...Mackie update...

the alarm went off WAY too early...
but I needed to pick up Mackie by 7:30 AM...
and it's at least a 25 minute trip to the EVC...
during morning commute...? who knows...]

without the time to walk Molly...
I opened the back door to let her out in the back yard...

and out zipped Lucyfur...with Molly in close pursuit...

telling "basement cat" to return from whence he came...
I limped back to my bedroom, through hungry kitties...
mindful of time passing...
I got dressed as quickly as I could...
which was a real chore since I was very stiff...

the stress of the previous evening's activities...
had taken their toll...
and the thought of chasing a cavorting Lucyfur...
triggered ALL my stress points...
and my back was killing me...

I opened the back door...
in came Molly...
since I cleverly hadn't fed the kitties yet...
I could go chase down Lucyfur...
without knowing... that Molly was scarfing cat food...

I looked for Lucyfur... & finally spotted her...
I got agonizingly close & grabbed for her...
but stiffness & soreness thwarted my efforts...
and she edged away...just out of reach...

saying several prayers...

binding "bc"[I really like that name for the enemy...]
and claiming a quick capture of the rambling Lucyfur...
I proceeded to flank her position...
trapping her in the small fenced area behind the garage...

with me blocking her only escape...
she came right to me... and I picked her up...
[thank you, Jesus...]
I carried her to the back door & went in...

[if you know my back door area...
and the "tight squeeze" it is...
you know that using this entrance, in & of itself...
took a dexterity that I could NOT have accomplished a year ago...]

leaving hungry critters behind...

I got in my car and headed north east...
across town to the EVC...

the silvery full moon still hung clearly in the west...

last night as I drove to the EVC...
I had watched it rise in the east...full and golden...
a resplendent harvest moon...

now... in the east, the rising sun was a bright red-orange disk...
burning through the heavy morning mist...
that is a harbinger of the winter fogs to come...
by the time I would see it again...
it was blazing in the clear blue sky...
setting the tops of trees ablaze in their fall glory...

I got to the EVC...and got a nice surprise...

Mackie was feeling much better...

AND... they refunded me $65.00 on my debit card... !

the doctor went over the xrays with me...

the tumor is quite large & has some calcification...
[it's been there a while...]

she said that any surgery would be very invasive & difficult...
not to mention that I'd have to take him to UCDavi$...
that it would cost thousands of dollars...
& besides being very hard on Mackie, it would also be "risky"...

the best news... he was feeling [and looked...] much better...

he had responded very well to the IV fluids...
and starting the antibiotics...
though it was too soon to see the effects of them...
was also a good thing...

he has "mouth problems"...
that pulling teeth...and antibiotics, can fix...
& as long as his liver/kidney function remains good...
and all the blood panels show that there is not a problem there...
he may recover his basic wellness...[not counting the tumor...]

it's mainly his mouth...and the tumor...

as long as the tumor doesn't get too big or metastasize...
and if we can stabilize his mouth...
so his immune system, liver & kidneys aren't being compromised...
he may have some time...

I'm waiting for a call from my vet...
after he has a chance to look at the tests & xrays...
they left the IV catheter in, so as soon as the vet OKs it...
they will restart the IV...which washes out his system...
making him feel better...

he is anemic... the liver may be destroying red blood cells ...
because of the tumor...
and the antibiotics for his mouth...
will help his immune system go back to a more normal state...

I'm praying that it will be in God's will..
for my sweet buddy to be with us for a few more years...
but I'm also content for His will to be done...

the EVC doctors both commented on how sweet Mackie is...
and they seemed very encouraged...
that he was so much better this morning...

taking him there was the right thing to do last night...
I shudder to think what state he might have been in today...
without the IV to rehydrate & flush out his system...
he might have been in full hepatic & renal failure by now...
and then, not only would he have suffered...he would be gone...

God is good... all the time...


[Murphy..."laying down the law" to Mackie in August...]

many thanks to all of you who have been keeping us...
both Mackie & me... in your prayers...
it makes a big difference I can really feel...

more updates...as they happen...