Holding On for Hope
The following days shaped the kind of emotional journey volunteers never forget.
Nurses spoon-fed Midnight small amounts of broth. A volunteer named Helen spent hours sitting beside his crate, reading aloud to him in a voice that seemed to anchor him to the world. Midnight would lift his head when she entered, his tired eyes softening as if he could sense that she had become his advocate, his guardian, and perhaps the first person who had truly seen him in years.
Slowly, his platelet count began rising.
Slowly, his breathing steadied.
Slowly, the spark grew brighter.
The tumor grew too, tugging his energy away, but Midnight didn’t give up.
“He’s one of the strongest souls I’ve met,” Dr. Monroe said. “He keeps choosing to stay.”
The Operation
On a quiet morning, a week after rescue, Dr. Monroe walked into the exam room where Helen waited.
“It’s time,” he said.
Surgery began shortly after sunrise. The tumor was so large it required two technicians to support it. Midnight’s small chest rose and fell beneath anesthesia, each breath a fragile reminder of how much he had already endured.
Hours later, Dr. Monroe stepped into the hallway with tired eyes and a shaky smile.
“We got it. It’s out. All of it.”
The tumor weighed nearly five pounds—almost a third of Midnight’s body weight.
When Midnight woke from anesthesia, he blinked slowly and leaned his head into Helen’s hand. She let out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding.
It was one of the most heartwarming moments of her life.
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