Monday, July 14, 2008

One of those weeks.

I've had one of those weeks that Life sometimes throws at you. One where you can't possibly imagine handling another major event, and yet, somehow you do because you have to. You either deal with it, or you don't, but either way, it's happened and there's nothing you can do to change the situation. The only thing you can change is how you feel about it.

First and foremost, we found out last Monday that my cousin (who is younger than I am by a couple of years) has cancer, an aggressive form of lymphoma. Because it's so aggressive, they've started chemo treatments earlier than planned. The good news is that the treatments already seem to be taking affect. We're all hoping that since he is young, strong and healthy (aside from the cancer) that he will pull through this. It's such a large shock that, for me, it hasn't totally sunk in quite yet. It seems impossible that this person who is such a strong guy (he's been a firefighter and a lifeguard, just to name a few of the things he's done) has cancer. All we can really do right now is hope for the best.

Not a few days later, my mom called me at work to tell me that our family dog, Shelby, who's been with us since I was in high school was not doing so well and that she was going to take her to the vet and have her put down. While I know that it was her time, it still seemed far too early. Her spirit was still young, but her body was failing her and had been for some time. I know in this situation I'm sad for my loss, I'm sad that I won't see her physically anymore, but a part of me should be happy because she's no longer bound by a old and breaking body.

Before any of these major, upsetting things happened, I took in a stray cat. For a little while now, I've been meaning to get another cat to keep Ludo company and here, literally on my doorstep, comes the most laidback, affectionate cat. She's super lovable and was starved for affection (and starved for food as well.) I took her to the vet and she only weighed 6 pounds. I named her Lily.

A few days after I took her in a neighbor came to me because they had found her kittens. The vet and I assumed her kittens either died or were all grown up because her milk had gone dry. So my neighbors and I hand fed the kittens for a little while and luckily because Lily was now getting adequate food, she started producing milk again. Despite our best efforts though, only one of the three kittens that were found is still alive. It seems to be doing well, but I'm hesitant to get my hopes up too high.

Here's a picture of Lily.You can see in this picture how much her hip bones stick out. Also, it's obvious that she's barely more than a kitten herself. The vet thinks she may only be about a year old and for her to have already had a litter of kittens is just sad.

This is the one surviving kitten, who seems to be getting bigger by the day which to me is a very good sign.
As long as there's hope in life, things will turn out ok.

14 comments:

erica said...

I'm so sorry to hear about your cousin and your dog. My thoughts are with you, Lily and the baby kitty. I hope the little kitten pulls through. It makes me so sad to hear about baby kitties dying because their mom can't get enough to eat.

Katy said...

Sorry for your rough week, and for the news about your cousin. I hope that the rest of the summer brings better things your way!

Anonymous said...

I'm so sorry - you've had a really rough time of it lately. I'll keep you and your family in my thoughts and prayers.

Paper Tiger said...

Thinking of you.

Robin said...

Hope your cousin's treatment is successful. Sorry to hear about your family pup - it breaks my heart to lose a pet but I never want to see them suffer. Lily is so cute - beautiful markings.

Anonymous said...

Bad about your cousin. Cancer is an indiscriminate aggressor. It's really a drag when it strikes the young (not that it's great for older folk, but we're breaking down in many ways, so it's not such a shock).

The tale of the cat and kittens is almost like an object lesson in teenage pregnancy. It doesn't work well in cats any more than it does in humans. Too young and immature. It's never nice when they die. We just rescued a bird on the weekend - a young one that wasn't quite ready to fly, that had fallen out of the nest and had dislocated one hip joint so the leg was sticking out backward. It couldn't fly because it couldn't stand up. But trying to look after it didn't help. Not knowing how to fix a bird dislocation, not knowing how to feed it, and it not drinking water provided, and no local vets willing to look at it, and it eventually died. My daughter was rather upset by it all, but I think she learned something about her limitations. Maybe she'll study more now. She's interested in animals.

Knittripps said...

Oh my goodness, my heart goes out to you. It is amazing what we are capable of handling when tested, isn't it? I am sorry for the loss of your family dog and hope the treatments heal your young strong cousin. Lily and her kitten are lucky to have found you.

Anonymous said...

Wow! Such news! Sending good thoughts your way.....

I loved the kitteh news though! I had to crack a smile because I immediately thought of Jamie Lynn Spears and how too young she was to have a baby! I know you will be a good mom to both mommy and kitteh!

big geek beth

Anonymous said...

I'm so sorry to hear about your cousin. Glad that he's a strong person and will keep him in my thoughts.

Sorry about your family dog, as well. :-(

Then life pushes itself into gear and brings you Lily and baby Lily.

Maybe it's a good sign all around.

yarnivorous said...

Life *is* hope.
I hope you and yours had a much better week!
(And Lily is a real cutie :-)

Anonymous said...

I hope your cousin is able to pull through and beat his illness. I'm sorry to hear about your dog however, you do have a new kitty to help fill the void... *hugs*

Jackie said...

Good luck to you in all things.

Anonymous said...

I'm so sorry to hear about your cousin. Please let us know if there is anything we can do to help.

Also sorry to hear about your family pup. Losing an old friend is always hard.

It's wonderful to hear that you have rescued a kitten and one of her kittens I wish more of us would step-up to rescue stray.

Anonymous said...

You're seriously overdue for another post.