Going to eat with our son and his friends was good for everyone. A step with trying to regain some normalcy. Kevin got home two weeks ago, a week earlier than he would have. He said classes were abbreviated, only lasting about half the scheduled time. Professors and students alike were all hurting and were all trying to comfort and encourage one another. The university made extraordinary efforts to help both the professors and students to finish the semester. He met with each his professors both in the classrooms and individually. He finished the year with a 3.17.
Here at home, while he was completing his classes, we had another drama unfolding. Kevin's 15 year old cat (his very first pet) became seriously ill. The vet diagnosed her with dehydration, possibly due to a kidney infection. She did some lab work on Mittens but the results wouldn't be completed until the following day. Not wanting the cat to suffer and definitely not wanting Kevin to experience yet another trauma so soon, the vet reviewed our options. The cat remained with the vet overnight for IV therapy (hydration and some antibiotics). When I picked up the cat, she seemed so much better. Then the vet gave me the lab results. Mittens' kidneys were slowly failing. Giving her the IV fluids and antibiotics bought us a little time until Kevin could finish at VT and get home.
Kevin got home on May 1. We told him about the vet's diagnosis. Kidney failure is a tricky illness; there was no telling how much time Mittens had. She seemed to be stable for many days. Then she seemed get sickly again suddenly. Kevin made the decision not to do anything further for her, opting instead to put her down. He didn't want me to go with him to the vet's office. His brother (who is a pre-vet student) went with him for moral support. Mittens stubbornly waited for her boy to come home and give him a chance to prepare for her leaving him. They brought Mittens home and buried her; that was on May 10.
In the past three weeks, I've watched Kevin bravely weather these tragic and defining events in his life. He's relied on his faith and the love of family and friends to persevere. I'm proud of him. He leaves tomorrow for his summer internship in Atlanta. He'll be staying with his fiancee and her family. His roommate is also going to be there too and working at the same company (different department). He's looking forward to the internship, having worked with this company last summer. As I said earlier, it's going to take time to regain normalcy but we all seem to be headed in that direction.
 Rhiannon2006 · Sun May 13, 2007 @ 05:00am · 0 Comments |
