I'll be thinking good thoughts for Kiah.
One thought: Mom took Max in for the Big Snip not long ago, and the cone made him crazy, literally. He wouldn't eat, got snappy (didn't bite, but was aggressive about things) and even seems a little disoriented. Mom took him back the next morning because he just kept getting snappier and more disoriented as the hours passed, and the vet put on a different kind of collar, that kind of looks like a cervical collar for a person, but dog sized. Max was fine by the time he walked out of the office, tail wagging and happy.
You should talk to your vet and see if he has the collar, rather than the cone. It holds the next stiff and they can't lick anything they shouldn't, but it doesn't rob them of their peripheral vision the way the cone does.