Bailey is a Spoodle dog who is 12 years old. Bailey is a very popular dog with all that meet him due to his friendly, affectionate, placid and social nature. I have had Bailey since he was 12 weeks old.
When Bailey was 5 years old he was diagnosed with epilepsy. In the early hours of the morning, Bailey experienced a seizure. After visiting a vet immediately following the seizure, I was referred to Dr Georgina Child, a Neurologist at SASH North Ryde. Dr Child has been treating Bailey’s epilepsy with medication for the past 7 years.
Since Bailey’s epilepsy diagnosis, Bailey and I make trips (usually every 3 to 4 months) from Canberra to SASH at North Ryde for check up appointments with Dr Child and Dr Amy Lam, Internal Medicine Specialist, which includes a consultation, in-depth blood tests and other appropriate tests, with the focus being on Bailey’s liver enzymes levels, due to the epilepsy medication Bailey is on, that has the ability to cause liver issues.
When Bailey was 8 years old, he was diagnosed with Poly Immune Arthritis by Dr Child. The symptoms were weakness, weight loss (approx 8 kgs) and Bailey was unable to hop out of his bed. Bailey’s symptoms were unable to be diagnosed by vets in Canberra, so I took Bailey to Dr Child. Dr Child immediately upon examination of Bailey, suspected that he may have Poly Immune Arthritis, upon which joint taps were undertaken at SASH, and a diagnosis was successfully made.
When Bailey was 10 years old, he underwent a total hip replacement after arthritis deteriorated his left hip, which caused his left hip bone to come out in the early hours of the night in his sleep. Bailey after his total hip placement has full mobility and is able to walk freely (though he is not allowed to play ball games anymore).
Bailey spent 6 weeks in a crate as part of his hip replacement recovery. Bailey’s surgeon was impressed with Bailey’s quick recovery from his total hip replacement. Immediately after Bailey’s recovery from his total hip replacement surgery, Bailey was unable to stand up due to him having no control of his front legs. I immediately drove Bailey to Sydney for a consultation with Dr Lam and Dr Child. Both Dr Lam and Dr Child after working closely together suspected that Bailey had Myasthenia Gravis. A blood test was sent to the USA which confirmed a positive reading for Myasthenia Gravis. Bailey was placed on medication and the Myasthenia Gravis has subsequently gone into remission and Bailey is no longer on medication for this auto immune deficiency condition.
In March 2023, Bailey was diagnosed with low grade Chronic Lymphocytic Leukamia (CLL) which was detected on a routine blood test. Bailey is currently being treated for the Leukamia by Dr Lam (with consultation with the Oncologists at the SASH Cancer Centre) with a low dosage of chemotherapy medication. Bailey is thankfully showing no side effects to the medication and is living a very happy life. He still enjoys his walks, visits to the dog park and swims in the lake.
Dr Child and Dr Lam are the reason that I still have my best friend in life, Bailey, by my side. They are both god sends to Bailey and I. They both have been able to diagnose Bailey, when no other veterinary professional has been able to.
Dr Child and Dr Lam always provide me with upmost confidence with the treatment of Bailey in times that have been distressing and upsetting, when Bailey has not been well. I am forever indebted to them both for their skills, knowledge, expertise, compassion and empathy.
