update Abby

We have been extremely busy,while trying to understand Abby's cancer and why she has it,reading every available website on feline fibrosarcoma ,we have as most people who love their pets been "grasping at straws" After our usual vet wanted to do surgery "immediately"; and telling us it would not be "pretty" to see or tend to. Well we left that office to go for a second opinion!
The pain I felt at the next appt.was like a knife in my heart,that vet,suggested Hospice Care and to love her as much as we could,it was now sinking in,we would not have Abby much longer[how could I bear not to have her?,my quiet,softfooted,beautiful cat,I had rescued ?
While reading websites,I saw surgeries,numbered up stats in my head,calculated "margins";I do after all ironically have some experience with SARCOMA!! My youngest daughter has synovial sarcoma! Yes, and so much is the same,it's eerie!! A website suggested an expert,and so I managed to find one nearby,pleaded my case,hoping for a miracle...Yes Yes Yes !!! I could and would accept Abby with one leg,if she were able to function,and they could get a "good" margin.Sooo! on to the x-rays.Abby is a quiet cat ,but high strung! They got the lateral views but no front(you could hear her way down the hall)
As the vet looked over the pics he was not very vocal, and when he spoke he said"suspicious" as to being present in her lung.But he would do surgery,and gave us the price.which wasn't bad at all but what about that word"suspicious"
We thought for hours into the night I cried and begged God to come and take "IT" out of my baby,anything so I did not have to loose her!When morning came we called our trusted vet of "hospice care" ran to get the x-rays from the expert and as "Mc Kelvie" looked at them and then at us I saw the answer,sad,but he went through the "margins" again and just what would be removed,Abby would not be able to stand to feed herself,or lift her front body,and the threat was still there,he would expect recurrance very quickly,she would never have enough time to heal from the surgery.We cried,took our pics and with promises to love her and keep her comfortable,as long as was good for her,we went home to hold our beautiful,soft greeneyed Princess,and here we will be as long as we have left.
We will keep you updated,get some info in about VRS vaccine related sarcoma,their support group,and as much help as I can possibly dig up!!!

shadow shot of Abby

Princess with a secret

A true little princess lives here she walks on 4 feet,has a demure quiet way of walking through the house,and the regal way she carries herself is quite the sight to see,Yet she had a secret that hid deep within her,some knew it most of us did not,and no one wanted to tell.We found that secret out one day as we stroked her silky fur,a small nickel size bump was under that fur,and we did not think much of it at first,she could have gotten bitten by a "bug" you know mosquito,such things fly in the moist Florida air,a routine trip to the vet told us otherwise,it was already too late,the very care we had taken to protect her would soon take her small,much loved special life
The veterinarians who cared for her knew,what I want to know is why I wasn't given a choice.the choice to vaccinate her or not,yes that's right,the very vaccines our cats are given which all the vets I know never told me the risk that lie within those prepariations,but they had known for years,the research is all over the internet,there are ingrediants in the feline vaccines that allow a deadly cancer to attach itself to our beloved pets,that grow like a spider web and branch out,attaching as it grows,invading.the tissue and spreading like a spider web,making it nearly impossible to remove as an option,without maiming and disfiguring,the risk of spreading is too great the margins too wide 2-3 cm beyond the tumor.
So what is this deadly killer of our beautiful felines? It is called feline fibrosarcoma ,it comes from the additives or ingredients in the vaccine and attaches itself to scar tissue,the tissue the needle scars as the injection is given ,after that it is a matter of time,surgery may be an option if it is not so invasive as to include vital organs.radiation may be used ;and much like human sarcomas,which incidently my youngest daughter has,chemotherapy can be used but is not terribly effective
Abby has a 2cm x 3 cm tumor under her right shoulderblade at the injection site,that to operate would take her leg,shoulder and any tissue it had been found to have invaded,plus the now palpable tiny spots you can feel branching towards her left shoulder,maiming any life she would have,oh the vet was quick ,he tried to convince us he needed to operate that day before we could go home and let this shock sink in,we left and did our research,taking our beautiful green eyed Maine Coon mix with us and cried as we read what no one gave us a choice to decide for ourselves,indoor cats seldom need the vaccines that outdoor cats need,in fact I never knew but my sister and mom have purebred Ragdolls and their vet and opted not to be administered ,except for the Rabies required by law where they live,which by the way is also a risk,but the numbers are less without the other vaccines.
Abby looks well right now you can see the swelling at the tumor,and she has a slight limp,for which we have an anti-inflammatory,that our NEW vet gave us.
I am not suggesting you all stop what your vet recommends,but that you question and read ,research as you would for your family,because our cats and dogs are our families!they cannot decide for themselves !,make an "informed" decision,and one you can live with.
Right now I have known for 4 short days and the shock ,fear and blame that is in my heart for failing a small bedraggled kitten I,,"rescued" from a "mall" pet shop,with eyes swollen from infection and a small,smelly, furry body; it took $300.oo to make well,the shop was closed down a month later[another story] I'll do the best I can when the tears stop and get more info out ,there is a support and research group,please ,please be informed,new vaccines already exist,QUESTION YOUR VET!!! if they do not share info find one that does! Abby has pics on here,but I will post more as the days go by..Love to you all who care for the creatures that cannot care for themselves nanna

