Hello again!

Hey Joyrex! I started a new thread with a point and some content for you. I was trying to catch up with people I haven't spoken to in s long time but I guess that takes away from the super serious threads all over general banter.

In the beginning of June I moved to a new apartment. I went from a condo downtown with a balcony to a ground level apartment in a quiet neighborhood. My cats were indoor/outdoor before I moved from Virginia. So for the last few years they've been cooped up inside.

Everyone was happy with this place. They could come in and out as they pleased, I didn't have to keep a litter box for them, abd the best part is they would come when I called them! It ruled.

On the night of July 1st my smaller cat Walter went out the kitchen window like he normally does. About half an hour later I wake up to him making really strange noises on my floor. I turn on the light to find him laying on my floor struggling to breath. His eyes looked terrible and he had blood around his mouth. My first thought was that he had been attacked by a dog or racoon but I had no way of telling. I called a cab and put him in a carrier and we went to the emergency vet.

There were only a few people there when we arrived. There was no line for him to be seen. I was handed a clipboard with basically a menu of treatments, each with a price. I checked all of them I think. I wanted my cat to be okay. A few minutes later they came out and told me he had been hit by a car. Both of his lungs were collapsed and the blood around his mouth was from a scrape on his chin, the least of his worries. I then spoke with the woman he was being treated by. She told me there was no way of knowing whether or not he would make it at this point. They'd gotten the air out of his lungs for now, and x-rays showed no broken bones, but they still had tests to run.

At this point the minimum charge for keeping him overnight was $1500. I asked how high it could get and she said, depending on if he gets worse and what they need to do, up to 8-9,000. They would know more in a few hours.

It was about 2am at this point. I called my work and left a voicemail that I would not be in to work later. I paid them the 1,500 minimum and called a cab. Before I left they let me go in the back and see him. He was mostly under a blanket and heavily sedated. They had him in this little oxygen tank so I could only reach in a small door to touch his head. That's when it became too much and I had to leave.

I called my mom who lives about 3 hours to let her know what was going on. She said she was driving up and would see me around 5:30. I got home and tried to sleep for a few hours. Around 5am I called my dad in Florida to ask for help. He was understanding and got a joint credit card raised by like 4000. That was amazing. I thanked him and he said to let him know if I needed anything else.

My mom showed up that morning and we drove to the emergency vet. They said Walter had done well overnight but still was not out of the woods. He was safe to transport though so we took him to a regular vet closer to where I live. They only wanted 500 for the day.

That night he was able to come home. His lungs were holding air and he had no signs of internal injuries. We let him out if the crate. He walked slowly to my bed, stepped up to it, and fell asleep. He slept for a few hours, got up to pee in the box, went back to sleep.

He's fully recovered now. His shaved sides are growing back, and the only real lasting sign is a chipped fang that makes him look like a total bad ass. Neither of my cats are allowed outside again though. Fuck that.

2 days after he got home my dad was hit by a car in Florida while riding on his scooter. He had 5 broken ribs and a collapsed lung on his left side. I flew down the day after to see him. It was rough. He was unconcious and on a respirator. In the following weeks his lung, both lungs actually, developed ARDS and ceased to function. At this point I got a call from his girlfriend (a registered nurse) saying I should come back to see him, "and bring the will."

I flew down again. They switched him to some crazy type of respirator. By the time I left he had turned a corner and his lungs were finally getting better after 6 weeks of deterioration. It's been about 11 weeks since his accident and he us still in the hospital. They've had him sedated the entire time so he missed his birthday and the start of the school year. Even with daily improvement he's expected to be under at least a few more weeks. After this he's going to still have a lot of physical rehabilitation.

And that's how I spent my summer.

fucking healthcare man. get pet insurance.

Wow that's awful. I wish him well in his recovery.

pets plus roads equals tragedy. my neighbor got a new puppy, let it go out on the lawn, and a few minutes later it was roadkill.

also, fuck cars.

  On 9/24/2009 at 9:35 PM, zelah said:

Hey Joyrex! I started a new thread with a point and some content for you. I was trying to catch up with people I haven't spoken to in s long time but I guess that takes away from the super serious threads all over general banter.

 

In the beginning of June I moved to a new apartment. I went from a condo downtown with a balcony to a ground level apartment in a quiet neighborhood. My cats were indoor/outdoor before I moved from Virginia. So for the last few years they've been cooped up inside.

 

Everyone was happy with this place. They could come in and out as they pleased, I didn't have to keep a litter box for them, abd the best part is they would come when I called them! It ruled.

