A Christmas Miracle: Holly
Holly is safe and sound but she still needs you this holiday season. She’s turning one this Christmas and she’s truly our Christmas Miracle.
Holly was brought into the ER at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine just a few weeks ago with apparent paralysis. What they found was that she likely had a traumatic spinal injury—from what, we don’t know. Dr. Vernau, our favorite neurologist, reached out to FieldHaven asking for help. She knew Holly was a good fit for our team and would get the second chance she deserved—especially during the season of giving and love.
We picked her up, and she’s been in foster care with me since then. Right away I knew she was meant for us—Holly was—is—so full of love, life, and personality that we couldn’t say no. All you have to do is look at her and she starts purring!
Here is her video from day one—don’t forget to click back over and keep reading her story!
The first day in foster care Holly wasn’t moving on her own. We had to move her towards her food and turn her several times a day so that she wasn’t laying in the same position.
We monitored her carefully. She had movement in three legs and control of her bowel and bladder—which is a vital component for helping cats who may have some sort of paralysis trauma. We were hopeful that some very gentle physical therapy and a lot of patience and love would help get Holly back on her feet—literally!
A few more days passed. Holly was making progress! She had begun to move the one leg that was our biggest concern. She was trying!
She still wasn’t using her litter box so we had to keep her clean until she could navigate the 10 inches of movement to the litter pan.
Yet we remained hopeful.
A couple weeks later… breakthrough! Holly was improving even more! Check out THIS video—and don’t forget to come back again to keep reading!
We are so thankful to Dr. Vernau and UC Davis for not giving up on Holly and trusting us with her. We know her journey is only beginning, but we couldn’t have a better team by her side.
Day by day Holly keeps improving. We know she’ll need more physical therapy, and we’re looking at a variety of ways to help her, but this holiday season, Holly represents everything to us. The love she is receiving is helping her move forward—physically, emotionally, and spiritually. She gives us a reason. She trusts us. She hopes for a positive future. This holiday season, Holly is our mascot for everything!
We hope you will show your gratitude to us by donating a small amount to help us cover the costs of Holly’s ongoing care because it’s not over. We are excited for her future because we know that thanks to all of you, her future is bright.
Holly is our Christmas Miracle, and we are sharing her joy today with all of you. Merry Christmas, from our family to yours!
Happiest of PAWlidays,
– Joy Smith, executive director of FieldHaven
P.S. Our hearts are full because we are able to give Holly this chance. We can only do this because of you, so thank you for bringing so much peace and joy to Holly this holiday season. If you have already given, thank you, and if not, you can still make a holiday gift to Holly right here, right now.
Print Friendly