Bicuspid Aortic Foundation View From Here October 2010

Houdini was just a baby when he was found on the street and taken home to share life with a loving couple. For 14 happy years, he was their baby, the love of their lives. Then one day, things changed. Following is Houdini's story, as written by his Dad.

"Houdini was healthy his whole life. Even as he got older he could jump dangerously high. When he ran, he was a blur. You could hear his little feet going a hundred miles an hour, up and down the floor… practicing his hunting skills I’m sure. He stalked me at least once a week. He would corner me. Then, if I tried to get away, he would latch on to me the second I took my first step. He loved his cat condo. He would fly lightning fast over or through the tunnels and different levels. And if you walked by his condo while he was resting on it… you would almost certainly get a swat, as he usually kept one eye just a little open. He loved to play.

This past Monday morning he was totally normal. I gave him his usual Fancy Feast when I woke up. Two hours later he was hungry again, which is just like him - so I fed him again. Then he laid down near my feet, where I was sitting at my computer. He got up suddenly at around 11am, and bit me lightly on my big toe three times. He was trying to tell me that something was wrong – I thought he wanted to play. He then walked over to our bed, curled himself up on some blankets and didn’t move until we picked him up at 9pm that night and tried to force him to eat something. The next day we took him to the vet… then two more vets the following day. He was having trouble breathing and didn’t care about food, or going to the bathroom. He could barely walk. He only let out one small howl/meow at home to let me know that he was suffering. He was very brave.

The last vet at a high-end specialty hospital kept him in an oxygen chamber in their ICU that night to help him breathe. The next morning, the cardiologist preformed an echocardiogram on Houdini’s heart, and called me with the results. He had an aneurysm of his ascending aorta… just like his daddy. Only Houdini’s aorta had a tear in it, called a dissection. The news was crushing, as this is a fatal condition. The dissection was causing fluid to collect in his lungs, which was causing the breathing problems. There was nothing that we could do, and we were told we had to put him to sleep immediately, or he would suffocate over the next few hours to a day.

There’s no more suffering my baby. Rest well… we love you always."

Ascending Aortic Aneurysms

Just six months before Houdini suffered aortic dissection, his Dad underwent surgery for an ascending aortic aneurysm. He had no idea at that time that his beloved Houdini also had an aneurysm in his chest, or that he would lose him to aortic dissection.

There was no aortic surgeon, no Dacron graft, no possibility of saving Houdini. But for humans everywhere who may be at risk of thoracic aortic aneurysms, Houdini has a message: have your aorta checked, and if it is bulging, find a surgeon like the one who helped my Dad. Do it now, and avoid the aortic tear that took my life.

And some day, dear Houdini, may there be animal doctors who can help cats with aortic aneurysms too.

Thank you, Houdini's family,
for sharing your story with us all.

Sincerely,

Arlys Velebir

Chair, Board of Directors
Bicuspid Aortic Foundation

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