I wanted to update everyone because so many people have reached out and I just can't keep up individually right now. I am so lucky to have all of y'all in my corner and giving me the encouragement to be strong. It feels impossible watching this all unfold. On Thursday morning, I left my house for work, like any other day. I was not prepared for what I'd be returning home to and honestly still feel like I'm in a nightmare.

Thursday night, I started my walking and feeding routine, and when I let Kingston out of his kennel, he fell forward and onto the floor. Being the typical goober he is, I figured his foot got stuck on the wire crate on his way out. What I quickly realized was that something was incredibly wrong. He began flailing around on the floor trying to stand up, and he couldn't. I immediately took videos to send to Dr. Val, and she was able to help me assess him and provide a solution for suspected pain control and sedation to keep him comfortable overnight and evaluate him in the morning.

Friday morning, there were no improvements in mobility, but I was able to go outside and get him to urinate laying down. I took him into work for diagnostic radiographs, and there wasn't anything too significant found on the spinal views. Dr. Val suggested a radiology consult to be sure (which I ultimately didn't send off), and she reached out to some of her colleagues to see if they had any insights.

Back injuries are common in many dog breeds, but not as typical of bully breeds to have. IVDD is known to occur in a lot of smaller breeds, but you'd typically see some hints of that on the radiographs if that were the case. The next idea wasn't something I was familiar with or that I'd even heard of for that matter. It's called a Fibrocartilaginous Embolism (FCE) and is a spinal injury that can cause permanent paralysis. Reading the article, it sounds like that is what is going on with him, so Dr. Val and I began talking about his treatment plan while we hoped for improvement.

A few things to note, a CT scan is something that could give a little more insight but would cost $1800-$5000 depending on where I have it done. I called directly for prices and know that while I would find a way, I'm not sure it would change the course of his treatment. With IVDD, drug therapy is an option. With an FCE, it is physical therapy that will hopefully help him gain back his mobility. There is no certain guarantee of improvement, but I was ready to start the PROM exercises to work on it. I called and inquired about a consult for laser therapy and acupuncture, but it wasn't until 12/23. I reached out to Dr. Val (after work) to see what her take was on that possible course of treatment, and she said that it had helped with her horse. She knows the vet that will be seeing him, and she reached out to see if they could get him seen any sooner. Thank goodness, that vet was able to work us in this Monday. Over the weekend, the plan remained for him to stay on pain and sedation meds and for us to reassess on Monday.

One of my biggest struggles is watching my athletic boy be completely helpless. I can lift him to and from the yard while caring for him, but I'm not able to keep him standing for the duration he needs. My amazing friends at work helped me to carry him outside multiple times on Friday and offered to help me take care of him over the weekend. I love y'all for that ❤️ We couldn't get him to go potty at all that day, but he was still in such good spirits. Friday night was spent racking my brain and Amazon bill to get creative with ways on how to support him and help him to be able to comfortably potty.

Saturday morning, I picked up the supplies I'd come up with and went home to rig up the contraption. It was a huge flop, and man did I feel like I was failing him. I brought him back inside, and he still hadn't had a BM in 24 hours. I set him on the rug to dry off, because of course it was raining, and sat my butt on the floor to have yet another meltdown. While a dear friend talked me off the ledge, King proceeded to have 2 massive bowel movements (all while laying down). This gave me a little hope.

Sunday has been about the same. He threw up a little overnight, but he was able to potty afterwards this morning. Since then, he has been snoozing away the day. All in all, while I love staring at him snuggled up in my bed, I'd give anything for him to be running around like a normal dog. Quality of life is so important to me, and I'm fighting myself while I watch him struggle. Tomorrow will hopefully give me better insight on potential treatments, but I don't know what will transpire from there.

It's been 6 weeks since he had his obstruction. He made it through that surgery, and now I'm praying he will be able to regain at least some mobility after this injury. He turns 7 on Christmas, and I'm just hoping he will get to celebrate ❤️

We are fundraising to cover the costs of Kingston's medical treatments and therapies.

His obstruction surgery took up all of my savings so I am asking for help to be able to give him as much recovery possible.