He was born in December 2022 and was adopted a month and a half later. We talk about Simbawhich came to brighten the lives of Martha Cortez and keep the ‘bro’ company Ringo, the other dog of this family from Santarém. The biggest challenge was yet to come: a wrong diagnosis and, subsequently, alleged veterinary negligence. The baby “playful, always energetic” He had, after all, a tumor in his spinal cord. We’ll be right there.
We spoke to Simba’s owner who told us how she realized something wasn’t right. “Until four and a half months everything was fine. In mid-May [do ano passado], he started dragging his hind leg on the right side and we thought it was strange. It started to get worse and I took him to the vet where we used to go.”remember.
The veterinarian would have asked him to return if there was no improvement and this was the case: “Simba no longer moved his paw completely, it was already completely on the ground. An x-ray was scheduled and the vet told us it was hip dysplasia, that there wasn’t much that could be done“says Marta, adding that she was advised to undergo screening at a veterinary hospital.
A search for rehabilitation centers led her to the Arrábida Animal Rehabilitation Center (CRAA) at the Arrábida Veterinary Hospital, in Vila Nogueira de Azeitão. “They saw the x-ray we had taken the day before, They immediately said it wasn’t hip dysplasia because the hip was normal. They suspected that it was a bacteria that had lodged in the vertebrae, they carried out the analysis and it was not.”, it says. Simba ended up being hospitalized and days later “I no longer moved my two back paws”.
With his condition worsening, the vets will have scheduled a CT scan: “It was discovered that it was a tumor in the spinal cord. I asked what the solution was and they said ‘there’s nothing to do except physiotherapy so he doesn’t lose the little mobility he has in his paws’“remembers. “I asked ‘is there no operation? Acupuncture?’ and they said ‘no, none of that works’. So he went through 30 physical therapy sessions at first. At the end of these 30 sessions, as he was stable, they suggested doing another 30 sessions and he remained hospitalized. Almost at the end of the 30 sessions, the second time, they suggested that we continue doing physiotherapy, but only once a week”explains.
There were some scares during this process. Simba will have started going home on the weekendsbut Marta was faced with “a wound on the right paw, the front one“. “The next day, he couldn’t even get us to move his paw, it started to get really swollen. I carried it and pus came out. I immediately called the hospital and they said to go there urgently. Every time we had an emergency like this we paid around 200 euros in one night. Until that moment, I had already spent two thousand euros in a month and a half“regrets.
“You don’t die from the tumor, you die from a damn bacteria“
The ‘hare’, as the family called him because he ran from one side to the other, was left on antibiotics and serum. “He always had a fever for a week and the wound continued to spread. They called me to go there because he was at risk of dying from the bacteria, so I had to sign a liability waiver. He doesn’t die from the tumor, he dies from a damn bacteria. The wound never got better.”account.
A few days later Simba “I didn’t eat anymore”. It was then that Marta decided that she would make food at home and take it to the hospital. “I got there and they had asked me for 15 euros for some medicine and I said ‘I don’t have 15 euros, it will have to stay there, I’ll give it to you later when I have it’ and they said ‘I still have physiotherapy debt here’. I signed a liability agreement with the amount of the debt”explains.
That same day, Marta Cortez says that a veterinarian told her she could take Simba home. “They wanted me to go there, after two days, to reevaluate him. I went from Santarém to Azeitão. I took this trip for two months“, it says. After the observation, which according to Simba’s guardian was limited, “They said ‘now you have to come here every two days’ and I said ‘no, I’m not going to do 200 kilometers just so you can see how the wound is and how the movement is’ and they said ‘but this is how you come to us come and pay’. They wanted me to go to pay, it was the guarantee. I said ‘you have a document signed by me, I’m not denying the debt, I’m paying you as I can’”he states.
“Simba was on two antibiotics and anti-inflammatories. I did it here with other natural ointments, it got better and the wound closed.”he adds.
