great idea!
On 5/25/05, Nina <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Jamie,
> Thank you for that eloquent and loving tribute to Andy and all our very
> special friends. Gloria was looking for articles to include in her
> newsletter, I think your tribute should be published so that more people
> might understand that the opportunity for life we give to these angels in
> fur is not just for their benefit, but infinitely more so, for ours.
> Nina
>
>
> Jamie Laws wrote:
>
>
>
>
> I just read Lisa's post about little Akira and was struck by something she
> said. The part about what they teach us. The "why me, why this cat" will
> drive you insane. I mean you just love them so much and they are so
special
> that you have to wonder WHY? Well I think I know.
>
> Perhaps I am biased, but I can tell you there was something about Andy. I
> mean I love my other 2 cats, but Andy had the "It" factor. People were
> drawn to him. People who don't like cats liked him. He was so
handsome and
> so sweet and so... well, cool. So why do I think he was stricken with
Felv?
> Because he is unforgettable. He makes an impression on anyone who meets
> him. When I moved to Georgia 3 months after he was diagnosed, I went
to the
> first vet in the phone book- Accute Care Veterinary Clinic- because he was
> so sick and I knew no one in that town. There, Dr. Brucker, like may vets,
> was telling me it was hopeless. Unbeknown to me, Andy was in his
> hemobartinella bout at that point but the vet heard me say "felv" and all
> desire to treat that cat flew out the window on his part. So I took him
> home to die at that point. This was 6 YEARS ago and he just died
yesterday.
> So I get on the List and email like mad. Then Pam, Rissa-Tai's mom, posts
> and said "MAKE that man test for hemobartinella!" I had no clue what that
> even was. Pam did b/c Rissa had suffered through it. Back we go to
the vet
> and Dr. B tells me he doesn't want me to "waste" $50 on that test,
> especially when they can have it and it won't show on the test anyway. But
> at Pam's insistence, I insisted. That is what Rissa-Tai did. She saved
> Andy. And many others I'm sure, but here is an instance where I can
> directly link a life saved because of HER bravery and suffering. So we did
> the test and it was positive! He sent me home with some Doxycycline and
> said "don't expect miracles." That cat's RBCs shot up and he was running
> around and playing again almost overnight. The vet was stunned. So for 2
> years we had an understanding that he would never count Andy out like that
> again and we were TREATING him for LIFE not managing him for death. At the
> end of the 2 years I came into the clinic and said I needed my records
> copied since my husband was out of the Army and we were moving back to
> Texas. Dr. Brucker looked like I punched him in the gut. Then
proceeded to
> tell me how much he learned from me and Andy and how he would forever
change
> the way he approached the treatment of Felv+ cats. So there is one thing
> Andy did. How many cats were saved because this vet changed his attitude
> about Felv? And just now at this new vet, Dr. Baxter was stunned at how
> long he lived and really picked my brain about what I had done for Andy all
> these years. So I told him about the List, and stress management,
> Interferon, the various supplements, etc. He was familiar with most of it,
> but now had reason to SUGGEST IT TO FUTURE PATIENTS! He said they succumb
> to it anyway, and I said but look how much time you can get with them
if you
> treat it. Just thing about HIV+ people. They will eventually die from
AIDS
> but you don't know when and the better they are taken care of the longer
> their life will be. So I think Andy made an impact there too.
>
> Of course I have to mention James' cat Vyvyan whose battle with Felv
> inspired him to create this website and this wonderful place for us to come
> together and share, learn, laugh and cry together. Many thanks to
James and
> Vyvyan for that.
>
> They come into our lives for a fleeting moment and touch us so deeply. But
> like all of us, their purpose is much greater than to bring the joy and
love
> and fulfillment that they do end up bringing to our lives. That is just a
> fabulous, beautiful byproduct. So Andy, Vyvyan, Akira, Rissa-Tai and
all of
> your wonderful babies served a much greater good. For me, I am clinging to
> what I know in my soul to be true. That wonderful creature came into my
> life and changed me at my core. I became heavily involved in animal rescue
> because of him on top of everything else. I would have never done that if
> it was not for Andy. They say you cannot know true joy without knowing
true
> sorrow. I believe that, and I now know that I have experienced true sorrow
> through the loss of Andy. The selfish side of me wants him here, whole and
> healthy. I don't want him to be gone, yet helpful to others. I won't deny
> that. I want him back so much. But he did what he was sent to do and
he is
> gone now. Before we went back to the vet yesterday afternoon, I explained
> to Andy about the Rainbow Bridge and that he would be there in a few
minutes
> so just hang on for me. And soon, but hopefully not TOO soon, I will come
> pick him up from there and we will go on to Heaven. So that is where we
> stand now and I just hope God will grant me the gift of relief from this
> unbearable pain.
>
> Thanks once again to everyone for your kind words, emails and support
> through this.
>
> Jamie
>
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--
MaryChristine
AIM / YAHOO: TenHouseCats
MSN: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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