Six weeks later, a small knot of string, the external portion of the internal dissolving stitches, was still extruding from my body. When I sneezed or yawned or even laughed hard, I could feel material inside my neck. Maybe some of it was simply the stiff gash of scar tissue (still very red and noticeable), but at least some of it was string inside my neck.
So Anne, my nurse, took a look at it. She reached out, touching the knot.
“Does that hurt?”
“Ow, yes.”
“Huh.” She quickly grabbed the knot and yanked it, pulling out a pink string about three inches long. “That wasn’t going to dissolve.”
All that stands between me and a career in medicine is a larger streak of sadism.
Dr. Ahmed: “This is the toughest cat I’ve ever seen.”
We know what will eventually kill Motley — kidney disease — but it looks like, once again, reports of her death have been greatly exaggerated. She has severe cataracts, and had diarrhea earlier today (such fun to clean out of a cat’s tail and nether regions), but all seems pretty much normal. At this rate, she’s going to outlive both of us.
(Above: Motley Sue takes advantage of me being sick)
Motley went to the doctor earlier this week. She has been indifferent to wet food (but eating dry food, in a strange reversal of normal behavior). She’s had diarrhea and her pupils were enlarged — a sign of stress and/or pain.
The doctor confirmed that her kidney disease had advanced significantly. He gave her appetite boosting shots and fluids to flush out her kidneys, but her appetite for non-dry food has been so-so at best.
She’s home right now, with pills to take (antibiotic and appetite boosting), but if she doesn’t start eating a lot more soon, it’s bad news. Her pupils are still enlarged as I type this, but she just got home, and the stress of the hospital may still be in effect (at her age, de-stressing takes a while).
We’ll know more about where she is health-wise in early next week. But right now, she’s clearly grateful to be out of Kitty Jail and relaxing in her cat bed.
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