>I have been off list for the last month and just wanted to say ... "Hey
>Jellohead!  Errrr, I mean good job Big!  There is something kind of cute
>about Jellohead even though I never see you make any mistakes.
 
::Holding my hand over my mouth trying to hide me laughing at this::
 
>I can tell you so many other incidences of the love I have been given
>because of this list but let's see you top this!  Da Wolfy and I throw
>down the challenge of "one upmanship" of good deeds!  (ya do don't ya
>Wolfy, huh, huh, ok, so I never asked ya, I just dragged ya along by the
>scruff) She says yes!
 
::wiping the spit off the scruff of my neck::
 
Okay Okay!  But it's a sad one, sort of.  It's still on the subject of
Jubilee Spirit, but it happened years ago.  It was the weekend and Jube
became deathly ill over night.  It was quite a mystery, especially since
she was still just a kit.  The emergency room vets didn't know much about
ferrets and couldn't help much.  It got so bad, that I ran back to them
and asked them to please just put her to sleep as fast as they could
because she was suffering for every breath.  Her face was fixed in this
constant cringe and she was fighting to lick the urine off herself
because she had lost control of her bladder.  I had seen enough.  But
the vets were convinced it was something that could be fixed by a regular
vet if they just gave her enough lasix and oxygen to buy her time until
Monday.  I said no to this.  But my poor husband couldn't do it.  So, we
ended up bringing her home for the second time that weekend.  Just when I
was at my lowest point the phone rang.  It was Julie Fossa.  Now I "knew
of" this lady from the FML, but I didn't "personally know" her.  Kat
Parsons who had been there for me every step of the way via computer and
phone that weekend arranged for this lady to call me.  This gracious lady
made me feel like I was not alone and less scared.  She recognized the
symptoms of the rare disease Juvenile Lymphoma.  And she took it one step
beyond that.  I asked her what would she do.  I asked her if there was
hope for a cure.  She put aside all the politically correct things to say
and do and was just plain forthright.  There was nothing ... no hope.  I
thanked her as I knew what to then do.  I put down the phone, and ran
back to the vets for the third time ... without hubby.  I told the vet,
no talk, no nonsense, just do it.  Sean went with me and helped.  Julie
helped me find strength to follow my gut.  I knew what was right for my
ferret and me.  I had just let others talk me out of it was all.  Upon
necropsy, we found JL.  Sean describes it as a "blackness that wrapped
around her heart".  Visually that is what it was too.
 
Because of Julie, a poor animals life wasn't drawn out on and on for her
to only suffer.  Because of Julie we don't have to suffer awful guilt of
doing that to her as well.  Now I"ve been asked "what if your gut was
wrong?" Well, I'd still feel the same way.  The vets here could not help
at all at the time, and she still would have died suffering no matter
what the cause.  Her gift to me, was that she took the time, the money
with the phone call, and put herself out on a limb contacting a complete
stranger.  She put her reputation on the line by answering me when I
asked her to please tell me what she thought about the situation.
 
You know, you don't want to play "one up" me challenge with cool things
FMLers have done for me.  Because I could fill a book with em!
 
Wolfy
http://wolfysluv.jacksnet.com
[Posted in FML issue 4561]