Felix fell sick in late June and was hospitalised for 9 days.
Felix was very good in giving us tell tale signs that he was not well. During early morning of 24/6, he ate his wet can food breakfast very well, but shortly 2 hours later, he refused any dry kibble. He looked a bit uneasy as well. So for precautionary reasons, we took him back to the vet. Blood test showed the liver reading was abnormal, though compared with the past, it wasn't at a screaming level. Anyway, we had no choice, except to let him stay in his "second home" for treatment. Fortunately, they were able to successfully put him on drips given that he had limited "good veins" available.
Initially we tried to follow his daily meal plan of 2 prescription can food and 1 commercial low phosphorus can food. As expected, he was fussy, eating 50-60% of a can if given prescription diet, forcing us to give in towards the end as we want him to eat well to recover.
During his hospital stay, he tried to defer poo-poo until he could not tolerate, which is a great contrast to his daily disposal when at home. We think its because the A4 size litter bin was not as spacious as the 55*35cm bin at home, and with one hand being bandaged, its not easy to put himself in a comfortable position. So usually upon discharge, unloading in the home litter bin would be one of the higher priorites for him. Haha...
Felix dear, please take good care of yourself -- eat well, sleep soundly, stay happy and sickness free! I know its a wishful thinking......
To a lot of people, why the fuss? Cats generally live to the high teens or even over the 20s!
Yes, you're right. But for those who know Felix, being born with a twisted bile duct, life had never been easy since he was 3 years old. His life journey had been exceptionally rugged and challenging. Through the grace of the Lord, Felix's tough and brave character, high intelligence and strong quest for life made him highly co-operative to whatever treatment he has to go through and is well liked by most who took care of him. This together with great wisdom and knowledge from veterinary team and supporting staff; abundant love and care from the family have all together helped him reach this 10 year old milestone.
Though sad to say, we are pretty certain that chances to reach the next 10 year old milestone does not exist. Since we do not know how long or what the future holds, let's stay optimistic and let the positive momentum leads us, making each day, meaningful, enjoyable, memorable and hopefully painfree for everyone. So that when the inevitable comes, there will be no regret.
So stay strong and handsome Felix dear! You truly a special gem!
Felix passed out his temporary stent in late January, after servicing in his bile duct/small intestine for 56 days. After that life was normal, till 3rd February. He vomited 3 times within 2 hours, and readings for his liver and pancreas were ABnormal again. Back to the hospital he stayed. This time the improvement in his liver reading was relatively slow.
Luckily, Dr VM who is now practising in the US, has endless love towards Felix. She had in the past promptly provided us with loads of useful medical advise, and this time was no exception. With some progress, Felix was discharged on 12th February. However, to help him recover better, this time we took him back to the hospital for daily under the skin injetion, till 15th February. Fingers crossed, we pray that there will be no hiccups during the Chinese New Year public holiday as that hospital is closed.
Felix dear, we know you are a tough fighter. Don't worry, we will provide you with the support essential for your full recovery. Just keep going! Love you!
As an aside, the nurses in the hospital enjoy seeing his reactions upon discovery of our hospital visits (please refer to the videos).
Thank you Dr SM Chan for all your care, love and assistance towards Felix and family. Your reiki skills have helped us considerably.
Felix dear, you really are "somone" special. In your over 9 years of life, you have already braved 5 open up surgeries and you strived to make each one an "instant success". Apart from attributing these to your being lucky as you fall into the hands of highly professional surgeons, being surrounded by abundant love and care from nursing teams, and above all, you showed us that "when there's a will, there's a way". Our deepest thanks to Dr TN and team for this wonderful Christmas present!
We all know as the number of surgery increases, the associated unknowns and risks multiplied. As parent, apart from asking for the Lord's guidance, guardance to Felix, wisdom and courage to the vets as they brave the rising uncertainities, all we can do is to keep praying and paying (his medical bill), for we have promised Felix, that we will act according to his will. With endless watery eyes and heartaches, we also have to psychologically be prepared for the worst - that if nothing could be done surgerically, we will not wake him up. Thank God, this hasn't happened.
