Day 2 after surgery
After a long day of final preparations, Al and I were able to brave the DEEP FREEZE (and slow drivers, hee hee), and pick up our little, pretty girl, Holly yesterday evening. I baked a Cinnamon Streusal Cake and decorated it with pink and orange (for Holly) and brought that with to help distract me from the shock of seeing her for the first time. I also was very grateful to Dr. Abel and his amazing team at VCA, and wanted to show my appreciation for their immense concern and care for our baby girl. They were so pleased about the cake, but told me they would have to wait until the morning to dig in, since Dr. Abel would be back then, LOL! Hope they liked it!! It was made with lots of LOVE!
Back to my girl. It was hard to see her without her Left leg, but I reminded myself that we were NOT doing this TO HER, but really FOR HER, as Chantal and Fang said on their inspirational blog. Dying from lung cancer is hard on humans and especially kitties, who cannot express their pain, so I wasn’t going there. As hard as this has been, the “nuclear option” of doing nothing and watching her die, was never considered to be a viable option for me. Having written that, I respect everyone’s judgement when faced with this daunting decision and by now means, feel that my decision should be yours – ONLY YOU can know what is best in your unique situation. I now realize, even though she is having difficulty transitioning to walking on 3 legs, that this was the RIGHT thing to do and probably knew this the day I picked her up after her original check up where Dr. Safford found the lump on her hock. After our primary vet, Dr. Safford had explained that she thought this was a malignant tumor (from the feel of it) and that amputation was the most likely outcome, I asked the hard question, “what should I expect?”. Dr, Safford was surprisingly straightforward with me and said, “expect the worst”! That was , without a doubt, one of the hardest days of my life, and it got worse when I told Al and he said defiantly, “NO ONE will take my little Holly’s leg!!” That started a long 2 months (right through the holidays) of sleepless and long nights filled with fear. My dear, wise Dad, who died of Lymphoma 1 and 1/2 years ago, once advised me to, “stop crying and start DOING SOMETHING”, when I called him after losing my cat, Bandit. That advice worked then – the flyer I distributed resulted in Bandit being returned to us – and it is just as valid now – I prepared very well for this journey, THANKS TO TRIPAWDS. As I realistically face the challenges that lie before Holly and my family, we can finally KNOW that Holly will be ok. With that said, I just want to let all perspective Tripawd’s Pawrents know this important lesson my family and I have learned so far, (We truly hope it eases your pain in some small way):
Let go of the guilt and worry (these are useless emotions) as quickly as you can, and simply BELIEVE that you can do this!! Then, spend your time doing research, and read this blog with all the invaluable information from the Tripawd’s dog and cat pioneers who have selflessly paved the way before you. I promise, the Tripawd community’s love and compassion will ease your sadness and worry. It worked for me, and this post is my proof!
Love to all the Tripawd pawrents have taken their time to support and pray for my Sweet Holly. You were my family’s lifeline and for that I am forever GRATEFUL!
Holly sleeps peacefully her first night home!
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January 8th, 2014 at 7:43 PM
Welcome home, Holly!
And now she is on the road to recovery with lots of love….and some pain medication 🙂
So happy to see your beautiful girl is back where she belongs.
Hugs
Linda and Tucker
January 8th, 2014 at 11:10 PM
To All of Holly’s Family…….YAAAAAAAAY! Good job everybody!
To Holly……YAAAAAAAAY! Holy is home and n the road to recovery!
This journey is a pretty tough one…at first. Then it realy does get easier. The agonizing difficult decisions have been made, the shock of the diagnosis starts to fade. Yo just get on with loving Holly and enjoying every sacred second! She will be loving in tne mome t loving life with you.
Yo wrote a very insightful and compassiinate post. Thank you for sharing your wisdom and your heart. Your Dad would be very proud.
Please keep s updated AND keep posting pictures of the lovely Holly!
Hugs to everyone!
Sall and Happy Hannah
January 9th, 2014 at 3:35 PM
Hugs back to you, Sally and Happy Hannah, two of my inspirations. It means a lot that you are still following Holly’s journey and still encouraging and advising me. Like you, my posts come from my heart, where oddly enough, my intense grief over seeinmg my Holly without a leg came from. You can’t really know the immense joy of love, without feeling the intense sadness of love, and this has been definite proof of that principle. We know now that our little feral sweetheart came into our lives to show us what love really is, and for our family, that was making the most difficult decision a pawrent can make. I know now that Holly was a true gift and we will treasure her, as you so beautifully said, “every sacred second”. I will continue to post as each day brings new challenges and joys, that may, hopefully, help another future tripawds pawrent, as your posts have.
With Gratitude from my heart,
Karen, Holly’s relieved and exhausted Mom
January 9th, 2014 at 5:30 AM
We’re so glad that Holly is home and doing well! 😀 I also repaid the vet’s office with food! Haha. I sent an Edible Arrangement though – So I didn’t go through nearly as much effort as you did. But, you definitely have it right – keep your mind busy, and do something rather than sitting and being sad. Your father was a very intelligent man.
Yes, it is hard to see our babies for the first time without one of their legs, but that shock wears off really quickly – as I’m sure you’ve noticed already! Now you can focus on getting her better! Of course it feels like having sick kids, because it is EXACTLY having sick kids :D.
Glad she’s feeling comfortable. The meds will make her sleepy, so she probably wont be her “normal” self until after she’s off of them. Just a heads up so you know what to expect!
Keep up updated!
Sending lots of love!
January 9th, 2014 at 5:41 PM
Holly is looking great. Beautiful little girl 🙂 She will do great as a Tripawd.
Hugs
Michelle & Angel Sassy
January 13th, 2014 at 6:07 PM
Hi Michelle and Angel Sassy! Sorry for the very delayed response. I have been just trying to survive and spend any extra time, trying to keep up with the daily chores, LOL! I do appreciate all your support and have read the comments and they have kept me afloat. Jill did respond, thanks. I am very lucky that she has done so well. I still am watching her closely, but she is breaking away, like a good teenage girl should.
Gratefully,
Karen, Holly’s overprotective Mommy.