My Story So Far...
Meet Isabella
A beautiful but broken, 4 month old Dachshund (also known as a sausage dog.) I received a call asking if we could step in and possibly save her life as she was paralysed from the neck down and due to be euthanised. We can't lie, her outlook was extremely poor, however, with love and support, she improved somewhat from the 2nd of August when she came into our care. She went straight to Rosie at Whitecross vets, Penn Road, Wolverhampton. This was the start of Isabella's story with us and we were determined for it not to be a short one. Rosie said she needed an MRI and CT scan, so off we went to London on the 12th August to Hendon Medi-direct, Watford way as this was the place that could see her the fastest.
She has been diagnosed with 2 crushed vertebrae and fluid build up on her spine. This had left her with no feeling in her front paws but she has regained some movement in her front legs and in her back legs, as well as being able to wag her tail and amazingly lets you know when she needs the toilet. The Injuries suffered, are in the vets opinion 'The result of either being trodden on and/or shaken' This was heartbreaking to be told as I am sure you can imagine seeing her poor little body failing her through no fault of her own.
We were determined to give Isabella the best chance to have a life as she is just so full of it and wanted to fight, she just needed all the help she could get. It was unlike me, but I had to step in and on her behalf, become her voice and ask for all our amazing followers to donate anything even if it was only 50p or a pound to help give her a chance at life. Isabella had already made big steps in physiotherapy. She'd built up strength via in-aided swimming to to help her to be able to use a wheel chair, but what she really needed was an operation. She needed an operation to fuse the damaged vertebrae to relieve the pressure on the spinal cord, she needed to receive a custom wheel chair to offer full support (which is awkward due to her being a sausage dog.) We just couldn't give up and Isabella didn't want to quit as she has so much fight and spirit.. the operation and wheelchair alone was £7000 that's without after care. We needed all the support we could get. Two days after my facebook plea, we'd raised £2,600 in donations, with some coming from as far as Denmark! I was totally overwhelmed with the kindness of animal lovers!
We had a long journey ahead
This little pup just wanted to play, we did our best, but Isabella desperately needed that wheelchair to help her build up core strength to ensure her physio to be a success.
Daily physio was going well, she had started to move her front legs. Her paws still weren’t working at the front, but miracles do happen and we had an amazing lady offer to pay for a wheelchair for her.
This helped Isabella to gain more muscle and make her more stable before she has the big operation. The crushed discs will be fused together in the hope it will offer her more movement. I was determined she was going to walk. She'd do all that she could if she wanted a toy she would get there even if she’d got to roll to get to it. Not only had she continued to get stronger, but her swimming got better (as you can imagine it was difficult with her wonky little legs) but with the aid of the full support wheel chair, there was a real difference in her progression, it helps that Izzy is such a determined little sausage. We were still a little short of funds, but we continued to raise money with the continued support of our followers!
The big week was coming...
In October, we were only £100 away from Izzy's target! Izzy had a lovely Spa break for a few days before her operation which was the end of the week... she continued her aqua rehabilitation and was of course being spoiled beyond belief.
On the 7th of October, we are travelled to Bristol to see the vets who would be performing her operation. It was super scary and a nerve racking time! We had all got our fingers, toes and Paws crossed for her. However, the day didn't really go to plan. We brought Izzy back with us as after her meeting with the vet, as we found out the operation she needs is way more complex than originally thought. She would still have the operation in approximately 2 weeks from that date, but it will be the only operation that day as it would be a long one with extra measures to be put in place. They explained how she would need extensive physio after for many months afterward, but the prognosis is good and the vet was confident that the operation will be successful and Izzy will have near normal mobility eventually! She got home ready to cause more mischief until her operation which was due on 20th of October!
We still needed to raise some money for the physio so we were selling "I've helped Izzy", keyrings. She had the vet and the veterinary students wrapped around her little paw and also shouted at all the other dogs.
Operation day
It was the big day for little Izzy, she had her major operation ahead of her and I can not begin to tell you how nervous I was waiting and looking at my phone every 5 mins for an update.
The amazing Gaynor Perkins drove Izzy to Bristol to drop her off for what hopefully will be the biggest step in this little sausage's road to recovery. It was likely Izzy would be kept in for 3 to 5 days depending how she recovered from her op. If there was a reason for lucky pants today was the day to wear them! So many people sent Izzy those good vibes... and kept their fingers and Paws crossed.
The news we'd been waiting for was finally here...
I had the eagerly awaited phone call from Faye the vet who performed Izzy's operation.
It was GOOD NEWS!!
The operation went as well as could be expected, she went down at 10am and at around 5pm she starting to come round from the anaesthetic. She wasn't out of the woods yet, as she was now under 24hr critical observation care to make sure she can swallow food and drink again.
The worst part was over and was due to see the physiotherapy team to see where she goes next and the best way for her to move forward... LITERALLY. We couldn't wait to see what the next chapter of her story would entail.
I couldn't even express enough gratitude to Faye Rawson and her team from Langford Vets in Bristol, and all who were involved in Izzy's operation and care, but also to everyone who has donated and made this all possible to give her the best chance at life. I was shaking and still pushing away the tears but just so glad that so far everything is moving in the right direction.
The very next day...
Izzy had been eating and drinking fine which let us know that everything is working well, but not only that ... she had been moving all 4... YES I SAID 4 paws normally.... jaw drop moment.
Her operation had been an amazing success and Faye was and is extremely happy with the result. She strongly believes Izzy will make a full recovery with the correct Physiotherapy in place, which was music to our ears. Izzy's story is what dreams are made of... it shows that you should never give up! There is always hope! Even the smallest animal can have the biggest fight in them. We just need to be their voice, we can together give them a chance.
This story, which is not over yet, but it just shows what we can do. I can not tell you how proud I am and of everyone who has made a difference... thank you so much from everyone at Wings and Paws and from little Izzy.
The fight continues...and so the story moves to the next chapter. Izzy's rehabilitation which is going to involve lots of specialist physio work to build muscle and regain that muscle memory. Please don't forget about her and please keep giving if you can, any donations towards her care is so blessedly received every single penny counts.
We will keep updating this amazing story as I'm sure many of you are following. In the next update we hopefully will be able to share when we are able to collect her but we will also include pictures and scans of her operation so you can see the amazing work done by Faye and her team.
P.S for all those still wearing your lucky pants I think its safe for you to wash them now What a little fighter Izzy is... thankfully her story continues we pray for a happy ending