Continue to stay strong dear. Wish you speedy full recovery! Remember you must move and exercise more to stay healthy and dont let sludges accumulate! Your mother is broke already!
We would like to thank all our bloggers for their well wishes, as for sure Felix had sensed them and had given him great strength and courage. Our thanks to Auntie R for her endless patience in feeding and cleaning this naughty boy. Even Dr TN agreed that Felix is spoilt and that Auntie R would be banned from entering the hospital in the future...... haha
Last but not least, we would also like to thank Dr SM Chan, who through her skillful reiki healing helped relief hiccups along the recent recovery path, I'm confident that without your help, Felix would not be as bright as he is today!
10 days after the previous discharge, Felix was readmitted to hospital again. This time, the condition seemed worse than before. Apart from skyrocking blood test readings for the liver and bile, the panacreas could not be read. His abdomen was painful and need painkiller for relief.
Luckily Dr J having admitted him a few times before reacted quickly. Flow of his drips was raised to 15ml/hr from 9, Ursosan increased from 1.5 pill twice daily to 2 pills twice daily, raised his Uniheptadine to 1/2 pill twice daily from 1/4 twice daily.
Felix responded to the treatment and with the blessing of the Lord, he was able to receive the drips for the full 9 days of hospitalisation.
Recently, its concluded that his case is now a surgerical one. Its just a time bomb. Luckily Dr T has decided to take on the case, and did some rescheduling to have him operated on 5th December. Let's pray that the Lord will guide, guard the vets and give them wisdom to do the right things for Felix, strength and courage to Felix to overcome this hurdle brillantly, and of course, psychological and monetary support to Felix's parents to give this "special child" the best treatment.
Felix fell sick on late 20th October. Visited vet on the next day and blood test showed ALT shot up to 1401 (from 93 a week ago on regular revisit) and TBIL to 27 (from <2 during previous visit). Pancreatitis is possible. Band is suspected for NEU.
To me it seems like the end of the world and a series of questions bombarded my thoughts. Another surgery? The 5th one in his 9 year of life? Any room in his intestine to open up to flush the bile duct and stent? Its just exactly a year a ago that he got his 4th surgery and the "normal" time span seemed to be getting shorter over time. Time to let go and not to let him suffer? What is his preference - tired of fighting? Still wants to stay around longer? Crying for sure did not give me a solution, but at least it gave me a break.
Though Fine Needle Aspiration is not without risk, at least its the least invassive and would enable us to get some tissue for biopsy and culture. Surprisingly, the blood test done on the next day (22/10) to test on clotting ability showed the ALT virtually halved to 712 and TBIL to 5 (normal reading), just after some 17 hours of being on drips and receiving the first treatment. The ultrasound, also showed some narrowing in selected swollen areas. This sure is a BIG surprise as I don't expect such significant improvement so soon.
Blood test and ultrasound 2 days later (24/10) showed continuous improvement with ALT dropping to 450, and TBIL to 2. Ultrasound also showed some improvement and suggested that the potential blockage is now cleared.
What could I say? Its God's miracle! The Lord answering our prayers! Thanks be to God! Hope that Felix the fighter will continue to recover well and things get back to normal fairly soon! It sure is a relief for all of us and we remain committed to stay vigilant and continue to give him QUALITY LIFE regardless of the permissible length of time.
June started as a fairly hectic month for me, as the helper was on home leave from 28th May to 18th June. Working from a 4am to 11pm for 22 consecutive days, really took its toll on me. I was both mentally and physically exhausted. It sure was a relief when the helper return in good condition and on time! Thank God!
I had learnt a lot about my cats, their habits, their diet. Above all, a better understanding of the helper's job - its not suitable for me! Haha....
During a routine vet revisit on 11th June Felix's ALT rose to 154 from 74 the previous month. Other blood test readings were normal. So he was put under observation. On 19th June, he started his 30 days course of Marbofloxicin. Since then he turned fussy with his meals, but still manage to finish them.
