Post Surgery Update

Our sweet girl is on the mend!

We picked her up from the hospital yesterday evening after work and it was definitely a rough night on all of us.
Obviously Kinny was frightened a bit coming home and wanted to hide right away but had some trouble since she can only hobble around on 3 legs.  Not to mention she's on pain meds and had surgery only the day before.  But, we all were so glad she was home! She's slowly coming around to her home surroundings again and we had a good day together today.

Thankfully, I was able to take today off of work.  (Actually, I was taking today off no matter what because I was not going to abandon my girl once we got her home.)  We were worried about her hurting her recovery, so she slept in her cat bed in the living room and I slept on the couch right next to her, in case she needed me.  Around 4 this morning, she woke up and had a bit of food and some water which were also right next to her bed and then let out a huge wail.  I woke D up and we all sat in the hallway for about 30 minutes trying to figure out what was wrong and what we should do before deciding to all go back to sleep in our bedroom.
D had to get up for work so Kinny and I decided that we'd just keep sleeping for awhile and that we did...well after 10 am in fact.

Thanks D for taking a pic of us sleeping this morning.

The rest of the day we just decided to rest and take it easy.  I know I have not had a day off in a few years where I did nothing besides rest; probably the last time was when I was hospitalized back in 2013. It was definitely needed on my part and I'm hoping it helped Kinny's recovery.  My mom is coming over to spend tomorrow with Kinny and then D and I will be home the remainder of the weekend.  We are relieved to put the surgery behind us and we know Kinny has quite a recovery ahead of her but we're ready to help her any way we can.  She's our baby and the best kitty girl ever!

Stress makes us stronger...or so they say

I have been meaning to post another update because so much has happened over these last 7 months but somehow I never found the time or just thought whatever was going on wasn't exciting enough to talk about.  Maybe my normal suburban life isn't all that crazy or exciting but I am going to make more of an effort to blog about it.

It's crazy that my last post was about the 2 year anniversary of adopting our sweet girl Kinny back in March.  She's still the best part of my life besides D and honestly she's the one who keeps me going when all I want to do is give up.

We had quite a bit of stress we've been dealing with over the last couple days with Kinny.  What should have been a routine checkup at the Vet has turned into one of my worst nightmares and I'm hoping that my faith and constant prayer will help mend her.
On Saturday, we took Kinny in for a checkup and teeth cleaning.  Thankfully we have Banfield's Wellness Plan that allows for us to take her in twice a year for a comprehensive exam and medical tests.  This was her normal checkup and really we weren't worried about anything taking her in.  She's still her same sweet, cuddly and bubbly self.

Kinny hitting the weights.

The doctor at Banfield ran all of her tests and noticed that her Potassium was in a dangerous level.  She also noticed that the tumor on her right arm, which was previously benign, had grown in size.  We have the tumor checked on every visit and in the past it was even biopsied to make sure that it was not cancerous.  We were told that it was just fatty tissue and over the years we've accepted that because it hasn't caused her any problems.  To be honest, I'm not sure if it is causing her problems right now or if she's just that strong of a girl that she's pushing through any pain and discomfort. Knowing my feisty girl, she probably just figures she's not going to let it slow her down.

In any case, we had additional tests and x-rays completed just to make sure nothing was life threatening.  The results have been terrifying.  After a biopsy and x-ray, our Vet showed us the results. The reason why Kinny's Potassium is high is due to the tumor. They believe she has Tumor Lysis Syndrome.  Kinny's tumor, if left untreated will eat away at the bones in her arm, causing her to become paralyzed.  There is not a prescription that will treat this and the only treatment available is amputation.  It has hit both D and I hard!

Our Vet also encouraged that we visit an emergency vet clinic last night to have her Potassium levels checked again.  Thankfully, her Potassium levels were back to normal but they are still fearful that left untreated her life with be shortened.
So we're proceeding with the recommendation from our Vet and we've got a consultation tomorrow morning with the surgeon at the specialty clinic.

I've been beating myself up over the past day and a half wondering what I could have done differently so that my sweet girl wouldn't have to go through this.  I feel like I've failed as Kinny's protector and mom.  My only hope is that once the surgery is complete, she is back to 100%.  I know there are a lot of animals that survive with only 3 legs and that many cats thrive after facing this sort of health issue.  My girl is definitely a fighter and I will always try to be the best protector and mom I can be to her because she's my companion and #1 fan.

Please keep my Kinny girl in your thoughts and prayers.