Taylor

Arrival Date: August 2, 2024

Patient Profile

Name: Taylor

Species: Green Sea Turtle

Weight: 12 pounds

Reason for visit: Fibropapillomatosis (FP) 

Location Found: Fort Zachary Taylor Beach, Key West, FL

Status Report

08/02/24: While enjoying the beautiful waters at Fort Zachary Taylor Beach, a snorkeler made an unexpected discovery. A small green sea turtle was lethargic and floating with little to no response when approached. This good samaritain alerted park staff who were quick to call The Turtle Hospital Rescue Team for help. With the new name of Taylor, she was rushed to the hospital for care, as our team evaluated Taylor in the van on the way to Marathon. They noticed she was sick with Fibropapillomatosis (FP) tumors, leaving them to consider this may be why she was not feeling very well. Rehab team got to work with initial intake diagnostics and care, and set up a hospital tank for Taylor to rest in. Taylor has been very weak since her arrival and will have the water depth of her tank stay shallow to keep her skin hydrated but not create difficulty in coming up for air to breathe. Taylor will receive additional supportive care in the coming days as the rehab team continues to monitor her. 

08/20/24: It has been just over 2 weeks since Taylor arrived, at first she was very slow to respond during check-ins with her rehab team. While still enjoying lots of long naps, Taylor is showing some small signs of improvement, such as eating her veggies and becoming a bit stronger in her swimming. She also received a CT Scan to further assist in her Fibropapillomatotsis (FP) disease status. At this time Taylor has been enjoying enrichment toys filled with seaweed, and likes to say hello through the underwater window in her tank. This week Taylor received an exam from Dr. Norton, who will soon create a new care plan for Taylor to start working towards her tumor removal surgeries. In the meantime, Taylor will focus on resting and eating all her meals to build up strength for the future procedures to come. 

09/01/24: Due to the Fibropapillomatosis (FP) tumors located on Taylor’s eyes she headed up to Miami with fellow patient and green sea turtle Amelia. The two were seen by Dr. Karpinski, a veterinary ophthalmologist, and her team performed surgery to remove the masses from their eyes. Both patients did very well during the procedure, The Turtle Hospital’s rehab team will continue their post-op care here in Marathon. Dr. Norton performed an exam on Taylor a few days post-op to ensure everything was going well. Taylor is healing very nicely and eating well too. Dr. Norton has scheduled Taylor for surgery later this month to start removing tumors located throughout her body. 

09/22/24: It’s surgery week for Taylor and her fellow patients. Today Dr. Norton removed a few masses located near her groin, helping to make her more comfortable and a few steps closer to becoming tumor free someday soon. Rehab team reports she did very well and recovered from the procedure quickly and has a strong appetite. 

09/28/24: This week was very different for our current patients and resident sea turtles. As Hurricane Helene made its way through the gulf, The Turtle hospital prepared for the worst by relocating our turtles to the hospital tanks on land and larger hurricane tanks on land. These tanks are built to withstand a CAT 5 hurricane. All sea turtles within the tidal pool were evacuated out as the storm surge could pose a serious danger to our turtles. Taylor was moved up to the top end of the main pool enclosure area. The Turtle Hospital was luckily only hit with heavy winds and rain, and back open to the public with minor damage from the strong winds. To see more on how we prepared our sea turtles for the storm check out our Instagram for videos. 

10/31/24: Things are back to normal here at the hospital. First on the agenda is surgery rotation for our patients. This month Taylor went in for some more Fibropapillomatosis (FP) tumor removals with Dr. Norton. She is very well through the quick procedure and spent the rest of the day resting comfortably in her tank with her favorite snacks from the rehab team. 

11/10/24: During a recent recheck on Taylor, rehabbers found she had some regrowth of tumors on her eyes. As these are small and isolated, these will be quickly removed. Taylor is set to go on observation status soon to hopefully see if she can start studying for her swim test. During an Observation Period patients receive additional exams and diagnostics to review if there is any regrowth of tumors on them. There is about a 35% chance that these may return, if so, Dr. Norton and his team will work to remove them and start this period over. If Taylor has no regrowth then she will begin studying for her swim test to be released. A swim test has 3 factors they must pass to return to the ocean: 1 good eye, 3 good flippers, and be a fast swimmer. As they must outrun their primary predator sharks. 

Keep up the hard work Taylor, we are cheering for you! Make sure to say hello to Taylor during your next visit.

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