A Mommy Blog About Raising Men, Not Boys.
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Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Now What?

I took my kitty to the vet last month, prepared to have to let her go - to put her down as she was so terribly sick. The vet pulled a miracle out of her bag and she got better, so much better it's been amazing. But in the last few days.........something terrible has happened.


Her eye, her BEAUTIFUL green eye.....has swollen up into a white and bloody mess.




I love my new vet. She's sweet, she's honest, she's compassionate. And she tells you what it's gonna cost.


The cat has glaucoma- that eye is probably basically destroyed due to the crazy pressure that is on it from the inside, and it's in danger of rupturing. If it ruptures, she is likely to die and VERY likely to need to be put down.


To remove the eye as it is, is $700. I mean seriously are you kidding me? 700 bucks to remove and eye and sew up the eyelid? Oedipus could do it for less I'm sure.


So today the husband is going to take her to the veterinary opthamologist to be 100% certain no stone has been unturned and that all of our options have been explored. She has been a part of my life for all of her 18 years and part of this family for the 13 that we have been one.


You might ask WHY? Well - because despite the fact that it'd be cheaper to just make the emotionally hard decision to put her down there is a lesson my son is learning through this. It's that life is valuable. Life matters. And that if you are the right kind of person, you do everything you can to preserve it and treat it as though it matters.

This isn't about to turn into some big RIGHT TO LIFE SPIEL - far from it. But....she's been part of our family, and your family matters. You don't throw family away when they become inconvenient. You don't discard your family when they aren't what you want them to be. You love them,and you cherish them - and even if they hang their butt outside the litter box instead of keeping it inside ........you treat them like family. It doesn't mean you like everything they do, or agree with their choices........

but it does mean that you love and respect them - and you give them those things in abundance.

************

post script -

The kitty does NOT Have glaucoma instead she has really high blood pressure. We'll be treating her high blood pressure and taking her back to the specialist next week. She anticipates the swelling in the eye will reduce, but LaVerne will remain blind in that eye. It's a loss- but may not have to come out anyway.

And we've shown our son that everyone in our family matters. No matter what.

2 comments:

Liliana Barrs said...

I totally am with you.
In 2007 our dog has been really bad from one day to another, and we brought him to the vet immediately.
She told us he has bad kidneys and something with his heart isn't good either.
We asked if it's better to put him down (he has been not yet 10 years at that time and due to his race he could live like 15 years), but she had hope and said we can bring him through this. Not for all the 15 years, but may be one or two more.
So we started a therapy, I drove with him to the vet everyday to get him his medicine and injections. And he felt better for some days.

And then there was this weekend. He didn't eat, walk or did just anything anymore. It has been first nice spring weekend so my parents had him outside with them in the garden. He loved the garden, but he just layed at their feet and watched the cats.

On monday, 9:15am he died with me only home at his favorite place in my room. I did pet him til the end, told him it's ok. And I'm crying again now writing this down.

Whole therapy did cost €1000, but it was worth it. He was part of our family for almost 10 years. I did grow up with him at my side.
Now he lays in his beloved garden, with a small tree and a stone just for himself.

It's a sad story. I just wanted to tell you that you're not alone. Pets are our family too, and that's why it's worth all the pain and hope. You just don't throw away a part of your family when there's some sickness, you just don't.

Krissy Muggleston said...

You've made good choices. My cat was with me for 23 years - that's one sweet 16 party, 2 weddings a funeral and three kids. Not many people truly understand our undying commitment to these four legged family members. Best of luck to LaVerne and maybe some canned food, too. :)