Stella is a French bulldog living with her family in Tampa Bay, Florida. Her owner Alexandra describes her as a goofball.
“When we met her, we just knew she was the one,” said Alexandra.
One morning, Alexandra woke up and went down the stairs to find a terrifying discovery:
Stella was paralyzed from the neck down.
Alexandra rushed her to BluePearl Pet Hospital in Tampa right away. The first step was examining Stella and ordering diagnostic images, which revealed the cause of her paralysis:
She had a herniated disc that was pushing on her spinal cord.
Stella was referred to Dr. Michael Kimura, a board-certified veterinary neurologist and neurosurgeon.
“Dr. Kimura and all of BluePearl’s staff were amazing,” said Alexandra, “They got her in so quickly.”
He recommended surgery to repair the herniated disc and ultimately relieve Stella’s paralysis. After weighing the options in a detailed discussion, Alexandra decided to proceed with Stella’s surgery.
Later that night, Dr. Kimura performed the life-changing procedure.
“Before we do surgery, we talk about the likelihood of the patient responding to the procedure,” said Dr. Kimura, “That’s never a 100% that we can give.”
Stella began her long journey of healing and rest.
Because Stella’s case was rare, Dr. Kimura considered how to keep Stella comfortable during recovery.
“I would definitely say that this is an unusual and complicated case. We had to [operate] from the back side of the neck,” said Dr. Kimura. He also noted that the particular vertebrae in Stella’s neck that were affected could have caused her discomfort for a longer period of time, but fortunately that didn’t appear to be true for her.
Thankfully, Stella had a loving support system as she healed.
“The most important part is the recovery,” said Shannon Valdez, a certified veterinary technician. “I made sure the pain was well controlled and she was not anxious.”
Alexandra used a specialized dog vest to help Stella walk again.
“Having a paralyzed dog is so different than I ever would’ve anticipated,” said Alexandra. “Slowly but surely, she came back to her old self,” said Alexandra. “Her quality of life is even better than pre-op so that’s really cool.”
Stella is back to her usual goofball self and she’s thriving after her procedure.
“That makes us feel like we made a difference and we are very, very happy,” said Dr. Kimura.
