Squiggy's unfortunate car accident

Background

Tracy adopted Squiggy from a shelter when he was two months old. From the get-go, Squiggy acted more like a puppy than a kitten; he liked to play, fetch, hide, and surprise his parents.

One afternoon, a woman knocked on Tracy's door, saying she hit Squiggy with her car and thought she broke his leg. She said "Sorry" and promptly left. Tracy found Squiggy in the bushes where he dragged himself after the accident and immediately sought out emergency care. It took her 15 minutes to get him to Veterinary Surgical Specialists of Long Island, but during the car ride Squiggy went into shock.

A preliminary exam showed several fractures (his back was broken in two places) and internal bleeding. Initially, the vets told Tracy that Squiggy would be paralyzed with no neurologic function since they couldn't detect a pulse in his lower extremities. Once they stabilized his breathing, they were able to get faint pulses back. Squiggy was put on pain medication and made comfortable for the night.

The next morning, Squiggy licked Tracy's hand and looked at her, and she knew she had to do everything she could to save him. Squiggy went into surgery shortly after. The neurosurgeon explained to Tracy that Squiggy would have a long recovery, with pins in his toes, legs and pelvis on one side of his body and no bladder or bowel function. It was unknown if he would ever walk again.

Nine weeks later, Squiggy's progress was remarkable; he was walking and climbing and regained bladder and bowel function.

From Tracy:

"I was very distraught when Squiggy was injured and every person I spoke to at Embrace treated me like family with kind words of encouragement and lots of help submitting my claim."