Goldie brilliantly complete her 17 years and 3 months of earth mission on 9th November, 2021, at 2.25pm.
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.
Your
life story could go on endlessly… and we were truly grateful that you are you.
You were not only cute, adorable, loveable, affectionate, but you really were a tough
fighter. In February, I was told that the cancer you got was very aggressive,
with only a few months of time left. Luckily, by trial and error, with the
appropriate medication and occasional nasal flushing your nasal condition
largely remain under control.
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
