What Happened?!

Some background on this tragic accident that literally happened in a matter of seconds:
Nathan was just on a short ride in the car and his "daddy" lifted him out & down to the sidewalk where he tried to attach the leash. We can only assume, he thought that "mommy" was waiting on the other side of the road by the apartment building, and he bolted toward it before his daddy knew what was happening! I pulled up on my bike 2 minutes later to find both of them in the middle of the deserted street...one panicked and shouting for help and the other moaning in pain. The white vehicle was seen only in a blur.

It was a maddening drive through lower Manhattan to the 24-hour animal hospital (5th Avenue Veterinary Specialists), the same place Nathan had spinal surgery almost two years ago (That's another story altogether that seems easy in hindsight and in comparison). They took him from my arms and rushed him in to be stabilized enough for tests and x-rays while we waited for nearly three hours crying in the lobby awaiting the prognosis. After an initial dismal report, we were finally told it WASN'T a punctured lung and there was NO internal bleeding! He had a badly broken pelvis (fractured on the left side and broken badly on the right where the van struck him). He had a fractured rib, and when he went forward, he struck his head quite hard on the pavement and may have had a concussion or worse. As we were escorted down to ICU to see him, it was gently explained to us that he probably couldn't see. It was hard to tell if this was temporary blindness due to the trauma or if this was an indication of something more serious such as a detached retina or brain swelling.

The next morning was spent waiting by the phone for updates from the chief surgeon. Then another mad dash to the hospital to pick up Nathan and transport him to another hospital with an Ophthalmologist & Neurologist on staff. If Nathan's retina’s had become detached, finding that out and having them operated on took precedence over the broken pelvis if he were to ever regain his sight. It turned out that the retinas were fine and the blindness was caused by the trauma and head wound. The vision should return (and did fully by the end of that week). We took him back to the original hospital for observation and then surgery the following day if all went well.

Nathan remained in the hospital's ICU for the next 6 days and now has a plate and pins in his right hip. At one point I didn't think he knew me anymore, but he's home now and his wonderful personality is coming back. He wants to try to walk (although we can't let him yet), and he's beginning the long road to recovery -- aided by a lot of medication, a lot of crate rest, a lot of love and nursing care, physical therapy and more check ups and x-rays to come to see how the bones are healing. Further surgery on his other hip will likely be necessary down the line...only to be determined after he is able to walk again. The accident was unlucky of course, but Nathan is the luckiest dog to be alive because surgery may not even have been an option if that van had hit him one inch higher. I'm the luckiest mom too because living without him would have been too much to face.
Thanks for reading and I'll post more updates and photos as I have them!