Miracles!!

A new baby is truly a miracle! When you stop to think so much has to go "right" for a healthy baby to come into this world.I see both sides of the spectrum in my profession.While laboring a happy couple last week I learned their nephew had died of "ALL" Acute lymphoblastic leukemia nearly 18 mos, ago,the parents had a second child born only 2 months "after"he was diagnosed.While the cure rate is nearly 85% this child had a mutation of a specific gene,making the outlook very grim.neither parent was a match for bone marrow,it took a while before one could be found,then sadly his little body "rejected" the transplant. Timing here could have made a difference,but families are seldom planned for such catastrophic events.Now this wonderful brother to my pt, was "gifting"his sister's baby with the potentially life saving cord blood collection and storage,for their first child. A simple proceedure,this can mean the difference to a sibling with life threatening condititions.
I have helped parents through thr process many times,however it is not affordable for a great majority of the parents out there,but if you can do it ,it can mean the life of your precious child should he or she need it in the future.I urge parents to research,there are a number of "banks" available and payment plans. I will get further into info in future blogs,but must now run or I will be late for another "miracle"which certainly awaits me today!

Finding Time!

Seems like it would be easy doesn't it? We all have 24 hrs a day, Vera is doing much better after another round of chemo taht left her so weak she needed to get 2 liters of fluid to replace what she had lost,and correct the dehydration,she isn't going out much ,as her white blood cell count is low.In the meantime we have news of 2 other friends who recently found out they too have cancer although oyher types,every day there is a new challenge for friends and their families.While reading one of my favorite magazines "Sew Beautiful" Martha Pullen writes an inspiring message in every issue in the most recent she quoted a scripture Luke 12 25-26 it is about worry.Stating "who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing,why do you worry about the rest" I have made a promise to myself to try,I know it will be difficult for me,but those who have faith are so lucky to know when burdens get us down we can just turn that "worry" over to a higher power,keep up our prayers for those in need and trusting as a child can bring a much needed rest and peace to our lives. love and prayers to all,

Update Vera

Just a note,some meds I need to research,but will try to get this week-end along with some pics,I visited Vera yesterday,she looks"good" actually,a litle slow moving, the sores in her mouth from the chemo had gotten much worse,of course there are medications,one is 700.00! Works well enough,she got some samples from the MD,to order takes at least a week here! Makes me wonder how many pt's can afford it,there are old ones of course,the "lidocaine" mixtures which "nomb"so pt's can eat,and drink,she said a straw helped with the water,which she needed to drink to help 'flush the chemo from her system.If the breakdown products stay in the bladder too long you can get "cystitus" which she did,mildly,however mild,it's painful!
The smile on her face told me she is doing better,she put on her make-up and sat on the patio talking about family and a new grandchild expected,such a positive attitude! more later gotta go to "work"

Side effects

Not much really after this first "round" of chemo a little nausea,diarhhea, nothing that she needed any medication for, she did complain of feeling "weak" like her legs were "rubbery" and she couldn't keep up. There was that "smile" even in her voice you could hear it,as she assured me she was OK ! Her family is much support to her at home and keeping up the housework for her. One thing Vera "loves" to do is iron her clothing! which they did give her "permission" to do she was so happy!! Imagine that ?! Some things are theraputic,especially those which we are used to doing and anything that can help is important,even IRONING!!!