In December 2016, a one-year-old ginger cat named Apollo was hit by a car in Danville, Virginia. He suffered a broken jaw and leg and was left to die on the side of the road. But thanks to his incredible will to survive, Apollo made it to the yard of Fallon Phillips and onto her porch before he passed out.
When Fallon found Apollo the following day, she knew he needed help. She took him to an emergency vet, where it was discovered that he required expensive surgery to fix his broken jaw and leg.
“I heard a meow,” Fallon said. “I saw that miserable little orange cat just limping around.”
Although she didn’t have the money to pay for Apollo’s surgery, Fallon knew she couldn’t just leave him to die. She reached out to her friend Jennifer Miller, who set up a GoFundMe page to help cover the costs of Apollo’s surgery.
“I told her the situation, and she said, ‘Let me set up a GoFundMe page,'” Fallon said. “I was like. That would be amazing.”
After Fallon agreed to adopt Apollo, Jennifer immediately set up a GoFundMe for the required surgery.
Fallon took him to Cherrystone Veterinary Hospital in Chatham, where they “bathed him and checked him for diseases, updated his vaccines, gave him a rabies shot, gave him antibiotics and cleaned his wounds.” However, Cherrystone could not move forward with leg surgery because it would require putting plates and screws into place.
But on Christmas Eve, Dr. Al Henry of Peaks View Animal Clinic in Lynchburg performed a complex operation on Apollo.
“He had a plate in his left leg with six screws and a pin. He [Henry] dropped me a few hundred dollars, which was incredible. He was stunning.” – Fallon said.
Apollo is now settled and recuperating in his forever home with mom Fallon and dog siblings Juno and Luna, both Shih Tzu/Yorkie mixes. “The dogs and Apollo already adore each other,” stated Fallon, adding that her new cat “just purrs and purrs.” He had determined that his mother’s pillow was the ideal resting place.
If it weren’t for the courage and will of this little ginger cat, he would have died alone on the side of the road. But thanks to his fighting spirit, and the generosity of those who helped him, Apollo is alive and well today.
