But, the Lord called upon her .....
November 20, 2021
The Lord called on Goldie
Goldie brilliantly complete her 17 years and 3 months of earth mission on 9th November, 2021, at 2.25pm.
She shall be sadly missed, but warmly remembered. She brings with her loads of love from earth in her journey to Rainbow Bridge.
Dearest Goldie,
How are you? How was your journey to Rainbow Bridge? Have you met grandpa, grandma and Kitty? How did you feel when you woke up? Please don’t worry about us. Just start your new life there in joy, freedom, good health and happiness.
Goldie, you are special - you are the first cat that I own. We met in a pet shop in Causeway Bay and together we spent close to 17 years living under the same roof. In the planning stage, to keep Kitty company, the family decided to have a MALE Exotic Shorthair, NOT red and white in color for we once had a cat of this color (Shing Shing). However, my basic requirements were not met at all. At that time, I only came across a red and white tabby (who is you) and a red tabby. In making the purchase decision, grandpa chose you. Of course I didn’t tell him that your had ringworm in parts of your body. I took you to see our family vet Dr Chui before taking you home, he told me to return you to the shop because of the ringworm. I told him, I will not, as our bonding has been established. On the day of desex operation, I was told that you were a girl. My comment was – sex is irrelevant now. So I strongly believe that its fate that brought us together. You were God’s chosen gift for us and it’s a perfect present!
Thank you Goldie, for teaching me to live life to its fullest despite the hardship. You were a very considerate and tough lady, highly co-operative and tolerant. Since this year, with nasal carcinoma, we knew that countdown had begun. So we took each day as a gift from God. Each night, before going to bed, I would thank you for being with us, and thank the Lord for ensuring you were happy and comfy. You usually would respond with “gulu gulu" sound. Being able to achieve this result was not easy. Your daily routine starts at 3.45am with breakfast, followed by chemo pill and 4 rounds of Chinese medicine till 7.30pm. You took a total of 18 pills daily without a grain of salt. Never, had I seen you lose your temper or made life difficult for both aunties (domestic helper). I guess, like us, we all want quality life together for as long as we could. The professional efforts of Dr. Tint, Dr. Irene and Dr. Jacky were very crucial, dedication by Auntie Zellen and Auntie Rowena, love from the entire family, and above all your drive to press on.
Goldie, you were a very thoughtful and influential lady. You were a perfect role model to both Betty and Felix. Though you all might not be the best of friends, but by and large, you all live under one roof in harmony, with love, care, discipline and respect. You all care about each other in your own subtle way, as often I saw the younger ones would sneakily go to kiss your face when you were asleep. If they occupy your bedding, you would graciously wait.
As an Exotic, I would consider you an energetic and playful kid. You love Mr. Sunshine. When you were young, you run and play a lot until the day I leant that you got heart murmur, and then I tried to slow down on your activeness. Even in recent times, whenever I showed you a toy, you would gently play for a while. I bet you did it to please us, as we were very generous in praising and encouraging you to stay active.
However, rupture of a tumor in your chin in July was the turning point. Initially it was swollen with puss. Applying Bonjela and Convenia injection did help a bit but the wound did not heal properly. After doing the FNA (fine needle) in September, things made an abrupt turn for the worst. It grew rapidly and spread to the lymph node. Via CT and FNA, was diagnosed as carcinoma and did not respond to the current medicine mix. So Dr Tint decided to remove both the tumor and lymph node as part of palliative care to ensure your quality life. At the same time, we were fully aware of that this was a risky operation and had to be completed within a short time.
Your pre-operation blood test readings were largely normal. However, upon opening up on the afternoon of 7th November, your blood pressure dropped sharply. Dr Tint quickly finished the operation, but unfortunately had to re-open to retie a blood vessel to prevent further bleeding. Later on, I leant that the medical team in the clinic was worried that they might lose you. Luckily you woke up an hour later with normal blood pressure. Dr Tint stayed up late till he was confident of your stable condition.
On 8th November, we visited you twice. Naturally you look tired, but you still put your paws and chin on Auntie Zellen’s hand. You ate a few spoon of food during lunch time and managed to eat a quarter on a can of wet food for dinner. We were happy with the progress, though we were aware that your blood pressure was still low (improved to over 40 from 30 in the morning).
On 9th November, we visited you at noon time. Your condition seemed to have worsened with fluid in the chest and blood pressure still low (30-40 range). Dr Tint was afraid that your heart was having a problem and he was trying to find the appropriate medical treatment. He assured me that you were only tired, and not in pain or discomfort. You ate 4 spoon of wet food and we decided to revisit you once every 2 hours so that you could eat more. We left the clinic at around 12.45pm and I return to the office. At 2.10pm., phone call from the clinic told me that you had 2 seizures. Dr Tint thought that likely you were slowly fading away. At 2.20pm, another call advised us to come over to see you. The final call at 2.26pm, told us that in the company of Dr Tint and VA Vivian, you completed your earth mission peacefully. Regrettably, Goldie, dear, please forgive us for not being able to be by your side at the final moment.
Goldie, maybe you have heard that I told Dr Tint that I was prepared to let you go if you were suffering. At that instance Dr Tint said it was too early. I’m really sorry that I have missed the golden opportunity to let you have the chin tumor removal operation earlier. Only the Lord would know whether the outcome would be any different. I have always insisted that given your age of over 17, surgery was a very risky act, we knew from one nasal flushing exercise your body condition was unstable. We would only have it when it was a necessity. One important point which I have learnt from this costly experience, was that open wound of tumor could not heal, so should be removed ASAP. My ignorance had likely shortened your life span by 1-2 months. The only slight comfort, if any, was that you would not have to experience the hardship associated with final stage cancer.
Goldie my dear, go in peace. You have graduated with the highest honor! Though we are physically separated, actually you are now even closer to me than before – I carry you in my heart wherever I go, and you are safely and warmly tugged in that special place. Sincerely thank you for being our family member and my daughter for the past 17 years! As always, you are welcome to visit us whenever you want to, our doors are always open! Love you forever! Everlasting fond memories, not only in my mind, but also in those who know you, had loved and care for you!
Both Betty and Felix are also mourning of the loss of you. They both look depressed and are very quiet. The whole family will hand in hand walk out of this sadness, as we know you want us to continue life anew.
I remain your mother forever……
16th November 2021
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