Since my original post about Poosey back in October, we have been in an all-out battle to restore her quality of life and at some points literally to save it. Yesterday we got the first little glimmer of the possibility of healing.
If I recall, I said we were exploring the possibility of trying some acupuncture in an attempt to relieve some of her pain. Little did I know that was just the beginning. We met a great vet who has a holistic practice - www.cedarbayvet.com - and she quickly ascertained that the kidney disease was acute. We changed her food, increased the sub-q fluids to twice a day instead of twice a week, and added three supplements. By that time she was also in the midst of a full blown upper respiratory infection that we treated with antibiotics. Poosey was one very weak kitty. I remember one particular Friday that I just lay on the floor beside her and prayed that she'd keep breathing at least until Hannah got home from school. Every breath was an effort and she just looked too weak to keep it up for very long. She didn't want to eat and was losing weight rapidly. We sort of poured food into her with a pastry bag and metal cake decorating tip.
We have been doing the acupuncture - and Poosey often purrs the whole time!
She recovered slowly from the URI but the damage was done. Her liver was very unhappy with the weight loss and although her kidneys were doing better, more blood work revealed that a new monster had reared it's ugly head - hepatic lipidosis. If you're curious you can Google it. I guess it mostly happens to cats and it's 100% fatal without aggressive intervention. That's where we are now. For the last two-plus weeks we've been syringing food into her every 1-2 hours in an attempt to reverse the condition. We added a couple of additional supplements and a medication to help her GI system to move the food along and prevent nausea (and vomiting!). I can't tell you how frustrating it was to force feed her all day every day only to go to the vet and have her lose more weight! I calculated the time and literally 1/4 of my daytime hours have been spent force feeding/cleaning up this precious creature! Finally yesterday we had a small weight gain!!!! We are by no means finished but at least there is hope. I expect to continue this all through the Christmas season and possibly a few weeks beyond. I told the vet yesterday that all I want for Christmas is for Poosey to eat on her own. She smiled and said she hoped I got that gift.
Is it worth it?
Yes.
I don't know how long it will help her, but I know we did our best. She's now strong enough to express her opinions, sometimes vigorously. I love that! She can lie in the sunshine. She can purr. She hangs out with Hannah and sleeps on the box in front of her window - all the normal things we take for granted.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Monday, November 19, 2007
Thankful!
The week is here! The day is coming! The attitude will remain - I hope!
Living in Florida causes a celebration of autumn in a big way in our household. The kids delight in putting up the fall decorations. They grumble about stores that skip fall and go right into Christmas. Our landscape doesn't display the colors that we associate with fall so we bring a little of the color into our home. I find myself touching fabric rich in fall colors at the fabric store - and buying bits and pieces of it sometimes. We have garlands of leaves that we drape here and there. We've accumulated a few fall tablecloths over the years. We don't go nuts about the decorating - no time and too many cats! - but we genuinely enjoy every one.
And then there's Thanksgiving Day... the excitement builds... who is coming this year? Mom, did you buy turkey hearts? Can we buy some new balls for backyard games? Will it be cool? Will it be hot?
Why do our kids love this holiday so much? I think it's because it is one of the only traditions that we keep very close to the same every year and it isn't commercially overdone. It's all about being thankful to God for all He has given. Sometimes we've had difficult years. Sometimes our friends have had very difficult years. I hope I never forget the overflowing gratefulness I felt the year GG was here barely a week after surgery for colon cancer.
I'm not just thankful for the big things. I'm overwhelmingly thankful that I have a husband who loves me and whom I love. We have children who are learning and growing and who I honestly enjoy. We have friends - genuine friends - who really know us and still want to hang out with us. We have a great extended family. We have a church family that I wouldn't trade for all the tea in China (and you all know I like my tea!)
Last year we put a piece of paper on the fridge for everyone to write on listing things for which we're thankful. Thanks to my friend JS for the idea!! I'm a bit behind but that is going back up today. We'll see how many things we can think of by Thursday. I can start right now. I'm thankful for this computer and the internet access that allows me to write the blog entry and for each person who cares enough about us to read it.
Living in Florida causes a celebration of autumn in a big way in our household. The kids delight in putting up the fall decorations. They grumble about stores that skip fall and go right into Christmas. Our landscape doesn't display the colors that we associate with fall so we bring a little of the color into our home. I find myself touching fabric rich in fall colors at the fabric store - and buying bits and pieces of it sometimes. We have garlands of leaves that we drape here and there. We've accumulated a few fall tablecloths over the years. We don't go nuts about the decorating - no time and too many cats! - but we genuinely enjoy every one.
And then there's Thanksgiving Day... the excitement builds... who is coming this year? Mom, did you buy turkey hearts? Can we buy some new balls for backyard games? Will it be cool? Will it be hot?
Why do our kids love this holiday so much? I think it's because it is one of the only traditions that we keep very close to the same every year and it isn't commercially overdone. It's all about being thankful to God for all He has given. Sometimes we've had difficult years. Sometimes our friends have had very difficult years. I hope I never forget the overflowing gratefulness I felt the year GG was here barely a week after surgery for colon cancer.
I'm not just thankful for the big things. I'm overwhelmingly thankful that I have a husband who loves me and whom I love. We have children who are learning and growing and who I honestly enjoy. We have friends - genuine friends - who really know us and still want to hang out with us. We have a great extended family. We have a church family that I wouldn't trade for all the tea in China (and you all know I like my tea!)
Last year we put a piece of paper on the fridge for everyone to write on listing things for which we're thankful. Thanks to my friend JS for the idea!! I'm a bit behind but that is going back up today. We'll see how many things we can think of by Thursday. I can start right now. I'm thankful for this computer and the internet access that allows me to write the blog entry and for each person who cares enough about us to read it.
Monday, November 5, 2007
The Quilt!
We had a very happy girl the day RKR finished her first quilt top! Here she is!
And this is LG, sewing teacher extraordinaire!
We took her quilt to a shop to be machine quilted. She had to have the backing and batting ready to quilt. It was a very interesting process. Each layer was placed on the frame and pinned, zipped, clamped or basted into place. Even with all this preparation, the shop owner had to keep a close eye on the process, smoothing any puckers and making sure the machine was doing the correct thing. Several times she had to replace the bobbin thread - just like a giant sewing machine bobbin. Bekah got to choose the quilting pattern and the thread. She chose a daisy pattern in a variegated blue. It looks lovely!
Photos of the finished quilt coming very soon...
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