On 24th June, he refused to eat can food, so we took him to the vet and found that both his ALT and NEU were both above normal. He was admitted to hospital and a fine needle was performed on his liver with hope that via culture, we will be able to give him the most appropriate medication. We are now earnestly waiting for the culture report.
Luckily, he was able to put on drips throughout his 5 days hospital stay. I must also admit that its lucky that his incident happened after the helper return, or else, I can't imagine what a mess daily routine would be like for me.
We have very mixed feelings today. Happy and excited that we have reached this milestone, which we dare not of dreamed of in the past. Things didn't come by easily. Felix, what you are experiencing today, is the result of team efforts. Your strong determination to survive, co-operative attitude and mellow character played a crucial role as well.
Above all, you are lucky to be warmly loved and cared for by a number of professional vets and nursing staff. Above all, the biggest credit goes to Dr Vera, who despite the time zone differences, always come up with prompt, sound medical advise during those critical moments to enable you to receive the best medical treatment possible. To us, Dr Vera is like a mother to Felix and siblings - Lucky kids!
Though we do not know what will hold in the future, may the Lord continue, to guide, guard and protect you in the time to come!
Happy Birthday, Felix dear!
Wishing you Good Health, Lots of Joy and Happiness in the years to come!
On 6th December, Felix vomited, refused to eat. Worst still, he went to sleep on my pillow, a tell tale sign that he was not feeling well.
Luckily, we managed to jump queue and blood test showed his ALT shot up to 147. Its abnormal for sure, but not overwhelming. We were given 2 choices
1) Stay at home and take oral medication.
2) Stay in hospital for drips.
With us being risk averse, and Felix looking a lot worse than the blood test readings, we opted for (2) with the hope to prevent an out blast.
Luckily, we succeeded. His appetite returned that evening and improved gradually. Blood test readings by Monday were already normal, so he was discharged. Lucky us!!
As the nurses said, " Felix, if you are thinking of us, just send us a Whats App with your photo will do. No need to stay with us......" Haha
Well, life is really unpredictable. I have for some time in recent months been grateful for the serenity at home as Felix was able to lead a "normal" life. A vomit in the afternoon of 6th October which was initially thought to be a minor setback, though he looked a bit dull, but he ate pretty normally. By 2.30am on 7th October, he came to sleep on my pillow. This to many is nothing, but my heart tanked and squeezed hard. Its a tell tale sign that he's not feeling well and could be nasty, or at hindsight could say something wrong with his bile/liver.
He was admitted to hospital on 7th and blood test showed his ALT shot to 1267, and TBIL at 9 (which though was normal, was high by his "normal" standard). With the help of medication, his ALT dropped to 801 on the 9th, but the TBIL was slightly above normal at 17. Ultrasound gave us the bad news that the bile duct was blocked again and surgery was the only solution.
After further discussion with family vets, we decided to transfer him to VSH on 10th. Blood test showed ALT rose a bit to 850, TBIL shot up to 42. By the expression on his face, the discomfort is getting worse pretty fast. So we quickly decided go for surgery on that day. It ran from 5.17pm to around 7.46pm. Luckily, the "mess" from previous surgeries were not too bad, managed to clear the bile duct via flushing and took out as much of the stent as possible.
His blood test readings showed fairly quick and consistent improvement during his hospital stay. However, improvement in his appetite and appearance fluctuated widely and to me doesn't seem to gel with the blood test results. So when he was discharged on the 15th, we decided to transfer him to the family vet for further convalescence before taking him home, as I don't want the worries we have to affect his psychological health.
Turnaround happened on the 19th, after he refused to open his mouth for food during lunch time. Via ultrasound and blood test, found that his stomach wasn't functioning properly as a lot of water was there. Moreover, his abdominal cavity and pancreas showed signs of inflammation. Felix showed fairly quick improvement after taking relevant medication and has since been eating normally by himself.
He was very happy when we took him home on 22nd. He greeted us with his loud meow when the nurse handed him to us in his carrier bag. When we walked in the street, he was poking against the carrier, wanting to take a better view and smell the air of freedom. In the video, you can see him wiggling inside his green carrier bag while auntie prepared to clean him before letting him out.... haha
Felix is readjusting to life at home pretty well. Unlike in the past, he's not hiding himself and seemed pretty relaxed. He ate his meals by himself, walked around a bit, and catch up with his sleep as well.