Marta decided to ask for a second opinion. “The doctor who treated us began to ask us whether the tumor was ‘malignant or benign’ and I said that I didn’t know, to which he replied that this is the first thing to determine and then find out what treatment is being carried out. I said that what they had told me was that as it was in the bone marrow it could not be moved and he said that ‘there is chemotherapy, radiotherapy, treatments that can be done so that he is not in pain’“recalls the guardian, adding that it was suggested that she see an oncologist.
“He was discharged from the hospital on July 27th and on August 10th we went to the oncologist in Mafra. The first thing the veterinarian told us was the same thing, that In the case of a tumor, a biopsy is performed to find out what type of tumor you are dealing with and then treatment can be carried out.. Then he asked me what medication Simba was taking and adjusted it because the one they had given him at Hospital da Arrábida was below what he should be taking”remember.
“They took as much as they could safely“
Simba ended up undergoing surgery: “We had to postpone it for a week because we didn’t have the full amount, it was around 1500 or 1600 euros. They took as much as they could safely and a biopsy was done. The tumor is malignant“account. “It is a nephrobastoma, a type of embryonic kidney cancer, but in Simba’s case it lodged in the spinal cord, which is why it is an unusual cancer. What they tell us is that It is a fast-growing tumor that has no cure, at least as far as we know.“emphasizes.
Marta Cortez’s motto is not to give up. After undergoing chemotherapy sessions, Simba is now undergoing acupuncture and ozone therapy treatments, injections of Viscum Album, “known to have anti-cancer effects”and taking some supplements. The goal is for you to restart physiotherapy. “He gets around in a wheelchair, but his back legs don’t have much exercise. They’re starting to get a little atrophied.”explains.
However, the results of the treatments are visible: “He lost the muscle mass in his entire body when he was hospitalized, he couldn’t stay in a wheelchair for long. Now runs all over the house, we had to get gym mats to avoid slipping. He has strength, he jumps with his front legs, tries to lift his back legs by pushing with the front ones and has improved a lot“explains.
The fight has not been easy, either emotionally or financially. “In seven months it was eight thousand euros. I haven’t been to see it this year yet, but from the outset it should cost three or four thousand euros. The monthly expenses with Simba, in terms of treatment, it’s around 700 or 800 euros per monthapart from physiotherapy, in which each block of 30 sessions costs around 600 euros. There are two employees”explains.
To help cover expenses, Marta created a page on Instagram – Simba On Wheels – where it provides updates on health status and also has another page where he sells jewelry and handmade soaps, with all sales proceeds going towards Simba’s expenses. Aid can also be sent via email numbers Mbway It is IBANavailable on the platform, or through the website GoFundMe.
The Arrábida Veterinary Hospital reportedly contacted Marta after the case gained more visibility. “They called to say they wanted to help and so they would forgive the debt we owed there, which was 450 euros.“, he states. Even so, the family decided to contact a lawyerwhat “approached the hospital” to reach an agreement. “The lawyers spoke to the clients and three weeks later we received the response they think there was no negligence, that everything was explained and that Simba was always well looked after“says the tutor.
“After due assessment, we will make use of the legal and judicial tools available so that, through the various and competent legal procedures, the specific case is duly assessed by an independent and reputable entity, in order to restore justice”says the lawyer Telmo Coelho.
The hospital’s position regarding this case
A SIC Woman, the hospital guarantees that “the treatments carried out on the canine named Simba were appropriate to the clinical condition that the patient presented when he was admitted to the Center. Regarding this matter, we have nothing more to say.”.
The truth is that Marta Cortez did not give up and, against all odds, Simba completed 16 months last April 15th. “I’m not looking at the money anymore. It’s so they know they made a mistake and don’t repeat it. If we weren’t persistent, Simba would already be dead, he wouldn’t be here anymore. He’s still full of life, he has energy. It has a strength to live. He finds defenses for his disability“finishes.
