Help me walk again!

Hi, my name is Loki and I am a 2-year-old french bulldog. I am super sweet and full of lots of love and kisses. I love to run, chase balls, play with kids and other dogs and enjoy life to the fullest. I woke up two weeks ago and was unable to use my legs or go potty by myself and I refused to eat or drink any water. When I was taken to my vet, my parents were told that I was paralyzed from the waist down. The vet recommended that I would need to have emergency back surgery at Blue Pearl which would cost around $15,000. The other option she gave was to have me euthanized. We went to get a second opinion at another vet the next day, where they took x-rays of my spine and ran some blood tests. The x-rays showed that my lower vertebrate was compressed and again we were told that I would need surgery.

Over the next few days, I rested, took my medications, sun-bathed and we looked into alternative methods of care. We were referred to the University of Florida Animal Clinic and made our trip up to Gainesville on Monday. We met with an amazing neurologist who was a Resident there. Ms. Kim explained that I was not permanently paralyzed and still had movement and feeling in my lower waist and legs. She gave us some hope again! She went over all of the possible options and said that we could start with some medical management, but she highly recommends surgery if I ever want to walk again. She explained that surgery would be slightly less expensive since this was a teaching hospital and that she just performed 5 similar surgeries this past week. I left the clinic feeling spunky and for the first time in a week peed on my own.

Tuesday we had our first appointment at a holistic vet which focuses on healing through food and acupuncture. She said I was a fire animal. Fire personality animals are very jovial and love life. They are the type of dog that is going to be bursting with happiness to see you and possibly try to give you as many kisses as you will allow in greeting. This is totally me!

It has been a rough two weeks. I am still not able to control my bowels, walk, or stand up. Although I am trying and they are hopeful for my recovery. I had my second acupuncture treatment today and Dr. O seemed very impressed with the small improvements that have been made.

I have a follow-up appointment to go back to UF to see Dr. Kim in two weeks with hopes of being able to get the surgery and have a full recovery. Please send all of your love and prayers for a speedy recovery!

xoxo,

Loki