1/31/2011
Tomorrow is Pumpkin's follow-up appointment. We are hoping that a.) He's gained more weight b.) that we have kicked any vermin/parasite's buns c.) His red blood cell count is increasing on his own.
The blood counts & blood work are crucial to being able to rehabilitate him. H, J & myself have all talked about the fear that we are trying to rehabilitate a cat that has no chance. The options discussed so far have been a blood transfusion at the time of surgery. We are not opposed to this we are just worried about his long time issues with his blood work. We want him to be able to live a healthy, happy & furry existence after surgery. So, the vet & the surgeon understand our concerns.
The other pressing aspect is the financial burden of this. We might be reaching our limits on what we can afford with regards to his rehabilitation. We absolutely hate it that its coming to that, and that money is an issue. I am working extra hours (2 jobs basically) anyway just because I like to stay busy. I know H is working overtime by default, and J is doing the best he can to contribute. However, if it gets much more expensive than what we are currently expecting we may have to do what we can within our means and let the chips fall where they may. We've discussed euthanasia, but the vet has assured us that we can "cut corners" and Pumpkin could still have a very good quality of life.
We asked the vet to tell us if he thought that Pumpkin was past the point of no return, and if what we are doing is not in his best interests. So far the vet's opinion (and I was upfront with him about the fact that we know he gets paid for all of it, but we want this to be about Pumpkin & not $) is good and he's given us our options straight. I would really like to keep euthanasia off the table as long as possible (naturally) but the worry is that we are keeping him on when the end result will be less than favorable. We don't need necessarily ideal conditions, but we do want him to be able to live the rest of his life comfortably & in happiness. So every vet (there are multiple specialist at this hospital) has said that given Pumpkin's current condition that its leaning towards a favorable outcome, but really it all depends on how he handles surgery & recovery.
So, as you've been doing of course, please continue to lift Pumpkin up to The Lord. We want him to stay with us (yes, partially selfish because we love this little cat so much. We've gotten to know him over the past year) to be happy, healthy & snuggly as long as possible. We don't want to prolong his suffering and I keep praying that we aren't being unreasonable. We have pretty good financial resources. Our emotional and care-taking abilities seem to be endless (I am truly Thanking God for this). We are willing to pull for him as long as he can hold out. If we can just get him over this hump I think we will all be happy.
Please Lord! I give thanks for all the lovely, supportive family and friends (online & off) that have supported us through this. It means so much to us that we have people who are willing to cheer us on. I worry that perhaps we are going crazy and being unreasonable, but we will have to make decisions as to our limits here pretty soon. When we do it might be sad, but I am praying, hoping and loving so hard that everything will be ok.
