Dear Sponsors of Rose,
Almost 9 years ago a sweet black and white southern kitty named Rose came into my heart when I was asked to become her Special Needs Correspondent. I clearly remember the first time Rose and I sat together on the floor of her suite, she sat on my notebook and prevented writing, only talking. I promised Rose that my goal as her correspondent was to share her love and light with her caring sponsors. In Rose’s words, we blended like sweet tea and lemon, and my love for her blossomed over the years.
The past month there has been a noticeable change in Rose, she has become very quiet and remains hidden in the lobby. Her usual hunts for extra food dishes have stopped. I don’t have a veterinary background but could feel in my gut that this was not any of Rose’s usual illnesses. I tried to put the thought out of my head, but my heart told me that Rose was experiencing an illness like the one that almost took her life 4 years ago, literally to the day.
The vet team at Tabby’s Place ran every test imaginable on Rose, and nothing definitive appeared. They acted quickly to get Rose a consult with the Neurologist who saved her 4 years ago. Our Senior vet tech, Denise, who has been so instrumental in Rose’s care, drove her to the specialty hospital. An MRI confirmed our worst fears.
What follows is the medical update directly from our Senior Vet Tech, Denise: For those of you who remember, back in July 2018, Rose gave us quite the scare when she developed an infection in her brain. At that time, there was a lesion on her lumbar spine that we never got to explore because we didn’t know if she was going to survive. When she recovered, she did so well… until recently. Unfortunately, the infection in her brain has returned with a vengeance. It is bilateral this time, compressing her brain and obstructing cerebral spinal fluid flow causing a secondary hydrocephalus (fluid on the brain). In addition, the lesion on her spine is much larger to the point that that neurologist said he didn’t know how she was still walking. We still don’t know what the lesion is- infection vs tumor. She is not stable enough to go through diagnostics for that at this point- we have to save her brain first. We still have a chance to save her, so we are doing everything we can. This is very serious and unfortunately painful for her which is why she is hiding all the time and not wanting to be handled. For now, we need to handle her minimally and give her the space and time necessary to see if she responds to the medication. Please keep her in your thoughts.
Yesterday I wiped my tears and proudly put on my “Rose t-shirt,” and had the honor of picking Rose up from the specialty hospital. She recognized my voice and was much more alert than I had seen her in a while. I thought she might need a snack, so I gave her 2 lickable treats, which were gone in 30 seconds! On the drive back to Tabby’s Place, I kept the fingers of my right hand in the crate, petting Rose, and sharing stories of our adventures. Since you are Rose’s beloved sponsors, I can share a secret with you – I make up silly songs for Rose and sing them to her – I think her favorite is “Rose, Rose has 4 toes.”
Rose is being closely monitored by everyone at Tabby’s Place. She is on a very long course of broad spectrum antibiotics, steroids and pain medication. Her neurologist (and all of us) are hopeful. Today she had an appetite and her eyes sparkled. Truth be told, we all know that Rose is a beautiful and brave fighter. I see this as a new chapter, not an ending. Rose has a long road ahead; and she is blessed to have you by her side on this journey. Sending whisker kisses from Rose!
Your Correspondent,
Ilene
PS: We’ll keep you posted on any major developments with our Southern belle. But, rest assured that “no news is good news,” and you’ll be the first to know of anything significant. Thank you for making it possible for us to give Rose the best care in the whole world!