I rushed Dylan to the vet a couple of days ago because his normally pink nose had gone almost pure white. By the time I got there, his nose was almost the normal color, but the vet checked him out, found nothing visible, but we decided to run blood and urine tests just in case.
It’s a good thing we did! Dylan’s T4 was abnormally high which is indicative of hyperthyroidism. The vet left a prescription at their pharmacy for me, which I’ll pick up tomorrow, but in the meantime, I scoured the internet for information, and requested a copy of his labs so I can discuss the results with the vet. Although I am comforted in the fact that hyperthyroidism is completely cureable using a radioactive iodine injection, it is not something I want to let go as it can lead to other problems as the overactive thyroid will tax his other organs.
Given what I just went through with Scooby, I am taking no chances with Dylan who is truly the cat of my soul. But I also want to make informed decisions. I believe the vet wants him on the meds for a month so we can make sure that the high T4 isn’t masking other issues like kidneys (just what we need after 4 years of medicating Loki!). So, after what I was able to find, I am more than willing to ensure that Dylan’s issue can be managed if not entirely cured! I told him, flat out, that I expect him to be around for at least another 10 years!
I’m trying to keep the energy around him very positive as I don’t want to cause him any issues as a result of negative energy from me. Maybe I should tuck him next to me on the sofa and watch a lot of silly stuff on tv, or bring up funny videos on YouTube? Whatever it takes, I will keep the energy positive and healthy to protect, not only Dylan, but all of the other kitties who are in my home, to love and be loved by me!
We all have our preferences, but for me, there is no doubt that mine is cats. I’d take in dozens if I could care for all of them properly, and lived somewhere where I didn’t have a city and nosy neighbors breathing down my neck. But since I currently have limitations, I work with what I have, and love the few while doing what I can to help those who have the capabilities to help so many more.
I was also gratified to see that child hunger and aiding our farmers was a big deal on the ACM’s tonight. I tend to be a bit militant about sending aid to other countries when children are starving and farmers are struggling right here! The Oprah’s and the Bono’s and their ilk can go on helping children in Africa. I won’t argue that they need help too. But let’s give our own the opportunity to survive and thrive before we get all wound up about the rest of the world. I truly believe that once we fix the problems here, we will be better able to make a real difference elsewhere.
Although I tend to disagree with those who put things out on social media about a child who needs a multimillion dollar operation, (which I actually saw in the last couple of days!) and saying things like “ask the professional athletes. They can surely afford to help this child!” Excuse me! I agree that it’s tragic that the child is so ill, but when did it become the responsibility of someone else, just because he has an extra large paycheck? If this line of reasoning were followed, the poor athletes, not to mention musicians and movie stars, would be inundated with demands that they help this child or that cause.
One would hope that people would be philanthropic to the extent they are able (and even $1 can help if that’s all you can afford to give!), but I believe that philanthropy should still be a choice, not something which is expected, and that the choice should also involve who and what the beneficiary of one’s philanthropy will be.
I am utterly appalled that people actually believe that it’s ok to ask a rich person to contribute a couple of million dollars so that one child can have an operation. Why is that one child more important than the thousands who could be fed and provided with clean water and medications with that same amount of money? To me, this is just another form of entitlement.
I’m sorry that the family has to endure such a tragedy, but to expect someone else to foot the bill is more than a little presumptuous. In their defense, I don’t recall if it was the family or someone else who suggested asking a professional athlete for the money, but whoever it was should take a step back and really think through what they’re proposing. If it were me being approached by someone like that, I’d make it clear that I donate to various organizations and that they need to go through the same channels anyone else with a gravely ill child would. That may sound callous, and I’m sure there are those who will ask what I’d do if it were my child. I will answer that by saying, although I can’t be absolutely certain what I would do under the same circumstances, I know that I would NOT approach someone because they were rich and/or famous and think they’d feel morally obligated to help a single child.
To summarize, I truly believe that we should all be philanthropic, within our own means. I don’t believe that anyone out there should expect to be the beneficiary of anyone’s philanthropy but should, instead, be grateful for it. However, the more we each spend time caring about the rest of humanity as well as all of the other creatures and causes on our planet, the better we’ll make this place we call home. Philanthropy is caring and caring is love. Love is what brings us all together.
My gratitudes tonight are:
1. I am grateful that I can be philanthropic, even if it’s just a drop in the bucket compared to what others might give.
2. I am grateful that we all have choices, and can make the ones which are important to us.
3. I am grateful for philanthropists in high profile positions who are leading by example.
4. I am grateful that we are all entitled to our opinions.
5. I am grateful for an abundance of love, friendship, prosperity and good health for my family (both blood and extended) and friends. And I am grateful that I have the opportunity to keep that good energy flowing.
Love and light.
