01/18/2024
Still miss my boy! See you again, 1 day! Bright lights never, really die. They continue to live on in our hearts!
09/17/20
In life, there is a rhythm. A natural flow of things that maintain and sustain. From the seas to the beats of our hearts, our rhythms are the energy through which all things flow from day to day. No two are the same. I believe that is God’s plan.
And some, quite simply, have a little more magic sprinkled in.
The rhythm of the heart is the first sign of life from within the mom’s womb. In dogs, as in humans, it brings excitement, wonder and a sense of unknown. Just as each of us is uniquely created, so too are dogs. No two heartbeats are the same. The rhythm of each its own beautiful melody.
Finn was born, like all of us, with his own unique heartbeat. Only for Finn, this beat had a little bit of extra magic. The rhythm of Finn’s heart was unfamiliar to veterinarians and specialists. It didn’t follow the traditional beat, a melody for which there was no music. And yet there was a name: Tetralogy of Fallot.
Tetralogy of Fallot is not limited to dogs. In fact, more humans than canines are born with this defect of the heart every year. It is a combination of four congenital abnormalities. Together they affect the structure of the heart and cause oxygen-poor blood to flow out of the heart and to the rest of the body. It causes shortness of breath, weakness, passing, seizures, and in some cases, death.
But Finn had his own light – his own magic that made his melody that much more special. He never followed a traditional path. His breeder never thought he would live past 6 months. Even we believed our very best may be loving hospice care. Traditional medicine was never going to work for this boy. This light was born to shine! And so he came to CPR, to shine his unique light onto a foster home that soon came to understand they were part of something special.
Then we found there was a chance for Finn to shine his light on this world far longer than we originally thought possible. With many of us working together, we made that chance happen for Finn.
Earlier today, Finn was placed under anesthesia under the loving care of a skilled team of professionals at UGA. Their goal – to bring a more natural rhythm to Finn’s magical, out of traditional melody heart. It has worked in dozens of cases before him. And it will work on others that come along after.
Sadly, for our Finn, this was not the hymn that would be sung.
Finn’s surgery was, by all accounts, a success. The shunt was inserted successfully, the blood re-routed, and the physical body was well enough that even a neuter was performed. His body was stitched closed and, for the first time in 90 minutes, a team of very skilled surgeons with very big hearts allowed themselves to take the first breath.
Until things took a bad turn. As Finn’s body began coming out of anesthesia – a process that can take up to 90 minutes under the closest of supervision by a team of veterinary professionals – the rhythm his heart had known no longer worked. As his heart beat out of pace and humans and machines intervened to find for Finn a steady, regular beat, it was clear that Finn’s rhythm was uniquely his. No amount of intervention could restore it..
*The rhythm of life, heaven withstanding and smiling, we’re all swept away*. *Edwin McCain – The Rhythm of Life
In our lives, we all find our rhythm. Some of it we are born with; other elements we build. Some perfectly contributing to the harmony; others writing our own melodies.
Beautiful Finn, your rhythm lives on. In the heartbeats of those whose hearts beat for you. In the communities that surrounded you in love and support. In the veterinary specialists that fought for and with you. In the donors that prayed a better outcome for you. For your precious foster family that embraced your unique melody and refused to do anything but dance to it. May the music live on!
Eulogy by Jennifer Reel - lovingly written in honor of Finn and all who loved him and supported him
