Hi everyone! My name is Blackie and I am sable's pootie. My mom rescued me out of a tree when I was four weeks old and I have lived with my mom and dad for the last three years. I slept on the bed with them and sometimes I would curl up and sleep on top of my mom or dad. I still do that and when they know I am there and pet me, I purr.
I also had a job to do. When my dad had to get up early to go to work it was my job to make sure he heard the alarm. Sometimes I had to nip my mom on the head to make sure someone heard the alarm. Life for me was extremely good.
Until last June, I had a pretty easy life. Follow me for my tale.
I started to have a problem breathing. My parents took me to the vet and they discovered something really, really bad. It's called chylothorax. It's very rare but very serious. I had to have my lungs tapped and the vet drained out a lot of fluid from my lungs. My mom and dad decided they wanted more answers so I went for an ultrasound and CT scan to find out if anyone could figure out what was causing this. Unfortunately with this condition they could not. I didn't have heart failure, heartworms or a tumor. I did not fall or hurt myself. It was an unknown cause. When it is unknown it is called idiopathic.
The specialist told my mom and dad that they should give me an herb called Rutin three times a day. Sometimes it can help to control this and is the non-surgical option. It tastes bad and I don't like it but it did help for a few months. I could breathe normally and everyone thought I was over this. Unfortunately, the condition returned and in November I had to go back to the specialty clinic for another ultrasound. My mom and dad were very worried and talked to a surgeon. They found out that in the past surgery was not a good option as the chances of long-term survival were low. Additional research and improvements in surgical techniques made the long-term survival rate much better.
So my mom and dad decided that I should have the surgery. The surgeon told them to continue the Rutin until the day of the surgery. They also gave me a low-fat cat food and cat vitamins so that I can be in in good shape. The surgery is scheduled for later today. That is going to be their Christmas present, my health.
My mom told me about Daily Kos and how many Kossacks love their pooties. Any place that has a lot of pootie lovers has to be a good place so I thought I would share my story.
I know this is a busy time of year with everyone preparing for the holidays. But if everyone could send me good wishes I know that I can pull through. My mom and dad are very nervous about this. I am their pootie and they love me very much. I'm scared as well. I know it is going to hurt and I won't like that. But I can maybe, just maybe have a long life with my mom and dad.
Happy Holidays and thank-you.
Blackie
Update from Blackie's mom: We took Blackie to the clinic this afternoon. Since Northwest Veterinary Specialty Clinic is open twenty-four hours her operation is taking place right now. Before she left she was able to spend the day laying on top of her dad since he had the day off. During the ride he held her and talked to her for the trip. Daddy was the one that carried her into the clinic.
We learned that the operation will from two and a half to five hours. What they will do is inject dye into her lymphatic vessels to see where the hole or holes are. They then close those off. After that they inject more dye to make sure they are closed.
Then they move onto the next stage. What they have to do is remove a fluid sac that surrounds her little pootie heart. What the researchers have discovered is that in these types of cases the sac becomes harder than normal and that may put pressure on the thoracic duct.
The vet will be calling us very late tonight to let us know how the surgery went. We will let everyone know how Blackie did.
Update 2: We heard from the vet during the night. The surgery itself went fine however they did have a tense moment when they were almost finished. What they explained was that when they were going to do a final check with more dye Blackie's little heart slowed to the point that she almost did not make it. They had to close her right away for fear of losing her. The surgery had gone fine until her heart rate slowed. They put a tube in her chest to help with the drainage and when that stops we can bring her home to recuperate. She is resting and hopefully we can bring her home soon. Sorry about having everyone wait for more news but my husband had a lot of questions and I had to explain everything to him. He just left for work a few mintues ago and he is very tired.
They discovered something else. Her left lung has more scarring than the right one so at this point they don't know about the long-term condition of that one. We are keeping our fingers crossed that she can have a long life even if one lung may not be working at full capacity. They should know more later this morning so when I know something more I will update.
The love and support that everyone has shown has been wonderful. It has been a big help to keep our spirits up during this time. For that we say "thanks". I know Blackie could feel the support and love during her surgery and that helped her pull through.
Update 3: Blackie has taken a downturn. Her blood pressure dropped and her blood protein levels are at a level lower than what they would like. Complicating things further is that her blood type is "B" which is the rarest for pooties. They have a donor cat and they are giving her a transfusion. We are going to head back down to Portland this afternoon so that we can see her. Hubby is taking off early from work and I am going to pick him up. Please keep Blackie in your thoughts and we will update when we get the information.
Update 4: We just arrived home. We spent some time with Blackie. Her blood pressure is coming back up. Normal BP for a pootie is 100 and this morning hers was 60. They had just checked it before we got there and it had risen to 88. They checked it again before we left and it was 90. That is a good sign. She is on an IV and is getting lots of pain medication, and antibiotic and medicine to help raise her BP. They have a tiny BP cuff attached to her leg and they are constantly monitoring it.
She is also getting oxygen. When a pootie needs oxygen they can't use a canula so the clinic has a special crate with a plexiglass door that and the oxygen comes in through a hole in the crate wall.
Her red blood cell count is also up. The transfusion helped and they are trying to locate some more type "B" blood for her. "B" is the rarest of pootie blood types.
Blackie recognized us. My husband sat and petted her for the longest time and she curled her tail. He talked to her and told her to get better so that we could take her home. I put my finger down by her paw and she curled her little toes around it. She knew that we were there for her. She responded the best she could.
What the technicians at the clinic told me is that from their observations of pooties who have surgery it makes a huge difference to have their parents visit them. While no one has made a formal study, they have enough anecdotal evidence and first-hand observation to tell us that.
The next twenty-four hours will be critical. I know Blackie is receiving the healing energy that everyone has sent. For that we say a huge "Thank you."