Super Hero & his brother Prince Ollie, were born on June 9, 2013 in a shelter to a stray mommy in Northern New Jersey, USA. She had a litter of 6 kittens, 3 typical & 3 hydrocephalic, also known as water on the brain, or excess cerebrospinal fluid collecting inside the brain’s ventricles, which causes extreme pressure on the brain. Believing they had no chance to survive, they were to be euthanize
d but the vet refused as other than having enlarged heads, they were typical, active kittens not rejected by their mother. Despite the odds being stacked against them, Super Hero & Prince Ollie continued to thrive & behave like typical kittens. Once the kittens were available for adoption, the 4 other kittens were immediately adopted, but Hero & Ollie were not actively displayed for adoption. They were relegated to a small bottom cage, in a dark corner of the adoption room, with a bench set in front of their cage so they could not be seen. The end of Aug 2013, I received a desperate call from someone I had worked with rescuing animals after Superstorm Sandy, alerting me to these 2 special kittens. She told me that their rescue was trying to have them euthanized as they were dying but they deserved a home that could provide palliative care & allow them to live out their remaining days knowing life & love outside of a cage. I arranged to go see the boys, driving an hour north to visit them. OMG, my heart broke, they looked horrible, esp Super Hero, who looked like he didn't have much time left on this earth at all. He was despondent, his forehead was so swollen that his eyes could barely open & his nose was all crusty; he had no desire to play & was barely able to hold his head up. Prince Ollie was playful but his forehead was also protruding & he had entropions in both eyes plus a URI & eye infections. On Sept 11, 2013, Super Hero & Prince Ollie were officially welcomed into our home! We affectionately referred to them as the Bobblehead Twins! Our hearts were so filled with joy when we opened the carrier door & despite how sick they were, they came bounding out into a room full of toys & romped around until neither could hold their heads up any longer! We decided to foster them instead of outright adopt them as we already had multiple special needs & sick animals & couldn't assume all the costs. But the rescue refused to pay for any specialty care, so we paid all of the neurological costs & they agreed to pay for primary care.Immediately after their arrival home, I scheduled a neurology appt as they hadn't had much primary medical care, never mind a neuro eval. Dr. Melissa Logan at NorthStar Vets in Robbinsville NJ is awesome & the staff loved the boys. She started them on Omeprazole to help reduce the overproduction of cerebrospinal fluid & Lysine, as Ollie also had Herpes, the reason his eyes were so goopy all the time. Super Hero was also diagnosed with Cerebellar Ataxia, damage to the Cerebellum which controls your balance, gait, coordination & motor skills. Both boys responded well to the meds & the pressure began to lessen & their brows even looked less prominent. 2 wks later, Hero took a turn for the worse & the pressure in his brain suddenly increased. He collapsed & was semiconscious. I spent days lying on the floor next to his bed but things looked bleak, until suddenly one day he opened his eyes. It took a few more days for him to get back to his normal self, get his balance back & normal eating/potty habits, but we had weathered the storm & all looked bright. Dr Logan did not feel he suffered any permanent brain damage & we hypothesized that the crisis may have been triggered by a violent storm front moving through the area that had caused a rapid change in barometric air pressure, which in effect, changed the internal pressure in his head causing more swelling of his brain.Unfortunately, a month later in Nov, Prince Ollie became very ill with what the rescue's vet insisted was a URI. He was running a very high temp & the specialists at NorthStar diagnosed it as a viral herpes infection. Ollie became ill so quickly that he required hospitalization & IV fluids but since I could not afford to cover the costs at NorthStar, he went to the rescue's vet. Unfortunately, the care that I was told he was getting was not in fact happening (no IV fluids or meds), his temp was up over 105 & they refused to administer anti-virals. His condition was deteriorating quickly, I was losing my Prince Ollie & the rescue wanted him euthanized. After consulting with the vet, they recommended Ollie needed a higher level of care at a specialty hospital but the rescue refused & wanted him euthanized. After speaking to Dr Logan, I made the almost 6 hour roundtrip drive: up north to get him from the rescue's vet, back down to south jersey to admit at NorthStar then home. He was immediately whisked away, admitted to intensive care where he spent the next 5 