Uncle Donnie

More sad news tonight. My Uncle Donnie lost his brave fight with pancreatic cancer tonight. He fought for his life to the very end. we are all comforted by the knowledge that he is in Heaven. I know he is now completely healed & with Jesus. But he will be missed greatly.

My aunt emailed us. And my brother, Darin called. I could hear the grief in his voice. I'm glad I got to hug him earlier today.

I haven't seen him since I was a child. I didn't have the resources as a young adult to make the trip to visit him & he didn't like to travel. For me this makes the memories I do have of him all the more precious. He was always muscular & strong. I see him in my mind's eye smiling and joking with us. He took time to play with us and was our hero. Later on in life my cousins lovingly called him "Uncle Superman". There wasn't anything he couldn't do.

I can only imagine the loss my aunt is feeling. She lost the love of her life. And my cousins lost their hero.

Please, God hold them close tonight & every day that follows.
And to anyone that is reading this.....remember to hold those you love close. Hug them. Spend time with them. And make certain you tell them you love them. It's something you'll never regret doing.

Crying Tonight

A terrible thing happened today. We lost one of our cats. Romeo, our most snugly, lovey, patient, sweet tempered cat died suddenly. We still don't know what happened. This afternoon our next door neighbor called saying a cat was lying in her flower bed and she thought it might be one of ours. She told me he had been lying there for a few hours and hadn't moved. Sweet Pea & I rushed right over to find Romeo lying on the ground unable to move and barely breathing. Sweet Pea picked him up wrapping him in an old, soft towel. He tried to meow but he barely made a sound. He didn't move a muscle and seemed paralyzed. We took him home and placed him in the laundry room. He still didn't move. Not even his head to look at us. He had his mouth opened to breathe and we could see he was struggling. I called the vet and then packed up all the kids & put towels in a laundry basket. Sweet Pea placed Romeo inside the basket and we drove to the vet. They had us wait until I finally went up and told them Romeo was gasping for air. At that point the receptionist took him straight back. A little while later the doctor came out and discussed doing bloodwork & x-rays. She was very concerned about him. She said he was severely dehydrated and there was no reflex reaction when she tested his back legs. I wasn't sure what to do. She said if he was treated most likely he would need to be kept overnight & they closed at 7 so I'd need to take him to an emergency vet. My head was spinning. I frantically tried to get a hold of Dave but he was en route to pick up our other cats at the vet across town, (they were getting fixed), and then home. The doctor offered for me to have a bit of time to think. We were allowed to go into an exam room. I had all 5 children with me. They brought Romeo in the room with us. He was still in his basket. We talked to him and watched him. Suddenly about 5 minutes later I could tell he stopped breathing. I looked into his eyes and they had a glazed look. It's hard to explain but they looked lifeless. Crying I went out and told the receptionist I thought he had passed. She got a nurse right away and she took him in the back. The kids & I cried. Sweet Pea was sobbing. The doctor finally came back and confirmed our fears. Romeo had passed away. She said she thought he had waited until we were with him again before he let go. I think he wanted to be with us. He was such a loving cat. I know with all my heart he was trying to come home to us when his body gave out and he collapsed in the neighbors yard. Dave finally arrived and we all started crying again. We took Romeo home and buried him in the back yard. I can't sleep tonight thinking of him cold and alone in the ground. It's breaking my heart. Bugsy was crying as we all were when we buried him. He was so afraid Romeo would be cold and kept asking if he could put a blanket on him. We helped him spread one of the towels from Romeo's basket on his grave. It made me cry all over again.

Poor Romeo was only a year and a half old. I remember staying up almost all night watching him and his siblings be born. He was the firstborn of Tinkerbelle. He was the most patient & loving cat I have ever met. I can't believe he is gone. I can't sleep tonight. I keep thinking of him & wishing he was here. I miss you so much already, Romeo. I pray you are in Heaven.

This is Romeo with Luci. He loved to snuggle with her. He had such patience with her antics and never snapped at her when she'd play with him or bite his tail. They were true pals. You can see on his face what a sweet kitty he was.