Betty being the elder sister has no problem is welcoming Felix back. She went to kissed him a few times and have their snack together. Stella, being the youngest one is totally new to welcoming Felix back. Though looked a bit puzzled, she adjusted pretty fast as well. She started by turning her turbo to the highest volume and watching Felix from a distance, to gradually lower the volume and distance apart. Its nice to see their decent love bonding, despite their age and breed differences.
Although its difficult to say exactly what caused this episode, there are a few things I wanted to highlight:
- As parent, trust your instinct when you sense something is wrong and don't be affected by non-professional advise.
- Very likely, steam dried Ziwi Peek is not suitable for Felix. He ate a total of 100 pieces of this "raw dried food" since early October and is the only new food he ate. Likely this sparked off problem to his liver and might have spilled over to the pancreas and bile duct.
- Must comb him more frequently. I brushed him 100 times in the evening each day. This might not be enough as found a fur ball hooked to the mesh of the stent, which blocked the bile duct. If I had known of this earlier, I would have asked the surgeon to save it for me, as its a very expensive fur ball!
- Unfortunately, Felix has to stay with the food he is used to for his own safety. Must stay firm, regardless of how "cute" he looks when he enjoys them.
- Continue to save for the rainy days, though I sincerely hope history will NOT repeat itself.
The family and Felix are truly grateful to Dr Tint as always, for his sound guidance, Dr Tasmin for the professional care and willingness to listen and to discuss. For Dr Francois and Dr Alice for the successful surgery. The last and the most important person is Dr Vera, who regardless of the hour of the day and time zone differences, responded promptly to my queries with sound practical professional advise which is highly useful to all of us.
Below is our document of this incidence:
- Pre-surgery hospital stay
- Post surgery hospital stay
- Home sweet home
The 3 surgerical options:
The incision area:
The feeding tube:
Other shaved areas - tail and hind legs and a pair of short boot in the front :
On 7th June, Felix had his first round of breakfast at 5am normally. However, by the time of his second round breakfast at 9.30am, he appears less keen and ate only 3 pieces of dry food (normally, he ate 10). By noon time, he didn't go to the kitchen to ask for food. When given to him, he only licked twice. His ears were very hot.
Immediately, we called our family vet. Dr TN was on sick leave, but Dr TT kindly agreed to see him at 2pm. Dr TT found his breathing rate to be fast at 120/min, his body temperature was marginal at 39.3 degrees. A full blood test and ultrasound were done.
The blood test suggested that his white blood cell readings were high and so were the liver readings. The pancreas also ABnormal. Dr TT did a fine needle on the liver for lab and culture. In the meantime, I decided to let him stay in hospital, with hope to precent a major flare up.
On 8th June, update from the nurse was that his temperature was back to normal at 38 degrees and that he ate by himself. But he hadn't urinate. So I decided to have him discharged as I believe we can take care of him at home.
Since returning home, apart from being a bit tense, he ate well, slowly regained his sleep and even played with Stella at times.
Felix revisited Dr TN today (16/6) and is making good progress in his recovery. Physical examination revealed no discomfort and his blood test readings are within the normal range, though some are still higher than his "usual self".
We would like to thank Dr TN, Dr TT and Dr VM for their care, medical advise and support, without which I would not be in such relaxed mode to document this event.
As an aside, a funny video on Felix taken earlier on....
Today mark the first anniversary of Felix's third operation.
Compared to the past years, last year could generally be described as fairly stable and peaceful, though the initial recovery process was comparable to walking on the tightrope. Felix's allergy to Penicillin made him being left with the choice of a "less than ideal drug" and he also started to take steroid for life.
Luckily, under the diligent care and guidance of Dr Vera and Dr Tint, Felix was on the right path and his medication is being gradually reduced to the "minimal level". So far, he is eating well and is fairly heavy at 5.7kg (5.1kg in 6/22) - his new life record!
