Surgery #2 Today

Thanks for all the well wishes and prayers for Wheezie (they mean a lot to me!) She goes in for her second surgery today...basically an exploratory surgery to find out what we are dealing with, and if it is something that can be fixed. She has been making some minor improvements, but she is not where the vets were hoping she would be after a week of ICU treatment. From the sounds of it... her prognosis is about 50/50, if that. But, I can't put a price on life... especially hers. She has brought so much joy (and a little snot! and attitude! ) to our lives. I am praying for the best, but almost expecting the worst (I guess I am trying to lessen the blow, should it come to that). It has definitely been a roller coaster ride of emotions lately. I guess I need to get myself in the frame of mind to put her well being and quality of life before my emotions. I just really don't want to be the one to make the decision.

Twinkies!

Ok... still waiting to hear about Wheezie. I tend to want snack cakes as a cheer me up type of food. Ho Ho's are my favorite to eat here at work (they put Hostess stuff in our vending machines...sorry little debbie!) Needing a pick-me-up, I went in search of some ho ho's. They have been out lately, but I saw the vending machine guys filling the machine up today. I thought that today maty be my lucky ho ho day! So, I grabbed my change and headed downstairs. ....

NO ho ho's! What a bummer. However, they did have twinkies. I spent a few minutes debating between Twinkies and Reece Peices...as we all know I love those too! But, in the end, I went with the twinkies since they were the closest thing to my original craving. And, eating twinkies always brings back such fond memories of college.

I will give $1 to the first person who can recall my famous Twinkie quote from senior year?!?!?!?

Surgery... Take 2 (maybe...)

Wheezie is still in the kitty ICU. They have been doing daily ultrasounds of her abdomen. There has been some fluid in there. It has lots of neutrophils in it...but no bacteria or food particles. She is still not eating on her own. She ate a little on her own on
Sunday...but other than that, she shows no interest in food. They have upped her syringe feeding from 5 cc's every 4 hours to 10 cc's every 4 hours. She is holding everything down ok. But... the vet is not happy with the progress, or lack there of, so far. She was hoping that Wheezie would be eating on her own by yesterday (Monday). And...the fluid she be gone. She is concerned that the antibiotics are just keeping a more serious problem from getting any worse...but it isn't making things much better either. So... it is looking like she is going to have to go in for surgery again. I have the worst feeling about this. Deep down...I don't think it is going to be good. They have been warning all along about some weak areas in her duodonum that they were unable to repair last time b/c of location. If those areas have gotten worse... there is nothing that they can do. I am really close to having an anxiety attack right now. If they are going to have to do surgery...I want it to be done sooner than later. I just want to know.

Oh ... I'm not going to be worth crap here at work today. There is no way that I am going to be able to concentrate on anything other than Wheezie.

The house feels empty with Wheezie away...

"The Wheeze" as Wheezie is so very often referred to as in our house is still at the VRCC in ICU. She has made some improvements. Her temp and heart rate are now normal. Her glucose levels still remain in the normal range...so that is good (they have been worried about pancreatitis, which would cause her levels to increase). The amount of fluid in her abdomen seems to have gone down from Saturday to Sunday... and upon evaluation of the fluid on Friday and Saturday, there was no bacteria or food mater in the fluid (just neutrophils). The fact that there was no bacteria or food is good! But, the presence of the fluid is still not good. We are hoping it was a residual pocket of fluid from the surgery that kind of flaired up when she went off of her antibiotics the first time around and she just needs some super duper TLC and drugs to get completely through this. They are still syringe feeding her...but she actually ate on her own yesterday too! this is the first time in quite a few days that she has done this! YAY!

keep the prayers coming!

I HATE WAITING!!!!!!!!

this is driving me crazy!! I just called the VRCC and they still haven't done the next ultrasound on Wheezie. The ultrasound will most likely determine what we do next....just give supportive care till she overcomes this or do surgery. this waiting is for the birds. ugh... this is going to kill me. I hate not knowing what is going on!! and poor wheezie...she still is showing no signs of eating on her own.

Wheezie is back in the kitty ICU

When I took Wheezie in to our normal vet... she only weighed 5.6lbs. I almost threw up... she was over 8lbs back in June before all this crap started. The vet was very concerned about her. But, was very honest with me and told me that she could run a bunch of test...but didn't think they would really show anything. She said to get her back to the specialist asap. I called the VRCC (Veterinary Referal and Critical Care) while driving home. B/c it was almost 5 (when the specialist go home) they told me to come first thing in the morning. I did. The doctor wanted to keep her to do some more ultrasounds. They were worried that one of the intestinal patches that they put in might be leaking or that she has some kind of blockage somewhere.

Luckily... the ultrasound didn't show anything major. So another surgery isn't in the immediate future. But, her liver enzyme values are elevated. Which may mean that b/c she hasn't been eating enough she may have developed fatty liver disease. Or... it could be pancreatitis. The specialists decided that the best thing to do right now is give her supportive care...fluids and meds and force feeding her every few hours. She is going to do another ultrasound today to see if having food in Wheezie's system will give her a better picture of her tummy and intestines.

I called this morning and talked to one of the ICU techs... she didn't have much info for me... other than Wheezie still isn't showing too much interest in eating and that they are still syringe feeding her.

Please say a prayer for my baby. I am really hoping that we don't have to go threw another surgery. I just wish it was like human ICU's and she had her own room with a chair or cot that I could sleep on next to her... heck, I would even curl up on the floor with her.

p.s. on a side note... Stachie now weighs 4.6 lbs!! what a little porker!! and he isn't even 4 months old yet! He is going to be a big kitty!!

p.p.s. Tipsy's cage arrived. I've got it all pimped out!! It took about a day, but I think she is finally getting to feel more comfortable in there. It came with a super plush cushion for one of the shelves! makes me almost want to sleep in there!!

Vet Appointments

"Stachie giving his big brother Milo a kiss goodnight!"


Wheezie and Stachie are going to the new vet today! Wheezie has a follow-up appointment to see how she is doing since surgery. She hasn't been eating that great over the last week. I think she has lost some weight... So I am a little worried about her. The surgeon kept reminding us that there may be some damage done by the string that has yet to rear its ugly head. I really hope that isn't the case. That would mean another trip to the specialist and possibly another surgery to see what is going on. She was doing really well about a week or so after the surgery...eating everything in site. Maybe we just need to put her back on some meds...

Stachie is just going in for his 3rd and final kitten distemper shot. I am very curious to see how much he weighs. He is getting soooo big!

and... we should have Tipsy's cage by tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully my back family room (aka the fireplace room) will be cleared out from all the kitchen work and we can set it up in there! She has been using the litter box just fine since she has been confined to the bathroom. I don't know what the deal is with her pottying everywhere but the litterbox when she has free run of the house. Maybe it is just too overwhelming for her and she is trying to establish some territory of her own. who knows. I wish I could get inside that little head of her...or atleast have a conversation with her to find out what is going on and try to help her get through it.