July 31–August 4 Set Back

The improvement did not hold.

By August 3, Patient 26-519's PCV had fallen significantly again, reaching 13%.

The renewed decline changed the direction of the investigation.

Because the more common explanations had not provided an answer, the medical team moved toward more specialized diagnostics, including a contrast CT scan and direct evaluation of her bone marrow.

These procedures required careful consideration. Patient 26-519 remained severely anemic, and advanced diagnostic procedures requiring anesthesia are not without risk in a critically ill patient. The potential value of obtaining information that could change her treatment therefore had to be balanced against the risks of the procedures themselves.

The veterinary team coordinated with outside specialists and a specialty hospital so that advanced imaging and bone marrow sampling could be performed jointly during the same anesthetic event, limiting the number of separate procedures required.