I'm Staying a Little Longer

"Hi... Mr. Chan?"

"Yes?"

"I'm Dr. Solomon. We did some bloodwork on Sylvester tonight and he is doing much better. The Maalox definitely helped a lot with his phosphorous levels. However, he is currently low on potassium and protein. I will start him on another pill called Tumilk to help bring up his potassium levels and hopefully when he starts eating again, his protein levels will come up. I will also give him Cyproheptadine. It is a drug that will help him get his appetite back. So, come in to pick him up and we will show you how to give him his medications and how to perform the fluid injection."

"Ok."

When I got there to the animal hospital, I watched a midage woman bring in a stray cat. The white and orange kitty still didn't have a name when asked by the medical clerk.

"Do you have other pets under our care or this is the only cat?"

"Oh yeah. I have two other pets under your care. If I didn't have them I would be all alone. I would go crazy", the midage woman dressed in unfashionable clothes and drove a dark colored 1980's boxy-looking car replied to the medical clerk. As she said the word "alone", she choked up and sounded teary and the rest of "I would go crazy" trailed off softly with a tone that said, "I know you don't care." And she was right, the medical clerk didn't care whether she was lonely or crazy... she just wanted to make sure she collected the payment.

I can't help but feel sorry for her. I know she isn't the only "lonely" person who spends her time with pets for companionship. A midage man brought in a stray a day before and he seemed lonely too. I felt lonely in that waiting room as well.

So, it turns out that Sylvester still has at least one life left in him and he is holding onto it with determination. This morning was the first time I gave him "kitty dialysis". I hung the plastic bag of fluid in the kitchen where a house plant use to hang and proceeded with the needle set up. I was told to hang the bag as high as I could for the fluids to flow more quickly. With a snap, a push, and a pull, I got the needle ready for his dialysis. I stuck the needle him and watched a patch of fur slowly rise from the fluids. I gave him 100ml of fluids to help hydrate him and to flush out the toxins. Throughout the whole pilling and needle sticking process this morning, he didn't flinch one bit; as if he knew that he needed it to survive.