ATTENTION: Not a FLAME or ANYTHING but read at your own discression... THIS
is PERSONAL and PAINFUL but something some of you might like to hear!
 
well, I have posted many times on this list to tell you about the antics
of my ferts, the stuff I have learned from wonderful, caring and informed
fert-owned hoomins in my area, and to put my two cents (sense) in
occasionally... this time its to share a VERY personal story about myself
and something that alot of us have come in contact with when it comes to
ferrets... I am going to tell you this story because so many people feel
guilty at the end when their babies need help crossing the bridge and I
want to help you feel better about making such a HARD decision.
 
Several years ago I was diagnosed with CANCER... THE BIG "C"... I dont
smoke, I am vegetarian and I dont put chemicals in my body unless I
absolutely have to... we believe my cancer was caused by the 100's of
x-rays I had done between the ages of 9 and 15 (serious chronic bronchial
Pneumonia)... anyway, that's my guess and any answer is better than NO
answer.  So here's the thing... as a humyn with a potentially FATAL
ailment I had choices, Chemo/no chemo, radiation/no radiation, and even
NO treatment - in which case I would have had to go to court and PROVE I
understood the ramifications of my choice.  The unfortunate thing (as I saw
it) was that DEATH was NOT an option, infact, it was illegal... Cancer AND
most of its treatments can be EXTREMELY painful... Chemo is dibilitation,
Radiation is Dibilitation, all cause horrible things for instance:Stomach
pains, headaches, loss of appetite, chills... there is quite a few more
things but I guess you get the point... I met Sooooo many people who were
going through similar things while I was battling this cancer... Some did
Choose to refuse treatment and slip into a "forever sleep", The truth is...
I DID say NO MORE!  NO more Chemo, NO more Radiation, NO more tests, No
more doctors... IM DONE!  For an animal... imagine all of this ... with NO
choices... NO voice to say STOP and no way to communicate how or where it
hurts.  I WISH euthanization was an option for humans as well... its MORE
humane, its more loving than what people put humans through because they
can... I cant even imagine how aweful that scenario would have been in my
life if I couldnt understand the doctors, If I couldnt participate in my
own treatment... dont get me wrong I am NOT saying to treat the ailments...
I am just saying I think its OKAY to STOP!
 
I KNOW ferrets and ALL pets for that matter deal with many other illnesses
that are fatal but for all of them I say that NO MATTER WHAT odds the
doctors would have given me when they said "just one more round of
Chemo"... I would have said NO MORE!  I dont want this anymore!  I am a
strong, independent, loving, caring, being with lots of friends and family
that love me I wasnt commiting suicide, I just wanted to stop it all... I
dint want to leave my life, but like everything that has a life-force, when
its fading we know... I think our pets KNOW and I think that they hold on
until we are ready to say good-bye... they dont want to leave us anymore
than we want to let them go but trust me when I say its the RIGHT decision
and though they cant say THANK YOU... from my experiences and the many
people I have met on this crazy ride called life... I KNOW that "It's Okay
for you to leave me now!" are some of the kindest, most loving and even the
hardest words we can learn to speak.
 
I have been Cancer-Free for 15 months now... I am back on my feet, living
everyday like its my last now that I know what its like to live my last
day!  I cherish every wonderful thing that happens in my world and I have
learned how to let my loved ones leave, it still hurts and I still cry but
I know that their closure in life sometimes depends on my willingness to
let them leave.  Its a kind and generous thing to surrender your love to
end their pain.  I am not a martyr, and I dont mean to make myself sound
like one... I just feel so strongly about this that I couldnt help but
make the story personal... the issue of medical assisted death has been one
that has touched my life in MANY ways over the last couple of years and it
certainly applies to euthanizing pets what a hard decision to make for an
being that cant speak its wishes, I've made the decision to help a pet
die...I regretted that decision (out of guilt) until I went through my
first painful bought with the big "C".  Now I dont regret a thing... I
miss my puppy and I think of her often but I KNOW I did the right thing.
 
One last thing, in the hopes that my post wont get turned into a "would you
euthanize your child if he/she broke their leg?" barage of flames... the
answer is NO... nor would I advocate euthanizing a pet with any of these
injuries... infact, the puppy I speak of was a rotty with hip dysplasia...
I paid for a VERY pricey surgery that was NOT effective she was in horrible
pain whimpering all the time, we did the surgery 2x and the doc said he did
not think a THIRD would result in a different outcome... I chose to end
that suffering and KNOWING what I know today I would make that SAME
decision.  I am one of those cancer patients spoke of in a post and I have
to say I do NOT agree with the picture painted of me... and I have met many
other that feel the same way I do... there really does come a time when
most of us hope that our friends and families will give us permission to
die.
 
well I guess that's enough sharing for one day!
Cheers Carpe Diem!
-Betty Rebel... "Great Guardian of the Treats!"....
[Posted in FML issue 3395]