EASTER SUNDAY

It's just a quiet Easter Sunday. Annie is sleeping in and even Orphée is quiet. We will spend a peaceful day off enjoying a good book and each other's company.

To all my readers I send wishes for a very Happy Easter and a Happy Passover. As I go forward with this blog there will be updates for Annie, some surprising developments with Orphée and final comments concerning Buddy.

Enjoy whichever holiday you celebrate and have a happy spring!

TAKEWAYS POST SURGERY

What did I learn from this experience with Annie?

• If the consequences of the medical issue can be profound, always get a second opinion even if you agree with the diagnosis. We should have done this from the very first time the subject of the lump was discussed. An earlier surgery would have translated into less anxiety and worry for us, less of an ordeal for Annie and probably lower medical expenses.
• Don't lose sight of the bigger picture. I convinced myself everything would be OK, losing sight of the worst case scenario. I'm not advocating doom and gloom here, I'm just saying that hoping for the best but preparing for the worst might be the best course of action.
• Ask questions, ask questions, ask questions. And did I say ask questions? Ask 'em until you're blue in the face; ask 'em until you have satisfactory answers you can live with and enough information to make intelligent decisions.
• Stay calm and carry on. The British motto from the days of the blitz holds true when dealing with medical emergencies. The stress of a major medical crisis is the same as being under siege. If you don't stay calm you won't think clearly, act rationally or make solid decisions.
• If you're uncomfortable with any aspect of diagnosis, treatment, etc. talk it over and talk it out until you are comfortable.
• Above all, love your animal and try not to communicate your negative feelings. Our pets really do sense what we feel. You want to stay positive, calm and loving so your pet won't be stressed any more than necessary by their medical emergency.
• Finally, don't spend time beating yourself up. You are only human after all, there is only so much you can do and as long as you are doing the best you can be easy on yourself.

Annie's saga is by no means over. Our little family will  have to relive the possibility of another cancer diagnosis with every 3-month Oncologist visit. Another medical emergency came back in force and it will be the subject of the next post.

ANNIE'S CANCER POST SURGERY

After all the sweating, worrying, waiting and praying we received a call January 13th from the surgeon letting us know they'd obtained clean margins. Annie's office appointment 3 days later brought more good news - no radiation needed. Her stitches were removed but from now on Annie needed to see the Oncologist every 3 months for a checkup starting from the date of her 2nd surgery.

The surgery site was healing nicely. I checked her incision every few days gratified to see and feel the hard ridge of the incision receding nicely. It seemed a bit odd but both ends of the incision were still hard and lumpy. I surmised the reason to be extra dissolving stitches at the ends but didn't know for sure since I'm not a doctor or surgeon.

Meanwhile, Annie seemed to continue to be a bit uncomfortable when lying down on the surgery site although it happened less and less as time passed. My January 30th examination of her incision turned up a stitch protruding from the end of the surgery. We made a special trip to emergency to have it removed and were told if any more came up we could cut them ourselves.

So Annie continued on the path to a full recovery. For the first time Artie and I felt she had a good shot at a full recovery and we had an opportunity to have Annie in our lives for a few more years at least. Dare I hope I could consider my sweet Annie a cancer survivor? I toyed with the idea of doing a monthly count of her progress but decided to put that idea on hold until after Buddy's one-year anniversary. Little did we know Annie would face more medical issues.

And my list of takeaways from this experience? The lessons learned will be outlined in my next post.

HOW I CAME TO LOVE CATS - PHYLLIS' STORY

Recently, I've been talking with my friend Phyllis about cats - our cats, our love of cats and our initial dislike of cats. I, for one, was never a big fan of cats until I met and fell in love with Buddy.

Neither was Phyllis who graciously agreed to be a guest blogger for 8 Paws and 2 Tails. Here is her story... 

How I came to love cats

For almost my entire life I had a real fear of cats. I’m not sure why. The only unsettling, yet infrequent experience I had was with two cats who lived in Massachusetts, Spooky and Thunder. These cats were aged, wise and loved to pounce on me. They so enjoyed seeing me jump.

Flash forward many years later

A dear friend was dying from cancer. She displayed so much courage in her fight. As a final request a notice went out to see if someone could care for her aged and cantankerous cat, Annie. No one was able to take Annie, so, because of how I felt about my friend I took her cat.  Annie came to me on a Saturday and spent the next three weeks under the bed in the guest room. She had come from a one bedroom apartment in Manhattan and now she was in a house.

 I cleaned her litter box and gave her food.  She gave me dirty looks. She was eating and loved running up and down the steps. We were not connecting and I felt so sad because I could not explain to her what had happened.

Then, according to her time frame, we met on the landing.  She put her paw on my hand. At last she had come to feel comfortable in her new home.  I moved her bed onto my landing and we became best friends. She always greeted me when I came home and loved when I sang to her. Her song was Annie Fa-fannie, I love my beautiful Annie. Her tail moved like a metronome.

All was well until she developed a severe case of pancreatitis. After six days in the hospital she recovered. Her very skinny legs had been shaved for some medical procedures and she looked like a poodle. I had her for another six months and then she really got sick. Although it was a very difficult decision, the vets encouraged me to put her down. Since they had been tending to her since I first got her (bless their hearts, they even made house calls!) I knew that they were right. After her passing I got a personal letter about her from each of the employees of the Vet hospital. I had Annie Fafannie 20 months. And, I grew to love her because she was so brave. feisty, independent. Not overtly loving but always happy that I was there.

Today

Currently I am in the process of removing the carpeting that Annie got sick on, and although I suffer from cat allergies, I know that there is another cat in my future.

Annie Fafannie