Cory’s Story

The bare place on his back makes Cory get cold easily, so I keep him comfortable with this blanket.  The kitty likes to share it with Cory.

I don’t even know where to begin… Cory’s return home last night was nothing short of shocking for myself, Jay, and Sandy. Cory wasn’t the vegetable that we had all experienced in the previous two days… his turnaround was seemingly miraculous to us all.

He was Cory. Our Cory.

Perky, excited, happy, engaging, and alive.

That’s how he was. How he went from being unable to even move his body to back to his old self completely blew us away. We knew he was a fighter, but his recovery was absolutely amazing.

We brought him home with a pair of support “shorts” that the doctor gave us to support his hind end while he recovers from surgery. He isn’t supposed to be allowed to walk on non-carpeted surfaces because he might slip and fall, which could reinjure his spine while it recovers from surgery.

Here are some pictures of the shorts:

Cory in shorts

Cory's shorts

Another shot

After about 10 minutes, we took his shorts off and allowed him to walk freely (as he was obviously becoming quite annoyed by the fact that we had to support him wherever he wanted to go). We got him onto the carpet and watched him as he took a few wobbly steps.

We took turns sitting at either side of the room and calling him to us, rewarding him with treats when he reached us. This was exactly how we trained him to come when called as a puppy.

Of course, he loved the game, and after a few rounds he noticeably improved his coordination. He had trouble turning around and backing up, but the doctor told us that the benefits of the surgery should become quite apparent after 4 weeks, when the swelling and inflamation in his spine has disappeared.

After a while, he wanted to lay down, but this posed quite a problem for him. He tried to lay down, but was obviously feeling a little unwieldy in his hind end, so he would stop and just stand back up. We watched him eagerly as he tried a few more times to lay down, being unsuccessful. Sandy tried to help him physically, but that only confused him and made him less willing to try.

After a few more attempts, he got a great idea: he leaned up against the couch while he lowered himself down to the laying position. We thought that was quite smart of him =)

Here’s our happy boy enjoying his first relaxing moments back home. Doesn’t he look happy?

Cory grinning

Home at last

I also shot a video of Cory so you can see his movement. I’ll post it later… all for now!

Great news! I just heard from Sandy, who just heard from the hospital that Cory’s doctor has evaluated him and cleared him for release from the hospital today. We plan to pick him up after work and bring him home tonight.

We are expecting that he’ll need a lot of extra-special care and attention while he heals from surgery, and we are ready to give him whatever he needs. Amelia (Cory’s nurse) has said that he’s eating his food now with a ravenous appetite, gobbling food up “in less than 2 seconds.” That’s a far cry from what any of us witnessed during our visits with him at the hospital, but it sure sounds like our Cory. That news has greatly heartened us all and we can’t wait to bring him back home.

I’ll have pictures and more news later, after we bring him home.