Pole Dancing

I forgot that I had started this post. This major milestone week happened in October. Sorry for the delay.

When I started this blog, I had planned on posting at least once a week. In reality, my life is not that interesting. And when you are sick, you spend a lot of time sitting home doing nothing. Not exactly inspiration for great prose. But when it rains, it pours. I hit three major milestones/events in less than a week.

The first is sad. We had to put down our beloved cat, Buster. Her full name is Bustopher Jones from T.S. Elliot's Book of Practical Cats. She is all gray with white paws and a white chest and belly. Like a little tuxedo. We had a vet tell us she was male which is why she has a boy name. Needless to say, we did not go back to that vet. We bought her from the pet department at Swallen's department store for $3.00. She was asleep, sitting on a ledge in the cage and she kept wavering back and forth, like she was going to topple over any second. We didn't go in looking for a cat. We had one already and it had just been two days since our second cat had died. We were still grieving but this little kitten was pulling at our hearts.

That was almost 20 years ago. She had started to lose some weight last winter and it had become harder for her to keep her food down. We switched her to wet food and she seemed to get a little better. And then I was diagnosed and Buster's health was put on the backburner. It got to the point to where we couldn't ignore her anymore. She was wanting to be fed every 2 hours. She stopped grooming herself and her once beautiful coat was all matted and smelled. She cried all the time and was unsteady when she walked. We took her to the vet and he seemed to think she had thyroid problems. He took some blood and gave her a prescription. The blood work though, showed she was in renal failure. We could try prescription food, but it did not look good. And it did not get better. She would not eat the food so she was not getting the medicine she needed. As hard as it was for me to have to let go, we knew we could not let her suffer anymore. I held her in my arms as the doctor gave her the injections. I don't think I have ever felt so much sadness over the loss of a pet before.

Two days later, I celebrated my 50th birthday. And yes I mean celebrate. I never quite understood women who don't like to disclose their age. I don't like getting old, but that's life. And now in a battle for my life, getting older is a good thing. I'm still here and that's more important than worrying about my age.

The last milestone was my last chemo treatment. This was definitly cause for celebration. I came prepared. I had my hot pink wig and a pink feather boa. I did a little jig and danced around my IV pole before the nurse unhooked me. Yes, I was pole dancing. I may have looked like a fool, but it felt good. I still have another surgery, radiation and Herceptin therapy ahead, but the worst is over. I look forward to getting some of my energy back and just feeling good again.

It's nice to have milestones. They let us know we're moving forward. I wish they could all be good but the sad ones have their place too. Til next time,

Love,

Sherry