Does he look like a seal?
One thing that Felix never missed out is his tea time ....
From his recent photos and seeing the pattern of the fur on his front paws, made us very happy. We have not seen such beautiful sights for ages. Everyone worked hard to enable him to stay out of the hospital, giving time to allow his fur to grow back! The fur in the chest would take longer, as he revisits the vet on a bimonthly basis, with hope to soon extend it to quarterly.
He still continue with his weekly acupuncture as his "chi" is still weak. One of our major daily task is to pat his back (near the kidney area) to help improve the circulation. Normally, we would do this exercise twice daily, each time patting around 250 times. Betty also needs this exercise, so ideally, they both receive it at the same time.
When comes to playing games, Felix used to like laser pen, but not so since we call him "gor gor 哥哥 (elder brother). We suspect that with this new role as Stella's mentor, he needs to carry a fairly stern image?!
Overall, we are truly thankful for the current status quo and sincerely hope that it can continue forever!
The purpose of this blog is to document what happened to the the kids. Because a lot have happened, I plan to document them by date, which would be long winded and uninteresting to our readers. Our apologies.
Never, would I have thought May and June are such difficult months. Weeping is one of my natural response to all the frustrations (not aware that foreign parts inside a body is actually a good hiding place for bacteria, making infections very difficult to heal completely), fear (of loosing Felix, risks associated with each move), pain (that Felix has to go through and the uncertain result).
Frankly, I have thought of giving up, but Felix's determined eyesight, his strong will, love towards the family (greeting only family members with his clear loud meow) and young age swept out this thought.
What have I learn't
- foreign objects inside the body is a site for bacteria to hide, making cure of infections very difficult. At the time of the second surgery, the most common comment is he needs a permanent stent. Now the verdict is the stent is a curse and is the root of the latest problem. Another problem with this expandable metallic stent is that it cannot be removed. A removal would require a by-pass which is a very high risk surgery with the risk that bacteria from the intestine could flow to the liver. So a never ending game.
- Life has its own destiny. It might seem I have dragged on taking the surgery option by around 2 weeks. But at least during that moment, we have exhausted "all" medical means or the lowest risk choice. When the time for surgical option, the Lord guided us via a fast path - the sequence was as follows, and even now I marvel it as a miracle
- Met Dr Lawren on 9/6 and accepted the fact the surgery is the best option for Felix
- I called VSH on the morning of 10/6 enquiring on the queuing time for surgery. The receptionist told me Dr Alane will go on vacation from 20/6 and wont return till August. My immediate thinking was Felix doesnt stand a chance to get it done so quickly (within 10 days).
- So I updated Dr Lawren who is making the referral. She made it an urgent case.
- Believe it or not, at 12.35pm of that day (10/6), I missed the mobile call and they called home. Told me to bring Felix over before 2pm for an emergency consultation. Lucky both VSH and Soares are just nearby, so we made our appointment on time.
- After the half hour consultation, Dr Alane decided to operate on Felix shortly. By coincidence Felix had his last meal at 4-5am that day. So is on empty stomach for over 10 hours.
- Everyone was surprised with the swift prompt action, giving Felix a safety buffer - chance to fall under Dr Alane's care for over 9 days if need be.
This series of events is a living proof that the Lord cares about His children (human and pet alike) and will have things diligently planned for them in times of need.
THANKS BE TO GOD!
Chronological order of events:
14/5
- Felix vomited and the ALT rose mildly to 275. Vet gave him back the Marbofloxacin with the hope that things could return to normal. Recheck 3-7 days later.
- During this week, changed one of his CTM to Long Dan Xia Gan Tang on 18-21/5
21/5 - 8/6
- The ALT shot up to the roof. to 3549. So no choice but to be hospitalized receiving intravenous medication.
- Unlike in the past, the improvement came fairly slowly. Ringing an alert to us.
- Met vet on 27/5, suggest the need for biopsy with laparoscope. Initially scheduled for 31/5, but was called off by me on the better improvement in blood test readings and concern that laparoscope might not work for patients who had open up operation.
