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