 

On the night of July 1st my smaller cat Walter went out the kitchen window like he normally does. About half an hour later I wake up to him making really strange noises on my floor. I turn on the light to find him laying on my floor struggling to breath. His eyes looked terrible and he had blood around his mouth. My first thought was that he had been attacked by a dog or racoon but I had no way of telling. I called a cab and put him in a carrier and we went to the emergency vet.

 

There were only a few people there when we arrived. There was no line for him to be seen. I was handed a clipboard with basically a menu of treatments, each with a price. I checked all of them I think. I wanted my cat to be okay. A few minutes later they came out and told me he had been hit by a car. Both of his lungs were collapsed and the blood around his mouth was from a scrape on his chin, the least of his worries. I then spoke with the woman he was being treated by. She told me there was no way of knowing whether or not he would make it at this point. They'd gotten the air out of his lungs for now, and x-rays showed no broken bones, but they still had tests to run.

 

At this point the minimum charge for keeping him overnight was $1500. I asked how high it could get and she said, depending on if he gets worse and what they need to do, up to 8-9,000. They would know more in a few hours.

 

It was about 2am at this point. I called my work and left a voicemail that I would not be in to work later. I paid them the 1,500 minimum and called a cab. Before I left they let me go in the back and see him. He was mostly under a blanket and heavily sedated. They had him in this little oxygen tank so I could only reach in a small door to touch his head. That's when it became too much and I had to leave.

 

I called my mom who lives about 3 hours to let her know what was going on. She said she was driving up and would see me around 5:30. I got home and tried to sleep for a few hours. Around 5am I called my dad in Florida to ask for help. He was understanding and got a joint credit card raised by like 4000. That was amazing. I thanked him and he said to let him know if I needed anything else.

 

My mom showed up that morning and we drove to the emergency vet. They said Walter had done well overnight but still was not out of the woods. He was safe to transport though so we took him to a regular vet closer to where I live. They only wanted 500 for the day.

 

That night he was able to come home. His lungs were holding air and he had no signs of internal injuries. We let him out if the crate. He walked slowly to my bed, stepped up to it, and fell asleep. He slept for a few hours, got up to pee in the box, went back to sleep.

 

He's fully recovered now. His shaved sides are growing back, and the only real lasting sign is a chipped fang that makes him look like a total bad ass. Neither of my cats are allowed outside again though. Fuck that.

 

2 days after he got home my dad was hit by a car in Florida while riding on his scooter. He had 5 broken ribs and a collapsed lung on his left side. I flew down the day after to see him. It was rough. He was unconcious and on a respirator. In the following weeks his lung, both lungs actually, developed ARDS and ceased to function. At this point I got a call from his girlfriend (a registered nurse) saying I should come back to see him, "and bring the will."

 

I flew down again. They switched him to some crazy type of respirator. By the time I left he had turned a corner and his lungs were finally getting better after 6 weeks of deterioration. It's been about 11 weeks since his accident and he us still in the hospital. They've had him sedated the entire time so he missed his birthday and the start of the school year. Even with daily improvement he's expected to be under at least a few more weeks. After this he's going to still have a lot of physical rehabilitation.

 

And that's how I spent my summer.

Welcome back, sorry for your Dad, hope he makes a full recovery, thanks for the content-filled thread.

damn, sorry z :( i'm glad he's hangin in there

WHAT THE FUCK

Jesus dude, really sorry to hear this, I hope your father gets well and your cat gets better. I shall spare a thought for you and your family this evening.

I went out to the end of my drive to wait for the bus one morning back in elementary school. My cat's crushed corpse was right where my bus picked me up. It was slightly traumatizing. When I got home from school, the body was gone but you could still see the blood stains.

thank you razor ramon

here's him the day he came home

you can see his shaved side, buzzed chin, and swollen paw from the IV

the next day, featuring Tony

now he's as bullshit a man as ever, i'm glad.

jesus zelah.

jessus.

crazy. absolutely fucking crazy. it's just so crazy that your dad actually rides a scooter.

WHOA. Greatly written. I find it messed up that both your dad and cat got hit by a car and had lung injuries.

Good read.

poor kitty. i don't believe my cat should be an outside cat, he's still very playful and kitten like in ways. he lives with my mom though so it's not really up to me. i saw him across the street the other day from my mas house and i got very protective. he gets in fights too with other cats (and dogs). but i don't think he's smart enough to outwit a speeding car.

sorry bout your day too z. it's funny how shit can happen in multiples.

some one publish a cliffnotes for this thread

  On 9/25/2009 at 6:43 AM, Producer Snafu said:

some one publish a cliffnotes for this thread

sure thing buddy!

good post zelah.

i could have read a thread about your dad getting hit by a car and it wouldn't have made me tear up like i did for your cat