Apple

🍏🦊 Great question! I’d love to touch on this in detail, actually. So firstly, there are still a LOT of “ifs” here: If Apple survives until surgery is even an option - which is probably another month away - and if the neurosurgeon thinks it’s the appropriate option for her, then yes, her odds of survival would be drastically increased. Barring complications post-surgery, hydrocephalus is almost fully resolved/managed by surgery. But there are still important things we have to figure out first. Is she stable enough to make it through brain surgery? Does she actually NEED surgery, or is she doing well enough on meds that we don’t need to pursue it (yet)? Is her mentation and development good enough that surgery is definitely an ETHICAL option for her quality of life? The exciting part, though, is that this surgery is already done routinely in domestic species - especially small dogs. Foxes are canids just like dogs, and we’ve even seen on MRI that their brain structure is basically identical. So… why COULDN’T we do this for foxes too?! And I’m honestly so excited to say that we now have at least TWO different neurosurgeons who’ve agreed they’d perform the surgery if appropriate. That’s HUGE. In my decade+ of doing this, that has literally never been an option before. Up until last year, I couldn’t even find a neurosurgeon willing to let me put a fox into an MRI machine. We are honestly already making history. From all the documentation I could find, the MRI I had done on Sunshine last year was, as far as I could tell, the first official documented hydrocephalus diagnosis in a LIVE Red fox via MRI in the United States. Our angel boy, Sharpie from this year, was number two. And now, if Apple gets surgery - or whichever baby eventually becomes the first candidate if it doesn’t end up being her, because this is absolutely a long term mission for me - it would be the first time this surgery has ever been performed on a Red fox in the United States. Historically, these babies haven’t been kept alive long enough to see how they develop over time. But I have always believed their lives still have value. They still deserve for me to at least TRY for them. And honestly, with or without surgery costs, there are SO many areas where this mission could eventually eat up hundreds of thousands of dollars. MRI and surgery are only part of it. The second huge part of my hydro mission is connecting with the RIGHT researchers and labs so we can start using the data we are compiling - like MRIs and diagnostics - to dig deeper into the “why” behind all of this. Why do we see so many of these babies in wildlife rehab? Environmental factors? Infectious disease? Something else entirely? But Apple has already survived longer than any of them ever have. We are OVER SIX WEEKS POST-INTAKE NOW! 🎉 Anyway, my ADHD took the wheel there for a minute 😆, circling back to your original question: If she does eventually have surgery and everything goes well, then yes - it’s essentially resolved unless there’s some sort of complication with the shunt later on. VP shunts are already used in hydrocephalic humans and domestic animals all the time. A quick Google or Reddit search will show that MANY humans can live completely normal lives after surgery! 🤞🏼 I want to be careful not to give absolutes, but my personal, honest gut feeling (and I could absolutely be wrong)? If she stays earth side, I think she’ll probably end up getting the surgery, and because it’s a time-sensitive issue, it would likely happen fairly soon. So while all the hype, love, and support for Apple is absolutely for HER - because she deserves every ounce of it - she’s also becoming a symbol of something so much bigger. A symbol that maybe these babies deserve more of a chance than they’ve historically been given. And hopefully, a symbol that pushes us toward real answers, real treatment possibilities, and real hope for the hydrocephalic foxes that continue to come after her. 🙏🏼

Apple and I watching this number climb like 👀😦🥹🙏🏼 while understanding little to nothing about crypto, but knowing we feel very loved by this niche community, and knowing that when funds officially arrive, they are going to be so impactful and helpful for all of us here!

the moon is just the beginning

Apple and I watching this number climb like 👀😦🥹🙏🏼 while understanding little to nothing about crypto, but knowing we feel very loved by this niche community, and knowing that when funds officially arrive, they are going to be so impactful and helpful for all of us here!