Author: Heidi Chappell

Maya has been one of our long term complex medical cases. When Maya initially came to the rescue, she had a long term history of urinary incontinence since she was about 6 months old. She spent a majority of her life wearing diapers. Because of this, Maya went through at least 3 different homes before age 2 and a half before coming to GDFRL. We hoped that Maya’s issues were uti’s that would be fixed by repairing her hooded vulva, but it was found that she had a lot more going on. Maya was urinating blood and incredibly uncomfortable, although you wouldn’t have known it based on her happy go lucky demeanor. Maya came to us with a rare form of bacteria that caused a condition called Encrusting Cystitis. This bacteria was essentially a superbug that formed infection so severe, it caused plaques and “masses” throughout her urinary tract. Upon initial ultrasound, it was believed that she had bladder cancer, but after undergoing a cystoscopy procedure, they determined that it was caused by a potentially fatal infection. The infection spread to over 70% of her urinary tract which can be fatal, but thankfully, GDFRL stepped in and got her the intensive care she needed at NC state. Maya has since undergone multiple cystoscopies to scrape out the bacteria and perform multiple antibiotic infusions directly into her bladder. She has also had her hooded vulva repaired to help reduce her recurring UTIs. In addition, she had a major surgery to re-route her urinary tract that was likely formed abnormally before birth and was contributing to bacteria overgrowth. While Maya still struggles with recurring UTIs, she is now monitored very closely with regular urine cultures and trips to NCSU. She still leaks urine occasionally but has graduated from doggy diapers! Maya is the true definition of a trooper, as she has handled numerous surgeries and procedures, yet still remains a favorite (and VIP) by all of her vet staff. While she may face a lot of medical battles, she is a spunky young girl who loves to play fetch with her two-legged foster siblings, take walks, and wrestle (always gently) with her 15 lb foster fur-brother.