Last night we received a call that Daisy had come out of the surgery okay but her kidneys did not seem to be working at all. Toxins were building up in her blood (she was receiving a transfusion). We were devastated because without functioning kidneys, she didn't have a chance.

This morning we got the news that her kidneys are working. She's come out of the anaesthesia and has been responsive (even struggling against an examination). So now we have renewed hope.

Daisy's gone under the knife today. I think her surgery is finished already, though we haven't gotten an update since about 1:30.

It turns out that one her several kidney stones got lodged in a ureter (the tubes that runs from the kidneys to the bladder). This meant that only one of her damaged kidneys was doing the work of two and it just couldn't keep up. Going heavy on fluids and diuretics wasn't able to force her to pass the stone, leaving only the options of surgery or ultrasonic.

The nurses and doctors at the NC State vet school became so attached to Daisy that they went to the surgeons and begged them to contribute teaching dollars towards her surgery, which is the only way we'd be able to do this. I'm so grateful that they did and now we're waiting to hear another update. Last we heard they'd removed most of the stones in the kidney itself and flushed out the pus that had built up in there from the previous infection. They were about to go after the stone in the ureter, which is a complicated procedure

Daisy's breathing problems Tuesday night were because of fluid build-up around her heart and lungs. What she has are two conditions with treatments at war with each other: her kidney problems require saline to flush out her kidneys, while her heart problems mean that too much fluid in her system leads to it building up in her chest.

They put her in ICU in a high oxygen environment. Yesterday they were attempting a balancing act of too much fluids vs not enough fluids. The encouraging news was that her respiration was down somewhat and the appetite stimulant gave her was working. She's been eating on her own.

Today's news is that her respiration is 40, down from around 80. She's active, "frisky" during exams, and eating and drinking really well on her on. They'll take a look at her heart and see if she's okay to resume fluid therapy for the kidneys. We're going to go see her tonight and I know she'll be glad to see us.

Though Daisy's kidney levels have been coming down, she still hasn't been eating on her own. Tonight her breathing was labored and we took her to the vet hospital out of concern that she might get worse overnight. She'll be there at least until morning.