From Serendipity To Injury
It was Monday night. I came home from dinner at 8:30 pm. Suvy had not come in from her day of outdoor activities. I grabbed a flashlight and started looking for her outside. I found her among the camellia bushes chasing insects in the night. The weather was mild and so I let her continue this carefree activity. At 9:30 pm, my mom asked me to find her and get her inside the house. As I went to the kitchen door, I saw Suvy creeping through the backyard gate in an unusually hesitant manner. She ran to the back porch but had trouble jumping onto the back porch. She had to pull herself up with her two front legs. Then she limped into the house. I put her onto Mom’s bed and examined her right leg. There was a small cut about half an inch long on the inside of the leg. I applied anti bacterial ointment onto it and Suvy scratched me and hissed at me. She spent the night underneath my bed, occasionally moaning. Neither one of us got a good night’s sleep.
Since I had to take my mom to the doctor in Atlanta on Wednesday, we decided that we had better let the veteranarian check Suvy out. Her leg was not swollen and I did not suspect a fracture, but I did not feel totally comfortable with the idea of letting her stay alone in the house on Wednesday. It was a difficult job, getting Suvy into her pet taxi. She was hiding behind the couch. I have always respected that location as a sacred refuge for her, but this time I had to move the couch away from the wall; grab her; and push her into the pet carrier. The vet told us that the cut was only superficial and that the leg had better be x-rayed. A few minutes later I was shocked to see on the x-ray that Suvy had a compound fracture of the femur of her right leg ! The bone was completely broken in two ! We told the doctor that Suvy liked to climb trees and that she had probably fallen out of one and hit her leg on a limb on the way down. I have actually seen Suvy fall out of a tree once before. The vet indicated that she could put Suvy to sleep and set the broken bone. We told Suvy that we were not abandoning her and that the doctor would give her something to help her sleep. So Mom and I sadly left Suvy there and continued our activities for the day.
Mom and I stopped by the vet on Wednesday morning and told Suvy that we loved her and were not abandoning her. Then we left for Mom’s appointment in Atlanta.
Having a crippled cat and a mother in need of medical attention is a sad predicament to be in. A preoccupation with sadness can distract one away from one’s work and practice. Writing about it as I am now reminds me that the emotional part of myself is only part of my awareness and not the totality of it. These emotions of sadness and sympathy are only a part of my being and should be given only a part of my total life. With enough objectivity and will, I can soldier on and perform my responsibilities in life despite the admitedly justifiable feelings of sadness and sympathy. A person’s thoughts and bodily condition can overwhelm a person as much as these emotions are overwhelming me now, but transcending the situation is a strategy that can help to fulfill one’s aims in life.
Will I suceed ?
I.C.