Day 2 - 2am - the nightmare begins

Something woke me at 2am.  I checked on Nathan who was sleeping in our bed.  He couldn't move.  I scooped him up and went into the bathroom and turned on the light.  I put him on the floor and he fell over.   My stomach dropped.  What was wrong?  I woke my husband, threw on some clothes and we were out the door on our way to the animal hospital.  The 15 minutes drive seemed like hours.  When got there, it seemed quiet, so we were hopeful the wait would be short.  45 minutes later, they finally took us back to see the doctor.  She examined him and informed us it was a disc injury that would likely require surgery. She left to call the surgeon at home and we waited.  When she returned, she told us based on what she decribed to the surgeon, Nathan could wait till morning for the surgery.  This would turn out to be a tragic mistake...