Please Pray for Nelson!

Today was a day that I definitely was not expecting. I was heading home from seeing my last home health patient this afternoon after working all weekend and got a call from Raoul. Our cute adorable little fluffy friend decided to get into my purse which I left on the couch (he is not supposed to get up on the couch) and get into a pack of Orbit cinnamon gum. We're not sure how much he did or didn't eat, but Raoul immediately googled the possible harmful effects of gum on dogs. The type of sugar-free gum I had contained a sugar substitute that just happens to be toxic to dogs. So, Raoul spent 30 minutes on the phone back and forth between the vet and poison control--neither of which were familiar with the effects of the substance on a dog. After research being done on all sides, the vet suggested that we try to get Nelson to vomit back up the gum. I ran to the store to get hydrogen peroxide and mixed up a solution, which promptly made Nelson upchuck all over the yard but no sign of the gum (this substance evidently metabolizes quickly). The vet recommended that we immediately start IV treatment with fluids and dextrose to fight hypoglycemia and try to flush out his system to prevent any liver complications. Nelson is staying at the hospital over night and then the vet will run a full panel in the morning (evidently this substance not only causes liver failure, but system-wide increased blood coagulation and hypoglycemia too). If he does well then he'll probably stay on the fluids for another day or so and have tests done periodically to check his liver enzymes. If he starts to go into liver failure we would be looking at serious medical treatment (i.e. puppy ICU) or he might not make it. Raoul and I are pretty worried about Nelson, and just really want him to be alright without spending thousands of dollars to fix him. Please pray that he will have a full recovery! We already miss him being around :(