Izzy Update + Card

Thank you all SO MUCH for the sweet comments and positive thoughts you sent our way. Yesterday was one of the longest days I've had in recent memory and one of the most stressful. I dropped Isabel off at the vet office at 8 am. I was able to leave her basket for her so that she could feel a little more comfortable in the cage. Then I came home and cleaned like a mad woman. I needed to occupy my mind.

By 3:00 pm, I hadn't heard from the vet office. They all know me there and know that I like to receive updates about my little ones, so I decided to call to see what was going on. The gal I spoke with said that Isabel was resting comfortably in her basket. I was happy to hear that.

An hour later, I received a call from one of the techs, and here's where the story takes a most peculiar turn. She said that the vet had not been able to see Isabel just yet. I can say for certain that I was not a happy mama at that point. My girl had been at their office for eight hours just sitting in a cage. She hadn't eaten in about 20 hours because I had to take the food away from her the previous night to prepare her for surgery. I asked if the dental would be done by the time I picked her up, and she said that they wanted to keep Isabel overnight at no charge so that the dental could be done the following morning. "But wait," I said. "The reason she's having everything done today is so that she only needs to go under anesthesia once to do both the ultrasound + biopsy and the dental surgery." The girl then informed me that she didn't need to go under for the ultrasound although that's not what I was told this past weekend. Confused yet? Yeah, so was I.

I'm going to spare you all a long and convoluted story by cutting to the chase. Isabel had her ultrasound without being put under. I expressed my complete disappointment to the staff about their lack of communication to me throughout the day and the incorrect information I received this past weekend from several of their techs. I also told them that I was not happy that my poor kitty had to endure a day without food due to misinformation. Furthermore, I asked what was the point in making an appointment at all if that appointment was not going to be kept? I truly understand that emergencies arise in a vet hospital. I should know - I used to work as a vet tech, but not keeping me informed as to what was going on and keeping my kitty at the office for 11 hours (yes, it wasn't until 7:00 pm that I was able to take her home) with no food was unacceptable in my book. That's all I'm going to say about that.

Now, onto her results. Her senior blood panel is all within normal range except for a high white cell count which is indicative of infection. We know she has an infection in her two front teeth, and she also has some sort of infection in her chest. The x-rays revealed a lot of congestion in her lung area, and before any type of surgery can be done her lungs need to be clear. As for the mass, the vet believes it may be her spleen, but he can't tell for sure. He can account for all the other organs except for the spleen, so either the mass is the spleen or it's sitting on top of the spleen.

This first picture shows the mass on the very top. That little black circle right under the mass is a major artery.

This next snapshot shows the mass in relation to her left kidney.

The good news here is that the mass appears to be all by itself and likely easy to remove. If it turns out to be the spleen, it can be removed without any negative effects since the kidneys and liver take over the functions of the spleen when it is no longer present (this is true in humans as well). Her teeth will be able to be extracted at the same time the mass is removed, so she'll only need to go under once. We just need to clear her chest, and she'll be good to go for surgery.

She has a progress exam this Saturday morning. They'll take more x-rays to see if the antibiotic injection she received last Saturday is helping. She'll also get one more antibiotic injection at that time. I'm so grateful that they finally came out with an antibiotic shot! Isabel is such a sweetie until you approach her with oral meds. She turns into the devil!

The pictures that you've seen scattered on this post were taken this morning. She was being a very good little model. She also insisted on making a video to show everyone her new shaved belly. Turn your speakers on if you want to hear her talk!



Okay, I know that was a lot of information to digest, and if you've made it this far, thanks! Here's your reward - a birthday card I whipped together yesterday for a friend.

Thanks again for all your warm wishes for Isabel. She's not out of the woods yet, but at least she's home with me.