AI Saved My Dog

I've been wanting to write an article for the last few months titled, “AI Saved My Dog”, but I have been holding off from writing it not to jinx any progress he has made and also because every time I sat down to write the post it became as lengthy as "Lord of the Rings." 

You might ask "how did I come up with the title, “AI Saved My Dog”?" Let me tell you the abridged version. 

Back in November 2022, Maureen (my wife) and I noticed that Fitz (our little buddy, a 9.5 year old Yorkie with the biggest personality in the world), started to have accidents around the house and developed some muscle weakness. We attributed this to old age but decided to err on the side of judgment and take him to the vet. After about 2 months and multiple tests later, the vet was able to determine he had a disease called Cushing's. Both dogs, cats, and humans alike are susceptible to this disease. For dogs & cats, however, the gold standard for treatment is a medication called Trilostane/Vetoryl. 

Around January, shortly after starting the medication, we noticed that Fitz developed symptoms that were not expected, such as tremors. At this point, the vet suggested we see an internal medicine specialist. 

We scheduled an appointment and visited the specialist. They evaluated Fitz and decided the best course of action was to adjust the medication to a lower dose. So we did.

Another month went by and after multiple ER/vet visits, we found ourselves at another Internal medicine specialist. They too wanted to keep playing with the medication and just making adjustments. I expressed to them that I don’t think the diagnosis is right but they insisted that was the problem, and adjusted the medications. Immediately following this visit Fitz ended up in the ER for a week because of severe GI issues. While there in the ER, the Dr attending to Fitz was suggesting we may want to think about putting Fitz down. I could see in Fitz's eyes he still had the will to live and love life.

After the stay in the ER, we had another appointment lined up with this same specialist. At that point, I suggested that I didn’t trust their diagnosis and that it has to be something else. They took offense to this and that’s where something happened I never thought would. They sent us a letter banning us from the clinic (which happens to be one of the largest veterinary clinics in the country). 

Now we are at mid April 2023, with GI issues in hand, and an unhealthy dog, we scheduled a third specialist. This time the specialist evaluated Fitz and basically asked “What do you want me to do?”. I expressed again, I don’t think this is a standard Cushing's case it has to be something else. They didn’t want to proceed with any other tests or evaluate further.

At this point, I spent almost 6 months watching my dog’s health slowly diminish and become worse in front of my eyes. I turned to an unlikely source figuring, "What do we have to lose?". 

I went to Generative AI and inputted all of Fitz’s lab results, history, description, medications, and symptoms, and within 5-10 seconds it told me he had Cushing's. Here is where AI differed from the human element. I told ChatGPT that it had to be something other than Cushsings, and instead of banning me, it told me: “With high probability, Fitz has a Macroadenoma Pituitary Tumor and to seek a neurologist". 

That next morning we scheduled a neurologist who was able to fit us in on May 18th. After an MRI it was determined that indeed Fitz had a 17mm Macroadenoma Pituitary Tumor! As the Dr was telling me the news he looked at me like “Why aren’t you shocked?”. I responded "I already knew", but didn’t have the million-dollar machine to confirm it. He asked me how and I explained that I used ChatGPT. 

The downside to this diagnosis is that, on average, the mean time to survive is 140 days once symptoms start to show. We were literally on a clock we didn’t know we were on. 

We were able to schedule an oncology appointment that following Monday and learn our options for Fitz. That’s where we met Dr. Kevin Ware and his team at VRC Malvern , who are literally the gold standard of what care should be!

Dr. Ware guided us through our options and what we could expect. As well as, evaluating Fitz for overall health (we didn’t want to battle this tumor if Fitz was going to have other issues). Dr Ware recommended 20 sessions of IMRT radiation in what I call a “low and slow” method, starting May 30th. This would give Fitz the best chance of tumor shrinkage without damaging any healthy tissues. The Pituitary gland where this tumor is located sits basically in the core of the brain. 

Using a machine that literally looks like it belongs in Star Trek and a 3D model of Fitz’s brain/tumor he was able to direct the radiation with millimeter accuracy on the tumor. 

However, there would be one more speed bump before starting treatments. Memorial Day weekend Fitz yelped out like we never heard him before and later in the day began to bleed from his nose. We rushed him to the ER where the oncologist was. They evaluated Fitz and recommended we may want to put him down. He was bleeding from an undetermined location, his heart rate had dropped and he was like a rag doll unable to keep his head up. It was the first time my wife and I lost hope in Fitz's ability to get better. We were gutted. I asked the Dr, “What could we give him to stabilize him till the oncologist can see him in 2 days.” They prescribed a Chinese Herb that was clouded in mystery, Yunan Baiyao. The Dr said, “It is their weirdest drug and they don’t truly know what’s in it”. We took Fitz home, gave him a pill and within 2 hours it was like we factory reset him. His bleeding stopped, his heart rate increased and he was no longer a rag doll. 

We started treatments at the beginning of June going Monday through Friday where Fitz received anesthesia and radiation daily. Dr. Ware and his team were amazing throughout the process, explaining the side effects we were seeing, as well as, what to expect in the future. I won’t lie it was a rough June and not the summer vacation I was expecting but it was all worth it for my little buddy! Maureen and I are forever thankful for Dr. Ware and his team at VRC!

We are now almost 2 months out from Fit’z last treatment and while Dr. Ware and his team really saved Fitz, I firmly believe without ChatGPT our little buddy would not be with us. We visited multiple vets, and multiple specialists, all of which were pigeonholed into their diagnosis. ChatGPT, however, was able to take the data presented and think outside the box, literally preventing us from having to help Fitz cross the rainbow bridge. 

Fitz is going to be on a long road to recovery but every day we are blessed to have him in our lives! I joke since I work from home that Fitz is my pseudo Microsoft co-worker. It’s nice to have my coworker back!