We are all under a death sentence from the day we are born. No one knows
when she is going to leave this world. The trick is to enjoy every moment
you have with Samantha. To hold her and love her and give her every treat
she wants and every cuddle she wants. Neither you nor she nor the doctors
know how long she will be around (refer to the email I sent earlier about
the 15 months The Royal Princess Kitty Katt lived when she was expected to
live 2-3 months). Do not rush Samantha's leaving. Kitty made it very plain
that she wanted to leave this world all by herself. Watching her do that
was extremely painful for me but, despite how weak she was, it was not
painful for her and it gave her time with the person (my Mom) she chose to
live with---and gave Mom time with Kitty. I learned a lot from Kitty Katt.
And I am still learning. Every time I tell her story I realize I have
learned so much from her. Take what I can tell you and try hard to apply it
to your relationship with Samantha. Enjoy the present.
If you have men who will
exclude any of God's creatures
from the shelter of
compassion and pity, you will have men who
will deal likewise with
their fellow man.
St.
Francis
----- Original Message -----
From: "Julia Hagstrom" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <felvtalk@felineleukemia.org>
Sent: Tuesday, June 20, 2006 12:25 AM
Subject: More info
Nina and Belinda,
I took my kitty to the Cancer Center today, and yes, she saw a specialist,
a Dr. who was filling in for Dr. Harris while she's on vacation, and
really knows her stuff. :) She made sure that the problem is lymphoma,
and said it is hiding in her lymph nodes, which is why she couldn't see
the mass clearly on the X-ray we brought from my regular vet (the vet I've
been taking her to since I got her). Unfortunately, when a tumor gets
into the lymph nodes and then the bones, it is a death sentence. I know
this because it's also what happened to my husband; he died of bladder
cancer, when the second tumor was in his body cavity, and surgery wasn't
an option. While he was trying to decide whether to take more aggressive
chemo for it, after having the tumor shrunk to the size of a golfball by
chemo and radiation, the tumor grew back very fast, and got into his lymph
nodes and bones. His Dr.s knew that it was the end for him, and he was
dead within a week's time after that. That's why I know that, no matter
what I do, Samantha will die, and I just don't see the point of doing the
chemo and radiation when it will only prolong her life by a few months,
not a very long time at all. If it were longer, I would consider it, but
I haven't got a job, right now, and so money has to be a very big
consideration, whether I want it to be or not. It would cost about
$1500.00 for just the radiation treatments, because that was the estimate
they gave me today, on top of the cost of her visit and treatment today.
She has been given a short-term chemo injection, and will receive 3 more
of these, but they won't last very long, and they will make her
comfortable. She is also on Children's Benadryl, to prevent an allergic
reaction to the second injection, and Prednisone. I want her to be
comfortable for as long as possible, but she isn't very strong, and I
don't know how long she'll last. I want to do right by her, but this is
all I can do. I won't prolong her life just for my own selfish ends, and
I won't keep her with me, if she is suffering greatly; I'll let her go,
and set her free. Thanks for all the advice, I really appreciate it.
I've received quite an education from all the Emails I've read from y'all,
and will continue to look forward to them.
Julia
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