Surgery on a Coopers Hawk

[GoDiego]

I just had to post this thread to show how proud I am of my cousin in Florida. She is a vet and the work she does to save and rehabilitate domestic, exotic and wild animals is amazing. She is totally dedicated to her work, to the point that her house is always full of new and wonderful animals she is fostering or rehabilitating.

 

Yesterday she was involved in performing amazing surgery on a Coopers Hawk, when the Hawk was bought in they soon discovered that it had a broken (wing) humerus, and broken leg (femur). The poor thing had been hit by a semi truck doing 60mph. In shock and a bad way they rushed him into surgery which my cousin documented.

 

 

He's going under anesthesia

 

 

Prepped for surgery

 

 

The full extent of his injuries

 

 

A small pin was placed into both bones to stabilize them

 

 

Surgery is finished and he is ready to wake up

 

 

He's off the anesthesia & in my cousins hand leaving the surgery room

 

 

At this point my cousin was on tender hooks waiting for him to come around. They are so difficult to monitor under anesthesia, but thankfully he slowly started to open his eyes.

 

 

 

He successfully comes around, although he was not too happy!

 

He's doing fine at the moment she is just hoping he has no internal damage but he's doing well so far, his color & respiration all good, he's on a good birdy morphine & antibiotics =)

 

Unfortunately they are unsure if he'll ever be able to be realeased but they are keeping their fingers crossed. It's gonna be atleast 6-8wks before he may fly or use his leg again, so a slow recovery process has now begun.

 

I will keep you all updated on his progress as my Cousin lets me know.

[Luvparrots]

Kudos to your cousin!!!!! Can't wait to see a picture or two of the release!!!! You should be proud GoDiego!!!

[judygram]

What a wonderful thing your cousin is doing and I hope this hawk can be released back into the wild again, please keep us informed of his progress as you get the news Carolina and give her my thanks for a job well done.

[GoDiego]

You should be proud GoDiego!!!

 

More than you know! Her job is not just work to her but a way of life, I have never known anyone so passionate about animals. She's a very special person who loves life and loves sharing it with all creatures great and small. Just such a shame she lives so far away from me, but I always look forward to seeing her when we visit Florida.

[Jayd]

Thank you...

[Jingles]

how awesome! I too, can't wait to hear of more updates!

 

That hawk didn't look too happy when he woke, but it was almost a 'thank you' behind his eyes...

[Greywings]

Excellent news that he came out of the anesthesia so well, scary moment working with a Raptor that is shocky like that. Beautiful bird and what a great person to have in the family. Appreciate your sharing the documentation.

[GoDiego]

Just to give you all an update on how he is doing.

 

He's doing really well and he's been standing on the pinned leg & eating well. The wing is still taped close to his body and will be be for a total of 6wks more. Hopefully my cousin will be able to mail me over some more pictures of him.

[judygram]

Oh I have wondered about him, glad to hear he is healing and doing well as he is a beautiful bird, thanks for the update and look forward to seeing more pictures.

[birdhouse]

This is really good news! Thanks for the update.

[danmcq]

What a wonderful rescue story. Thanks for sharing this and following up with an update.