days fighting for his life. Sadly, on November 26, 2013 at 2:15am, my dear Prince Ollie lost his battle & went to the Rainbow Bridge. Super Hero took his death hard & I thought we were going to lose him as well. He knew Ollie was gone & refused to get up, eat, play, do anything. It broke my heart & to this day, still blame myself for not taking Prince Ollie to NorthStar from the beginning.Amazingly, a few weeks after Prince Ollie's passing, Super Hero began thrive, like Ollie was sending strength to Hero and he celebrated his first Christmas with us, then his first New Year 2014! Hero suffered setbacks through the winter of 2014, but nothing major until the end of April, where once again he went into severe crisis which resulted in an admission to NorthStar. We thought we were going to lose our precious Super Hero but once again as his name suggests, Hero rebounded & was able to come home. Sadly, this crisis took it's toll on his little body; there were lasting neurological impairments & he had lost most of his eyesight. He was also now experiencing migraines from the increased intracranial pressure. But through it all, he romped, played & ate like a champ, still acting as typical as could be!Super Hero celebrated his 1st Birthday on June 9, 2014, an absolutely incredible celebration that no one could have ever predicted!! Unfortunately, his health began declining again late fall 2014 as the number & intensity of crises he was having increased. Dr Logan suggested that we begin considering the need to implant a shunt, a device that will assist in draining the excess cerebrospinal fluid from around his brain, thus relieving the pressure. I scheduled consults with 2 more of the top neurologists in the area & all agreed, for Hero to survive he would need a shunt. Hero has the opportunity to live a long, normal life with this surgery, just as human people do! One major hurdle though is the cost; the MRI & shunt surgery could be upwards of $15K.The end of Nov 2014 we changed Hero's neurological oversight to Red Bank Veterinary Hospital where one of the top neurosurgeons in the nation who has performed many shunt surgeries, is their director of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Dr Eric Glass. On 12/4/14, Hero had an MRI & the results were worse than anyone anticipated. Because of the extreme constant pressure on his brain, the blood supply had been cut off & most of his brain had died. The tissue actually disintegrated & those spaces filled with more fluid. Surprisingly, the remaining brain took over & is keeping Hero alive. Hero's scans were sent to the top world renowned neurosurgeons in the US for consult on a treatment plan & everyone agreed, a shunt is needed! Hero was started on high doses of Prednisone as well. Unfortunately, Hero also began having seizures recently, so he also now takes Phenobarbital.On Thurs, Feb 26, 2015, Super Hero is scheduled to have his life saving shunt surgery under the direction of Dr Eric Glass at Red Bank Veterinary Hospital, Red Bank, NJ!! Since February 2015, Hero has suffered many severe setbacks and many times, we were unsure if he would live! He had to have his shunt revised 2 times to turn the pressure up because too much fluid was draining from his head. This caused one of the 2 remaining parts of his brain to collapse (the ventricles) and more fluid began collecting in a new place called the subarachnoid space. Hero was in very critical condition but once again, as his name suggests, used his Super Hero Powers to pull through and come home a few days later.Hero continues to suffer regular setbacks, some small like the ones caused by weather fronts and some large, like seizures and neuro episodes which caused decreased consciousness. BUT, he fights through each and keeps surprising all of us, the veterinary community and all of his loving fans!!To date, Hero has had 2 MRIs, a CT scan, 2 shunt revisions, a spinal tap, dozens of x-rays and many hospitalizations totaling about $30,000 but he is a miracle cat that is defying all the odds and has a medical team comprised of veterinary and human pediatric neurosurgeons from all over the US!. Hero's survival and continued progress is breaking barriers for animals with Hydrocephalus and proving that if he can survive with one of the most severe cases of Hydro documented, then animals with this disorder do not need to be senselessly euthanized!!Super Hero has earned his name, defying all the odds & fighting valiantly these past 2 years to survive. He brings us all so much joy! Super Hero has so many more years to give us his love & allow us to love him for the Super Hero that he is!! On June 9, 2015, Super Hero celebrated his 2nd Birthday!!! A day no one ever imagined would come!! He also became the inspiration & founding cat behind our nonprofit special needs feline rescue & sanctuary, SHAHS, Super Hero's Animal Hydrocephalus Society!
