Services : Laser Therapy Testimonials : Clyde's Laser Testimonial
Clyde Healey—Laser success!



                Clyde was like the ambassador of the neighborhood. He would let all of the kids pet him, watch everything that was going on and investigate it; he even invited himself into other people’s houses. If a plumber came to our house, Clyde would be in front of the guy, on the floor, looking under the sink with him! He also liked to go into workers’ trucks and look around. A couple of them almost took Clyde home by accident. He liked heights. He would get on our roof and look down in the skylight at us. If a neighbor had a ladder up against their house to clean out gutters, Clyde would go right up it! Then on day, Clyde was almost accidentally strangled by the garage door because his head got stuck between the door and the frame. If it wasn’t for the fact that his left front leg was caught as well, he could have died that day. He was a very active cat and his injuries from being closed in a garage door could have ended his activities. 
The first few hours, we didn’t even expect him to recover. He had been stuck for several hours, nobody knew he was there, and it took a little while for him to get over the trauma. The first twelve hours, he wouldn’t even eat or drink. After those twelve hours though, Clyde came back to life and started purring and eating.   It was apparent, though, that the left front leg that had prevented his being strangle had itself suffered major nerve damage.
Dr. Epstein diagnosed brachial plexus avulsion. She explained that he would probably not recover function of his leg and he’d be dragging it around when he walked. We had the option of amputating it. But Dr. Epstein then discussed laser therapy with us, and how the laser can stimulate nerve regeneration. She encouraged us to give this a try. We just wanted Clyde to be able to be the very active cat that he was before.
We (the staff at WilmingtonAnimalHospital) were amazed with Clyde’s recovery. By 8 days after the injury, he figured out how to use his shoulder to hike up his leg. But by 12 days post-injury, he was bending his leg on his own, and by 19 days, gripping with his paw. By 2 months, he was able to walk on his leg.
Clyde learned very quickly how to maneuver without that leg. His personality was quick to return. When he fell flat on his face, he kept trying. After only a couple of weeks, he could actually run and go up steps on three legs. His leg would still just hang there, but that didn’t bother Clyde. He was determined to get back to his activities. It was very hard to keep him indoors. We would sit with him outside and as soon as we looked the other way, Clyde would be gone under the fence and down the street. On the day I witnessed him climbing our chain link fence with one front foot, I knew we had to just let him run free again. 
We could see after each laser treatment that more feeling was coming back in the leg. We watched him start to use it after maybe 5 or 6 weeks. At about 12 weeks, he was walking on it! Now at 14 weeks, he’s kneading with it. The only remnant of that horrible day is a slight limp at times. We have our Clyde back thanks to the Wilmington Animal Hospital.
Thanks!
Joe Healey