A little quiet.. Story...
My Hubby and I lived in a cancer center for 1.5 years. There were various 'Spiritual Health' professionals who would stop in and visit with the patients in chemo. On one of those visits, I told one of them the story about my cat Joey....
One day, I felt a lump on Joey's leg. I mentioned it to Hubby. Hubby said he had seen Joey jump to the sink, and miss. Possibly, the lump was due to banging it on the sink. I kept my eye on the lump for a couple of days. It did not go away. Off to the vet we go. Unfortunately, the diagnosis was bone cancer. Since Joey was 19, and the bone cancer was advanced, and the cancer had probably spread, etc., etc., etc., there was nothing we could do. It was her recommendation, to keep him comfortable until it was 'time'. Horrible news. But, it is, what it is. They shaved his side, and put a pain patch on him. I bought some additional patches, and took him home. One morning, about a week later, I was getting ready for work. My Joey came to me and said: "Mom, take this leg off. Fix me.". O.K.. Well, if you didn't think I was nuts before, you probably do now. Believe me, he really did say that. I swear! I immediately called my vet. I told her that I wanted Joey's leg removed. She again explained, that he was too old for such a radical surgery, etc., etc., etc.. I told her I understood all of that, but my Joey told me he wanted it done. My vet knew me very well. She knew I was a bit nuts, but she had a great deal of respect for me. As an active 'rescue', I had literally taken thousands of critters to that hospital. And, so many times, she had witnessed me nurse back to health, critters she had lost hope for. Surgery was scheduled for the next day. I assumed Joey would be very fragile when I picked him up after surgery. I expected we would spend the next few days in bed together. When I picked him up, I was taken aback by how he looked. I had not thought about how extensive a surgery it is, to remove a cat's back leg. Basically, it is the whole hip/side. The surgical scar was so long! He looked horrible. I cried. I took him home, and laid him on the bed. Immediately, Joey jumps up, goes flying through the house, and bounced around to visit each and every one of the critter kids in our family. He was so happy! I could not believe my eyes. From that day forward, Joey had a new lease on life. He became a kitten again. He lived an additional three years. Three great and wonderful years! His end, was very swift and gentle.
The 'Spiritual Health' woman asked if she could use my story about Joey. Of course, I said "please do". To this day, that story is still being told in that cancer center. I have a friend, who still needs to go there for checkups and treatments. She loves when she hears the story about my Joey. It makes her think of Hubby and me. It makes her smile.