I'm breaking from my usual narrative today to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and to shout from the rooftops that my little Buddy is here for a third Christmas since his diagnosis!
The only children in this household are the four-legged variety so you can imagine how important it is to us to have Buddy with us this Christmas Day. I truly believe that even Buddy realizes today is special - he wasn't his usual demanding or contrary self this morning. He drank all his milk, ate most of his NF prescription food, licked up all his capsule medicine and he even held still for his IV and injected meds, all without a single complaint. To top it all off, he ate a bit of canned pumpkin without any coaxing and believe you me that's saying a lot!
Annie slept in (as usual) getting up about an hour after the rest of us. Even she was undemanding this Christmas morn. She spent some time on our back porch and didn't even sit staring at my back while I prepared her food. No whining or impatient fidgeting either. She ate her meal with her usual gusto and went back to bed. As I write this post, the two of them are lazing together on my bed, keeping each other company and soaking up the sunlight streaming through the windows.
Buddy's survival is a triumph for my brother and myself. Not just because of the longevity but more so because of the quality of his additional time. We cannot take all the credit for this, his doctors and the veterinary staff are a large part of this success and of course we cannot forget Buddy himself. If Buddy had decided not to put up with all the fussing, poking and prodding he would not be here today despite all our best efforts.
It's important in this type of situation to set short goals - we try to keep Buddy going for an additional six months or until someone's birthday; this past year our goals have been shorter - an additional month, two weeks, a week, until the next holiday. Our next goal is to keep him going into the new year.
Today will definitely be a holiday for me. I'll do whatever strikes my fancy - read, listen to music maybe watch some Christmas-related programming and later on, my brother and I will go out for Christmas dinner - what should shape up as a pleasant day.
So, as I sit typing this post while I drink my mulled hot cider and devour a Christmas Day brunch consisting largely of the remains of Christmas Eve dinner, I'm thankful for the simple gifts of family, friends and my two "babies" because it's the simple things that are the most important after all.
Merry Christmas to all and to all a Happy Hanukkah and Happy Kwanzaa too!
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