The above line is my way of trying to find humor in a bad situation. I just got back from the ER. My finger grew much worse during the day. I had taken a marker to keep track of the redness and swelling and both were expanding I decided that waiting until tomorrow for my scheduled appointment (regarding a recheck of the foot) wasn’t going to work so off I went.
They ended up lancing the tip, draining and flushing it. Put me on antibiotics and pain killers and told me if I had hesitated longer my finger would have been lost! They did say that all the preventative measures I took stalled the process and didn’t make things worse. I am supposed to elevate my hand-and rest as much as possible for a few days. The darn thing is telling me I am still alive by throbbing to the beat of my heart.
So after much prayer and consideration, I have cancelled the neuter trip. I have to be at the top of my game working with these cats and right now, I’m not there. I let the coalition know of my decision and I have been told that more clinics are coming in a few weeks time so I will take advantage of that and get this colony in to be spayed unless the kitten comes back positive for rabies and again- I don’t think that is what was wrong with this baby. But I still haven’t heard back. I’ll call the vet in the morning and see if OSU has the results.
When I look back at the last few days and list everything that went wrong for this anticipated trapping- the list is impressive and daunting. For whatever reason this trip is not supposed to happen on my time schedule. I was told that if the kitten (who I named Weebles) is positive- the fate of the colony will no longer be my decision. The proper authorities will step in to make a determination at that time. Again- I think Weebles had nasty bacteria in her mouth- but I would think if this is rabies the other cats would be showing signs of it? They are sick with URI, oily coats, parasites but other then two kittens of the same age as weebles who had the same symptoms and have died- no one else is showing high aggression or other signs of furious rabies. So here I sit, typing with one finger and wait…and wait…and wait.
I think postponing the neutering trip is probably a good idea. Things didn’t look like they were going to be ready in time. Take care of yourself first. Without you in top shape, nothing else will work properly.
Thank you. My fear in sharing the reality of the moment is that I would lose all credibility. I went back to the docs this morning for the foot appt. and we talked about the possibility of the rabies series. It is 3 months of what my doctor says is probably the most painful shots on the planet and they are prohibitively expensive for the uninsured. The courier did not pick up the kitten’s body yesterday so I still do not know that outcome yet. I only have a window of a couple of days here from time of exposure and incubation period. If I said I wasn’t a bit nervous that would be a lie. Even my blood pressure showed my nervousness today I am afraid.