What a crazy turn of events our last week has been. We started this week like many of you, preparing for Thanksgiving travels and planning out our Stanger Things 5 watch schedule. Just a few days later, our goodest boy Nike is a paraplegic dog and we are staring down the barrel of medical bills that we could never have imagined. Before we get into the story of what happened, let us introduce Nike!

Nike is our 7 and a half year old black lab! He really is the best boy we could ever ask for. So full of life, energy, and has a drive second to none. We're praying he makes a full recovery and that he can go back to doing what he loves most, retrieving!

Here's what happened to Nike:

He's been diagnosed with IVDD. (Intervertebral Disk Disease)

This quite literally came out of nowhere. On Sunday we started to notice Nike was acting a bit off, but we really couldn't pinpoint what was wrong. On Monday he seemed to be in some discomfort. It was so hard to tell what was wrong because he wasn't limping, was still moving around fine, but we could tell something was bothering him and so we set up a vet appointment for Tuesday.

Tuesday morning comes around and he's doing great! His energy is up and as we go for a morning walk all seems well. By Tuesday evening everything changed. We fed him dinner, took him out potty, and that's where we started getting really concerned. He just didn't want to walk. Every chance he got he was looking to sit down, but again, no limping. We eventually decided to take him to the pet ER on Tuesday night, desperate for answers. We took Nike out to go to the bathroom around 9pm. By the time we reached the ER at 10:30pm, he had lost almost all control of his hind legs.

No movement, no pain response, he was paralyzed.

Through X-Rays, MRI's, and an expedited appointment with a neurologist, it was diagnosed that Nike had IVDD. A herniated disk that compressed his spine by 50%. He may never walk again. However, there is a surgery that can be performed, and afterwards there is about a 50/50 chance that he can make a full recovery and return feeling to his legs. We said yes to surgery and took our chances.

Nike underwent surgery on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and he was back home with us on Thursday. Surgery was a success with no complications! For that we are very grateful.

Here comes the hard part: rehabilitation. As we mentioned, there is only a 50/50 chance Nike ever regains feeling and control of his hind legs. For now he is paralyzed. But we're committed to this process in hopes our good boy can walk again.

This is where you come in. Let us start off by saying there is no obligation to help us. We are not putting pressure on anyone, nor are we begging for your generosity. We are simply opening up the opportunity for anybody who has the ability and desire to help out.

Surgery alone was $12,000. Combine that with the scans, overnight stays, and the astronomical amount of medication Nike is on, we have spent over $15,000.

And we would do it agin.

However, the best chance for Nike to regain control of his legs is to go through professional rehabilitation and physical therapy. That's what this whole page is about, the ability for Nike to go through a proper rehabilitation process. Again, please don't feel guilted or pressured by any of this. If you unable to contribute financially, we ask that you send your love and prayers to Nike! If you do have the ability to help with our goal, here's the space to do so.

Thank you for taking the time to hear our story, needless to say this has been an unexpected journey. We have no idea where this all leads, but we have faith Nike will recover in some capacity. Thank you for your gifts, your words of encouragement, and your prayers.