptoms she had experienced the months prior. However, it went very quickly to an emergency visit a week and a half before she was diagnosed.
It started early October, Maria suddenly started feeling “bloated”. By the second week of November, she had to see her family doctor twice in one week. Once on Tuesday and then on Friday. Finally in the Friday visit her doctor scheduled a CT scan for the following Monday.
However, by Sunday, Maria’s husband Peter took her to emergency. She could barely eat, she felt too full, and was in a lot of pain due to being so bloated.
Doctors removed five litres of fluid (ascetic) from her abdomen that Sunday evening. The next day after the CT scan, they drained another four litres. After they’d read the CT scan, the doctor had to deliver the bad news. Maria had two large tumors in her ovaries. Wasn’t a diagnose Maria and her husband were expecting to hear.
There was so much ascetics, it filled her lung areas with fluid and she ended up being transferred to a Winnipeg hospital for an indefinite hospital stay. A drain tube had been inserted into her right chest in Steinbach but that was all the care they could provide. Doctors didn’t know what to do at that time as it was close to Christmas. Could they start chemotherapy immediately or after the holidays as there were staffing issues around the holidays. They made the decision to start chemo the few days before Christmas. The chemo helped Maria’s lymph-nodes open so that my body could drain naturally.
Maria and her husband Peter had a beautiful, wonderful Maltese- Shih Tzu dog named Koby. Koby had become very attached to Maria as she had mostly been home for the three years since they received him.
Because he was not used to being home alone for more than maybe an hour or two at a time, Koby was very anxious! With Maria having been brought to a larger hospital, Koby ended up being alone a lot of the time. Up to seven or eight hours at a time as Peter would drive back and forth from the city. Koby was so beside himself with anxiety.
Th had a place to bring him for day or night at times, (Dogs on the Run - local dog sitting service) however, financially, it was not a long term option for them.
Peter and Maria discussed temporary care for Koby with someone they knew but that meant he would still be alone for long periods of time as everyone works during the day. She just couldn’t bare him suffering as he missed her so much!
If they had known how long my hospital stay was going to be; what options there were with my cancer; Maria and her husband would have made different decisions than they ended up making.
The cancer diagnosis came as a shock to them. As well, there was so much disruption and stress in their life; for the unforeseen future, they had to make a very hard decision. At the time for what knowledge they had of Maria’s situation, they decided that the best option was for them to have Koby put down.
Maria and Peter have since wished they could have a “do-over”! But the decision was made at a time when she hadn’t been able to see him for weeks at a time and she felt she couldn’t bear to see him suffer.
Since they had Koby put down, they have met many people who said they would have temporarily taken care of him if they had known about the emergency.
This is what gave Maria the idea for an app. She never again wanted to be or someone else to have to be in such a situation; where at a time of illness; their pet couldn’t be looked after. Also to keep from having to make such a hard decision that they had to make.
The purpose of the app is for pet owners and animal lovers to connect. Allowing owners to be able to contact people who are on their list should a medical, family or any issue arise where they are in need of someone to look after their pet. With some added features that we are developing.
There are times when family cannot help out and to have people readily available to contact would be of benefit. As Maria continues her chemotherapy (till end of July) her and her husband have been working steadily on making this app. We hope it can be a useful tool for every pet owner.
