Thursday, April 23, 2015

Ella.. a Memorial on Pets We Love

Ella.. a Memorial  
This is a lovely free service to those who have lost a pet. It helps as you struggle to work through  grief. http://petloss.com holds an online candlelight service with prayers every Monday evening.


Our precious Ella passed away in a pet ER at 11:45 p.m. on April 7th. She would have been twelve in May. This past year she had developed numerous health problems and when--as a retired registered nurse trained in emergency medicine--I realized her breathing was agonal, I called the ER and was told to bring her in. An Xray showed the lining of her little lungs was filled with fluid, making breathing difficult and putting pressure on her heart. Even withdrawing the fluid from her lungs didn't relieve her struggle to breathe. Her weight had dropped from 13 pounds last September to 9 3/4 that night. She had developed arthritis, blindness in one eye, pancreatitis and carcinoma cancer in her bowel, and we learned how few medications are available to help sick cats.

The last few days she hadn't been herself, had lost energy. We thought the long cone collar she wore because she had scratched her blind eye was weighing her down. Instead, it was the fluid buildup in her lungs and pressure on her heart.

When the vet said they probably couldn't save her but did we wish CPR, we burst into tears and shook our heads. "Let her go."

We needed her, but Ella needed to be relieved of her suffering. Her precious life was over. I scratched her head and neck as I had done so often because the collar irritated her and she couldn't scratch or groom herself. Then I kissed her coat and touched her one final time. My husband said his goodbyes, and we left the room.

I think only animal lovers can understand the depth of grief humans feel at the loss of a pet.

Our grief is easing. The times when it feels unbearable--and nothing seems to remove the image of her small, vulnerable body stretched out on that treatment table--are fewer. Last night my husband dreamed of her. This morning I looked at the window where she often sat to watch the birds, and said, "Hi, beautiful kitty. We will always remember the bright joy you gave us. We will be okay."

Friday, April 17, 2015

#MY SEXY SATURDAY - A NIGHT TO REMEMBER


 NOTE: Blogger is misbehaving tonight. Kindly disregard the paragraphing. I suspect a poltergeist has invaded it.

My 2K short story, A Night to Remember, appeared in the Exquisite Quills' 2014 A Holiday Anthology Volume 2. The anthology is still free on Smashwords and Barnes and Noble. I'm developing my story into an extended novella or novel.

SETTING: Marlee's car skidded into a ditch in a blizzard, and Jim, a Search and Rescue volunteer, offers to let her spend the night in his home because the road to hers is blocked.


“I’m not used to spending nights in the homes of strange men, but I’ll take the offer. I could’ve died out there if you hadn’t stopped for me,” Marlee said.
“I promise I won’t jump your bones,” Jim said.
“Ditto.”

His laughter warmed her, and he put the car in gear. Marlee thought it took all his skill and strength to make it the few blocks to and into his garage.

Pain flared in her elbow and she guarded it as he helped her out of the car. 

He unlocked the mud room door. “We’ll leave our wet things here.”

Copyright 2014 Dee Ann Palmer
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/498109
MY SEXY SATURDAY IS A BLOG HOP, SO PLEASE VISIT OTHER PARTICIPATING AUTHORS BELOW.

"Everybody walks past a thousand story ideas every day. The good writers are the ones who see five or six of them." ~ Orson Scott Card




Thursday, April 16, 2015

REMEMBERING ELLA WITH JOY

Hubbie and I are grieving the loss of Ella, the precious cat whose care we assumed after our daughter-in-law developed a life-threatening allergy to cats. She and this son had had Ella from the time she was a few months old, so the reaction was a shock. 


Ella was ten, and we knew she would end her little life with us - and break our hearts - but we didn't know we'd only have two years to enjoy her. We love cats, and our son and his wife needed us. Ella needed us. And we had already fallen in love with her sweet yet spicy, dark tortoiseshell temperament. 

A year ago she developed several health problems, evidence her little body was giving out. She passed away in a pet ER at 11:45 p.m. Tuesday, April 7 in respiratory and cardiac distress. Now we're the ones experiencing distress.