Happy Sunday

Happy Sunday!  I hope you’ve had a good week & had an even more wonderful Thanksgiving holiday! smilie#25

I only have two things that I AM HAPPY about this week.  But they are BIG things & I am truly grateful for both! smilie#6

First, as painful as it was, I AM HAPPY that my darling Precious (a.k.a. Elder Kitty) passed peacefully from this world, without months or even weeks of illness & suffering.  I miss her terribly & would have done anything I could have to keep her with me, of course, but I also know she’s okay now & that I’ll see her again one day.

Second, I AM HAPPY that on the heels of losing Precious, I got some truly wonderful, miraculous news:  Simon is officially FeLV-negative!  Long story, & if you haven’t been following the tale, I won’t bore you again with the details.  Suffice to say that when I first rescued Simon, he tested FeLV-negative; I never gave it another thought or worry after that.  Then last month, when I had him to the vet for a UTI, they didn’t have a record of the test, so they did another one…which came back positive!  How?!  WTH?!  Don’t ask—I have no idea.  To say I was heartbroken & devastated is a huge understatement.

But I did some research & learned that every FeLV-positive test done in-office should also be redone (in a different, more detailed way) via an outside laboratory.  (In-office tests are “snap”/ELISA; independent lab tests are IFA.)  Yes, it costs a bit more, but the IFA test can tell if it’s a matter of the cat simply being exposed to the virus when they were young & possibly fighting it off, or if they’re truly infected & contagious.  So I waited until his UTI was cleared up, then took him back in & insisted on having more blood drawn & sent away for the second, IFA test.  And I prayed.  Prayed & prayed & prayed, & believed, believed, believe.  I believe in miracles.  I believe bad news can turn to good & illness can be healed, & if ever I was going to believe for a miracle, it was for my sweet, innocent Simon.

It took a week, & I was certainly in a bad state of grieving when the call finally came.  But even through the pain of losing Precious, I continued to pray for Simon & offer up my suffering for Simon’s good health.  And it worked, THANK YOU, GOD!!!  As soon as the doctor identified herself, I swear my heart stopped; I was truly terrified of what I would hear.  But then she said, “The IFA test results are back, & they’re completely negative.”  After I regained consciousness & picked myself up off the floor, I quizzed the holy heck out of her & must have asked a dozen times, “Are you sure?  Are you really, really sure?”  Even after she assured me she was & admitted she didn’t know why he went from negative to positive to negative again (I think God was testing me, don’t you?), I still walked around in stunned disbelief.  And then I started crying again—this time in complete & total happiness.  I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy or relieved or thankful! smilie#13

That may not be all the things I’m actually happy about & grateful for this week, but it sure is enough for now.  It may be enough for the rest of my life. smilie#24

How about you—what great, wonderful, gratitude-worthy stuff is going on with you this week?  I can’t wait to keep this celebration going by adding my happy dance to yours, so let’s hear it! smilie#3

Comments

11 Comments  •  Comments Feed

  1. Donna A says:

    I am happy that I got to take my girls to a rockin concert for my daughters birthday and that my son had a good birthday as well. I am happy I got to spend Thanksgiving with loved ones and good food. I am happy about the news about Simon I know it must be a big relief. I am honestly blown away by your outlook re: Princess and am going to try to emulate when it becomes necessary.

    On November 30, 2014 at 9:43 am

    • Heidi says:

      Awesome, Donna – who did you see?

      I’m glad you had a nice Thanksgiving; it’s always so important to enjoy these holidays when you can be with family & loved ones because those are the memories you keep close to your heart when you can’t be with them. smilie#29

      Oh, Simon’s new, hopefully definitive diagnosis still has me in shock. There are days I can’t quite believe it, then I stop & make myself go back to being incredibly grateful for fear things will go back to being BAD again. Nope, nope, nope. smilie#1

      Trust me, there have been boatloads of tears over losing Precious. Once in a while when I look outside toward the garage where she’s buried, I break down. Or if I go to do something for here & realize she’s not there…see something of hers that she won’t use anymore…*SOB* But I try to remember how strong & resilient she was, how much I tried to make every minute of her life happy, & I just hope I gave her the life she deserved for as long as I could. And I trust that she’s safe in Heaven now, with my dad & my other babies who have gone before her, & that one day I’ll see her again. smilie#32 And then, of course, there are moments when I can barely function for the grief.

      On November 30, 2014 at 2:07 pm

  2. Brooke C says:

    I am so so happy to hear that Simon is FeLV negative! It makes me really happy to hear that you got such good news and can thankfully stop worrying about Simon’s health for the time being. smilie#12 smilie#11 I’m also happy that you can see the positive in Precious’s passing and know that she’s in a better place, hanging out with your Dad and waiting for you to join her. It’s so hard to lose loved ones, so being able to see something positive in it is always a good thing.

    In my life, I’m happy that I finished a few big projects this week and I’m almost done a another couple. I have so much on my plate right now, that every little bit helps smilie#10

    On November 30, 2014 at 3:48 pm

  3. Mary Kirkland says:

    So happy to hear about Simon. That is great news.

    I am happy that my family were able to come for Thanksgiving and that they had a good time.

    On November 30, 2014 at 4:15 pm

    • Heidi says:

      Thanks, Mary! You have no idea how relieved I was when I got the news. I still have to shake my head once in a while, afraid it might not be true. smilie#30

      I’m so glad you had a nice Thanksgiving! I hope you had lots of yummy food with your family, too. smilie#20

      On November 30, 2014 at 6:06 pm

  4. Dee says:

    I am sooo sooo happy to hear about Simon. That is great news!

    As far as me…well today I went to Mass for a special reason – the parish my parents attend was celebrating people with milestone anniversaries and this year my parents celebrated 50 years of marriage. On a bonus note, my siblings and I ran into a blast from the past – our fourth grade teacher, whose daughter was celebrating her 25th anniversary.

    Secondly, I have not really talked about it a lot, but in April I’ll be maid of honor for my sister’s wedding. I’m excited about it.

    Thanksgiving was small this year, but I am grateful for a pretty good year and hope 2015 is wonderful as well.

    smilie#12

    On November 30, 2014 at 7:09 pm

    • Dee says:

      Also, I sent one of my best friends an early Christmas gift…you see, she used to be my roommate and when I moved back to NY I could not take the cats with me. So I’ve been an absentee cat mommy, while she does all the day to day work. I decided to create a cat calendar using pics of the fur babies and sent it to them. I was feeling really sentimental and I hope they enjoy it.

      On November 30, 2014 at 7:21 pm

    • Heidi says:

      Oh, that’s so nice—both the 50th anniversary & the upcoming wedding. So much excitement for you right now! :smiley36

      On December 1, 2014 at 12:02 am

Sign Up for Heidi's Newsletter

Join my mailing list for the latest book news, photos of hunky heroes, contests, and tons of fun features!