A Ray of Hope (2/22)

Tuesday morning couldn't come fast enough. After going through some problems getting the MRI and report to Dr. Glass for a second opinion, he finally received both. The next several hours moved slowly as we awaited word. We tried to remain hopeful, but didn't want to get our hopes up too much either.

When the call finally came through, our spirits were given a boost. Although Dr. Glass felt there was still less than a 5% chance that Tinker could walk again, he thought the MRI left room for doubt as to the severity of the impact of the ruptured disc on the spinal cord and recommended that we go forward with surgery.

The decision now had to be made quickly as to where to have the surgery done. Time is of the essence with this type of injury. The longer you wait to operate, the less the chances are that the animal will walk again.

After going back and forth with Drs. Hunt and Glass, we realized that the best course of action was to leave Tinker at the AERA. Dr. Hunt would operate in the morning. Getting Tinker down to Dr. Glass in Tinton Falls would have been a logistical nightmare.

We went to sleep that night knowing we had given Tinker a fighting chance.