Photo By Vincent Byrd | Maj. Christopher Bell, a general surgeon at William Beaumont Army Medical Center, and...... read more read more
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A Military Working Dog named Cola had laparoscopic biopsy surgery at the Borderland Clinic at Fort Bliss on Oct 16.
A handler shares a strong bond with their dog Cola, and her handler, Jennifer Franco, a Tech. Sgt. with the 49th Security Forces Squadron, Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, shared an unforgettable moment as the eight-year-old black female German shepherd underwent the procedure.
Franco remembers the day Cola collapsed. The MWD team was leaving the kennel for a mission when all of a sudden, Cola fell to the floor unresponsive. Franco immediately started cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). After Cola was stable, Franco called Capt. Shauna Fuhrmann, veterinary section chief.
"I asked if Cola was hot, and she said no," Fuhrmann recalled the tense situation. "About three minutes later, they were pulling into the parking lot, so we rushed her inside, gave her supportive care with oxygen, and started my triage. She had a very high heart rate. Suddenly, while giving her supportive care, she went into cardiopulmonary arrest. I started doing chest compressions. About 20 seconds in, and her heartbeat returned."
Fuhrmann performed an ultrasound on Cola, finding masses on her lungs, liver, and spleen. Fuhrmann realized she needed more advanced imaging. She reached out to the Chief of Borderland Veterinary, Maj, Shannon McLean. Together, they decided to transfer Cola to the Veterinary Treatment Facility at Fort Bliss, Texas, for further evaluation.
The staff at Fort Bliss VTF ran some diagnostics and a computed tomography scan (CT). The scan showed that Cola had more masses in her kidneys and liver. Fuhrmann relayed the information to Franco.
The collective team of medical professionals came together for Cola. They needed a more definitive answer on her condition and decided a biopsy would give them a better diagnosis.
Fuhrmann, along with McLean, coordinated with Maj. Kristina Pugh, chief, bioresearch service, and Maj. Christopher Bell, a general surgeon at William Beaumont Army Medical Center, helped with the procedure.
"So the point of this procedure is to get a definitive diagnosis into what type of cancer this is. Cola has multiple masses in her right liver lobes as shown on the ultrasound and CT scan. I hope we can get some minimally invasive biopsy sample," said McLean.
Pugh provided the laparoscopic biopsy equipment, and Bell performed the surgery.
After the surgery, the veterinary team sent the biopsy samples to the Joint Pathology Center at Silver Spring, Maryland. Unfortunately, Cola's prognosis worsened, and the veterinary team at the base had to euthanize her.
"The procedure itself was a fantastic opportunity for collaboration with medical teams from the veterinary, laboratory, and surgical side of Army Medicine. That is an opportunity that does not get to occur much, if at all, in the civilian sector. I am very grateful for all the teamwork that we have for supporting our Military Working Dogs. Unfortunately for Cola, there was just a poor prognosis from the beginning that did not give her much time due to the rapid progression," said Fuhrmann.
Holloman AFB held a memorial for Cola on Oct 30. They escorted her remains off the base for burial and a final salute from the entire population, to include Security Forces.
| Date Taken: | 11.24.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 11.24.2020 16:59 |
| Story ID: | 383729 |
| Location: | EL PASO, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 82 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Cola’s last chance, by Vincent Byrd, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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