On Saturday 1/24 Swayze was having a normal day. Playing around with his sister Luna and snoring the day away. That evening I noticed him struggling to sit up. He couldn’t stand. His hind legs were both limp. We took him to an emergency vet where they suspected IVDD. They gave him pain meds and sent us home with direction to get to a bigger animal hospital with an MRI.

I took Swayze to the bigger animal hospital in Syracuse. He was diagnosed with the most severe form of IVDD. He is currently paralyzed from his mid back to his hind paws. He has scant to no deep pain response which isn’t a good sign. The vet here said he needs surgery asap. Cornell would be the best option where there is a Neurosurgeon on staff to deal with this. They said the estimated cost is 10k give or take. Over two days I’ve spent over a grand to get him checked out, blood work, bladder drained and medication. He’s coming home on pain meds and anxiety meds that will hopefully allow him to get some rest. I will have to manually empty his bladder every few hours. He can not walk at all and will need to be carried around. My heart is broken. If you’ve met Swae you’d know he’s the happiest most lovable dog there is. He came into my life at a dark time and saved it. I owe him the best. I have less than 24 hours to make the decision to have this done. The longer we wait, the less chance he will walk again. I’m praying the meds will help and somehow he gets better on his own. 

We are doing medication, strict crate rest, red light therapy to start. This week he will see a chiropractor and get some acupuncture. I really hope those things do the trick. I have ordered adaptive equipment for him at home to help him get around with our help so he doesn’t get depressed. If he ends up not needing this surgery this money will be returned to anyone who donated. Cornell needs the money upfront before they do anything so if we end up going this route I’ll have money available. 

If you feel inclined to help us get his surgery we’d be forever grateful. Prayers would help too. I’m hoping my boy can rise above this and run around with his little sister again.