On Friday, 11/29, our 2-year-old French bulldog became paralyzed from the waist down with no warning signs of something being wrong. After speaking to our family vet, we decided our option would be to take him to the U of I for further evaluation. After being seen by the team at U of I, we had to make a tough decision on what we wanted to do. The decision to have surgery wasn’t easy as there are many risks involved and the financial strain it would put on us.

On 11/30, Odie was finally able to get an MRI, and we were told it didn’t look good. Swelling, bruising, and blood were the findings on the MRI of his spinal cord. He had a 15-20% chance of dying on the table due to a condition called myelomalacia (death of the spinal cord). He has a 50%-60% chance of walking again. We are still not out of the woods yet as he could still develop myelomalacia within the first week of surgery. He is currently at the U of I recovering from his surgery. We were told we will get to bring him home on Tuesday at the earliest.

Thankfully, we have pet insurance, but it only covers 70% of his bill, and we are left covering the remaining 30%. The policy also has a max payout of $7,400. The estimated cost for his care is $7,000-$9,000, and this does not include follow-up care and therapy. I don’t usually ask for help, but with just having a baby, we are tight on money. I have been off work for the past 10 weeks without paid maternity leave. Our fur babies mean the world to us.