- Did 5 days IV liver oxidation, but not much progress. So decided to seek advise from Dr Lawren, Internal Specialist
9/6
- Discharged and met Dr Lawren.
- Conclusion - surgery is the best option and refer to Dr Alane of VSH
10 - 15/6
- Readmitted to Soares in the morning with marginal fever (39.5 degrees) and no appetite.
- Phone call at 12.30pm from VSH telling us to be there by 2pm for a emergency appointment. Dr Alane will go on leave from 20/6 and return in August
- Dr Alane decided to operate on him shortly after the meeting - take biopsy for culture and pathology. Clear the biliary duct, removed part of the stent which is not working (only 20% left and is stuck to the flesh).
- Felix the tough fighter recovered well. With slight fever for 2 days and started earing on his own after surgery.
- Delayed his discharge till day 5 post operation as wont confine his movement while at home.
Felix vomited once on 20th January and twice on 21st January during early morning hours. However, he showed his tell tale signs of being not well - donkey ride on my back and slept on my pillow. Luckily we were able to squeeze him in to visit family vet. A blood test showed his ALT shot up to 2154 (upper normal is 130). So no choice, but to stay in hospital for treatment.
During his 5 days in hospital, he did not urinate by himself. Each day during examination, the vet would massage his bladder and liters of urine came pouring out. They suspect its his psychological reaction to hospitalization. On second thought, I think he did't like the paper towel being laid in the litter bin.
Different from previous sickness, this time, only the liver reading was abnormal. So vet suggested its local infection. Suspected causes include: (1) reduction of dosage of Marbofloxacin? (2) eating the wrong food (renal wet food)? (3) changed the cat litter to Catsan (too dusty) or Ever Clean (has carbon for which he might be allergic to)?
The initial recovery seemed to be slower than expected. I suspect its because they use oral medication rather than intravenous ones. Besides, they didn't increase the Marbofloxacin back to 1 pill daily. Interestingly, he return to eating the full normal amount 3 days after returning home, which was a lot faster than in the past.
The donkey ride
Sleeping on my pillow - only happen when he is really sick
Felix returned to the show ring on 5th December, after over a 3 year break because of his liver/bile problem. We decided to participate as its a small 1 day show, so pressure should be acceptable. Besides, its a good bye present to Auntie Zellen, who took good care of him since he came to our family.
We didn't realize time passed so quickly. At 5 years 8 months, we thought he is at the prime of age. But in the show, he is the second most senior, and within his group, he is the oldest. But has he lost his charisma?
We found he has improved a lot. Though a bit frightened during the first ring, as he tried to walk out of the stage, other than that he just let it be. In the second ring, he is a lot calmer, and energetic. He sat up straight and paid more attention to the surrounding.
While waiting/resting in his shelter, he seemed very much at home - nosy, walked and looked around and even poke his head out. Ate dry cat food a few times (not 1 or 2 pieces, but over 15 pieces) and even drank some water. Initially, he slept well only when my hand touches him, but at the latter part of the day, he just nap on his own.
Unfortunately, Felix's appeal doesn't fit the taste of local judges, but in our mind, he's the winner in his own right - he has grown and mature. So, this day's effort is not wasted, but its unlikely he will be back in the ring regularly.
Felix had a day staycation in CityU VMC on 28-29/6/21. After vomiting on Thursday, initially he appeared a bit sick, but slowly return to normal in the evening. On Friday (28/6), during a revisit, found his ALT to shot up to 333 - though the normal upper bound was 150, this was really nothing when compared with his previous records of 5,000-8,000. But for precautionary reasons, the vet suggested to have him under observation for a day. We agreed to it, because if we took him home and found him unwell, the situation could be pretty messy, for his vet's last day of service was that Saturday. This would also give the vet more time to do whatever checking she thinks necessary.
Ultrasound found the stent nicely in place. The biliary duct going up to the stent is a bit swollen at 0.6cm. Possibility that there could be some sludge. Hope antibiotics and Ursosan would work.
