The Faces of GME/NME
If you would like to learn more about GME/NME, click here.
If you have a dog with GME/NME and are looking for support groups, check out the NewGME group on Yahoo and the new GMEDOGS.
Annabelle Weaver Feb 2007 - June 2011
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Chip Chisholm 2 June 2005 – 19 November 2010
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Zefi Giles Zefi was diagnosed
with GME in September of 2007. She has been under treatment with
Dr. Sisson (Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston) since shortly
thereafter. I am happy to say she has been off prednisone
since last October with no relapses. She is still on Leflunomide
until April but then she comes off all meds. She is fortunate in
that she has never had a relapse as we decreased the prednisone and now
seems totally normal except for maybe a slight vision impairment. |
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Hunter Fern-King Ch Ecstasy's Thrill of the Wild/Hunter diagnosed Oct 2006 with GME has been med free since May 2008
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Lilly Fern-King Ecstasy's Against All Odds/Lilly diagnosed with GME in June 2008 Lilly lost her battle with GME in Nov 2008.
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Carleigh Cowgill Carleigh is a
long-haired dachshund who was diagnosed with focal GME. She had
vaccination boosters at 16 months (2/04), onset of symptoms that
evening. Her symptons included wall-hugging when she walked, urinated on
bed, head tilt, and I forget what it's called, but when her hind leg was
placed behind her, she left it there (and should have immediately
returned it to normal position. We went to regular vet next day,
and started her on a low-dose prednisone. When she did not respond, her
regular vet referred us to neurologist. It seems there was a
couple week wait before we could get in. They did MRI and CT scan which
confirmed focal GME. She was put on high dose of prednisone and Imuran
(anti-rejection med). During the time she was on the meds, she did get a
terrible staph infection and lost a lot of hair on her back (which of
course grew back). She became med-free 9/04. Her last visit with
neurology was 12/04. The veterinarian said Carleigh never
reached 100 improvement. She had back pain in 10/06 and neurology
said the GME has caused her to age more than her chronological age.
She'll still leave her back paw behind her on the above-referenced test
and has a head tilt when tired, but otherwise, she's a healthy, playful
dog. Neurology advised no vaccinations for the rest of her life.
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Gidget Chassay
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Kisa Hutchins Kisa is a Siberian
Husky who was born on March 1st, 2003. She was diagnosed with GME
on September 28th, 2006. Her original symptoms were complete
paralysis of the hindquarters, unresponsive pupils, and a head tilt.
Her treatment was Dr. Sisson's protocol - prednisone, lomustine, and
cytarabine. |
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Bailey Bear Burrell
Bailey Bear is my precious little
six year old Maltese. Healthy all of his life, I came home one day
to find him spinning on my kitchen floor like a top, completely
blind, and didn't know his foot from the food bowl.
When the GME diagnosis came, I
didn't know what it was. Researching it, I was devastated until I
found the NewGMEdogs group. Joining, I immediately began to follow
the treatment of Dr. Allen Sisson in Boston, who has the best
success rate for GME remission. Without the people who are
experienced in this disease on the site, I doubt Bailey would be
here. Across many miles, from many states, they have shared my
happiness and my disappointment, offered advice and words of
encouragement.
Bailey is in his seventh month
of battling this disease. Until recently, he could have been
the poster child for success, but a relapse occurred suddenly
and at the moment, the future looks bleak for my little guy.
Miracles happen though and I'm hoping my Bailey can be one of
them. Whether treatment eventually works for Bailey or not, I
encourage everyone to keep trying. There are precious babies
out there who have beat this.
Our journey has been long, but
it's been filled with tremendous love and bonding. I've
considered it a true honor to help my brave little soldier as
we've battled this disease together.
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Tito Sartin Tito lost his battle with GME on April 1st, 2008
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Sophie Arnason Sophie passed away of NME determined by necropsy.
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Stormy Zulick
Born Jan 1, 2004
Diagnosed with GME: Nov 18 2004,
symptoms started Nov 14, 2004
Stormy went to the Rainbow Bridge
on Feb 24, 2007....Confirmed diagnosis of NME at necropsy.
Stormy was a healthy happy
little girl who loved life.......She had a ZEST and Love
that was TOUCHABLE...We got her when she was 9 months
old and she was PERFECT......Sassy, beautiful, full of fun and
she loved her brother and sister....The one day that she was not
all those things we knew something was wrong.....several tests
and a few days later and still no answers. We were referred to
North Carolina State University Vet School and it was there
that Dr. McKillop told us the diagnosis of GME. She had all the
normal test, CT, spinal tap, additional bloodwork, and a neuro
assessment. I was devastated when they told us. How, what,
when and where.... were the only questions I could think of..
Then there was the infamous question "What Now' and Please
Help........
For the next 15 months we
learned what GME was and what we needed and how we needed to do
it. Stormy received wonderful care and was placed on a
combination of medications to help. Thankfully she responded
and slowly she was more herself. I was always amazed at how
well she did, she did not look sick, or even act sick, she was a
rock. Stormy only had 1 very scary relapse but NCSU was able to
get her through it and she never looked back. We had tried many
times to taper her prednisone but she would always shows signs
of relapse and need to be put back on prednisone. It was the
combination of meds and love that allowed her to be happy,
healthy and enjoy her life on earth with us.
How blessed we were to have her, to be a part of her journey, and to receive the TOUCHABLE love she gave to us. Stormy was the color in my life, she gave me so much love, and was so PERFECT....except for a disease called GME/NME.....We miss her everyday but we know that her fight continues for all GME/NME babies through the CREATE Fund. |
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Kissie Hogan We lost our Bunny, a Maltese, who was 14 years old in October 2007. Within a few days of Bunny's death Kissie was acting strange. She had her tail tucked, her head was down and not moving, she would not jump up or down from the sofa, and not even step down a 2 inch step from the porch to the outside. We thought she was in mourning because of Bunny and also picking up vibes that we were upset. After 4 days, we took her to the vet. Our vet could not find anything wrong. This went on for a week before I decided something was not right and wanted to see a specialist. We went to see a neurologist at Carolina Veterinary Specialists who diagnosed Kissie with GME. After returning home from the specialist and Kissie still there, we got on the internet for information on GME. Needless to say, what we read was devastating. Now move forward 17 months later - Kissie is doing great. I will say it took 8 months for us to see her really play again and become herself before GME but every step was a victory and a reason to celebrate! Anyone that has a pet diagnose with GME, please do not put a lot of stock into what is on the internet. Our Kissie is playful, lively, funny, enjoying every day, and full of herself. Hopefully she will not relapse but at this time we have had 17 months of Kissie with GME and all is going well. Keep the faith.
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Itsy Akers Itsy was born on
9-12-08 and came into our lives when she was 7 weeks old. She has been
an absolute joy and the sweetest, smartest little dog (guess everyone
thinks that). She is very playful and always overjoyed to see us when we
get home from work. She has been perfectly healthy until she exhibited
the head nod thing on 3-15-09. We took Itsy to Carolina
Specialists Veterinary (Dr. Skeen) which is located in Winston-Salem,
NC. They have a 24/7 emergency hospital and also have several
specialists there in addition to Dr. Skeen. From what I've read, we are
very fortunate to have a neurologist so close to us. While it is
saddening to read others stories and the realization that there are so
many babies with GME, it is also a comfort to have the support of so
many good people.
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