Originally Posted by WarChild

Is your vet a critical care facility? There's a big difference between an Animal Hospital (regular vet) and critical care. Animals in critical care are constantly being monitored 24-7. Blood work and all kinds of things are checked often and it just adds up very quickly. Typically a large urban center will only have a few critical care facilities and they're generally only used for after hours emergencies and patients that need constant monitoring and support. Again, it's the difference between being in a regular hospital ward and the ICU.

I don't know who this person is or what the circumstances really are surrounding it, but from what I did read it's quite possibility going to cost that much or more. I had a dog that narrowly survived a similar experience.