Thank you Dr Vera for all the love and care towards Felix since November 2019. Felix had been through a lot of ups and downs, and we are truly grateful that you are always nearby to guide us through our thoughts to find the best solution for Felix. As we always joke that may be one day, Felix will board the plane to visit you in the US!
As for Goldie, we have changed to another Oncologist. She is now taking oral chemo medication to minimize adverse impact on her bone marrow. So far, she seems to be adjusting well, though her right nose condition has worsen a bit - watery at times.
Anyway, her appetite is still good. Nosy and playful at times..... Thanks be to God!
We have no intention of shaving their fur in preparation of the coming hot summer. But had to do so as a last ditch effort to end their part time job of being ringworm carrier.
The whole incident started in September 2020, when Felix had been in and out of hospital for a considerable period of time. He first got ringworm on the right foot. After it healed, got it in his left shoulder. Both spots had healed, but when combing his body for culture, it turned out positive pretty quickly for a few times.
Betty being a medium fur cat, was also found to be a carrier.
After a number of medicated bath, there were no improvement in the culture results. So we waited till early May when the weather starts to get hot to have both of them shaved. Hope that after a few more medicated baths, both would be ringworm free!
Really lucky that Goldie is ringworm free. I suspect its because she wears clothes.
October 2020 was a really tough month for us. Everything seems to go badly wrong:
- 2 family members of the family face the need for surgery
- 1 family member was told he fall short of the required practical hours to graduate this summer.
With love, faith, hope and perseverance, at least hopefully, we are now seeing light at the end of the tunnel, though the road to the eventual outcome requires a lot of patience and endurance.
One of the family member who requires surgery is Felix. In March 2019, Felix had his gall bladder removed and the temporary stent in the bile duct was displaced 7 days later (original intention was for it to be in place for 2-3 weeks). Post surgery recovery was pretty complicated, and took him close to a year to fully recover. We resorted to Chinese and Western medical treatment, which worked well for around 9 months, making him "hospital free".
Between 9-10/20, the bile duct issue re-emerged. Due to explosive ALT readings, Felix had been in and out of the hospital for a total of 5 times, accounting for roughly 50% of the time. The worst thing is that the time interval between hospital and home stay shorten drastically, with the last one being "discharged on Saturday and readmitted the following Tuesday".
Luckily, the Lord hear our prayer and provided us with guide posts to a decision for surgery to place a permanent stent in the stricture of his deformed bile duct.
1) In 6/19, we consulted Dr A of VSH and Dr. JS of CityU on the surgical alternatives suitable for Felix. Dr. JS walked the extra mile to consult his ex-colleagues in California and sourced permanent stent which arrived in 9/19.
2) In mid 10/20, the most swollen area of the bile duct increased to 1.6cm, from the previous 1cm. To me, this is a warning signal.
3) On 20/10 after a lengthy discussion with Dr JY, we decided to give medical treatment the last chance if the blood test reading shows continuous improvement in ALT on 3/11.
4) When discharged on 31/10, vet said Dr VM suggest revisit on 6/11. But an earlier called with the assistant gave us an appointment on 3/11. So I thought for safety reason, better keep the earlier appointment.
5) On 3/11, the clinic called to confirm our appointment. They had never done this before.
6) On 3/11, despite vomiting food and fur on 2/11 and a small patch of white foam on 3/11, Felix is active and hungry. Won't dream of his ALT exploding again. At that moment, I got the feeling that I might not be able to take him home safely any more. So the idea of surgery crept back in.
7) On 5/11, the clinic has a bag of Type B blood (which is difficult to find) which arrived the day before. So perfect setting for surgery.
Conclusion:
- Must save for the rainy days, so that when the need arise, won't have to spend the time and energy thinking about financial issues. Just focus on getting the best treatment.
- Love, Faith and Hope are great companions along the rugged road.
- Rest well to have a clear mind to observe and analyze.
- Comfort and encourage the sick so that they won't feel lonely in fighting the tough fight.
Our thanks to Dr. JY, Dr VM, Dr. JS, Dr. KH and our trusted friend RY for their care and love towards Felix and family.
