Broken Hip

WELL.....things are moving along. I received my application from IMOM. I can't complete it until after Monday when JJ returns to the vet. I have most of the info ready to fax. The care card denial number, the income proof.......but I need the estimate and diagnosis of JJ.

My fingers are crossed.

JJ wants outside so bad... A couple weeks ago I put a window unit in the window by my computer. I am extremely hot natured and like the cool breeze blowing on me. We have CH/A and we use it but we enjoy it being cold.

I did not nail the accordian sides but merely tacked them in. JJ opened one last night and went outside. When husband got up this morning JJ was sittin on our porch without his bandage and yellow was trying to use the same trick to get out.

My husband freaked out and fixed the window... When I got up he told me what happened.

JJ's foot was dirty and I had to rewash it and re bandage it. Poor guy.

He is truely going to love his enclosure and so is Yellow.. It can't happen soon enough for me.

Jenn

I have to tell someone. Miracles happen! I have been sick for years fighting a horrible disease and I just found out I am cured!!!

I have had hepatitis c for 30 yrs. I am a veteran and back then they used common needles upon entry into the military. They are actually call jet innoculation needles. And they spread disease. They are not used anymore.

I found out I had this by a routine physical when my husband's insurance changed hands in 2002 and I immediately started treatment. I drove once a week the first year to St Louis for blood work. My beginning viral load was 18,360,000 per ML of blood. The first treatment did not work but it knocked my viral load down a little. I took 12 pills a day during this time. It killed my thyroid so I also had to start taking meds for that. I took inteferon and Rebetol... Horrible stuff. Horrible side effects.

The second treatment, upon starting, I had a viral load of 10,600,000 per ml of blood. I started this one 5 months after completion of the first failure. I was labeled a non-responder. It also did not work but continued to knock the viral load down. I did this one at a regular dose for a year also. This treatment here I got from the VA hospital in Fayetteville Arkansas. I was their first patient who took Pegasys meds and when I took it at the normal dose at first it did not work. I called the chief of staff and begged him to treat me at a higher dose. I also had to bed him to treat me at all. Then I showed my doctor documentation of double doses after it not working and we tried that for 6 additional months. 18 months total on this med with no break during the medication dosage change. That also did not work. But it did knock the viral load down some. I took this treatment for 18 months straight. And 12 pills a day of Rebetol.

At the time I started the Pegasys, the VA had no idea this med was FDA approved. They had never given it before. I sent the doc the paperwork on it. The difference between the Pegasys and the regular Intefeon is that one is body specific and one is more liver specific.

The first two and a half years of treatment I have taken one shot a week. And it didn't work with the type of HCV I had which was genotype 1a. This last year I have had to give myself daily injections. I just could not give up. The genotype makes all the difference in the world as to whether treatment will work or not. The OLD genotypes have had many years to mutate into making a killer and something that is very difficult to treat.

The third treatment was also a med I had to talk the doctor in to giving me with no break in between the treatments. I did not want to give the virus a chance to rear its ugly head again.. When I started this treatment I had a viral load of approx 175,000 per ml of blood. It was called Alfacon-1 and I took daily injections that I gave myself of the maximum dose. These were funded by the VA and cost the average Joe approx 250.00 each. I took 12 pills a day during this time as well. I had to sent the chief of staff all kinds of documentation on this drug. He had never given it before.

So millions of pills later and more shots than I remember I have made it and have come through. I have had three zero viral loads now and they are doing a final one tomorrow.

If that is also zero, this alfacon-1 will have worked. The alfacon-1 is an old remedy that many doctors don't give. But for me it broke through and made the difference.

Many people die because they absolutely cannot afford this medication. If it were not for the VA, I would be dead now.

I can't believe it! I have made it!!! And came though with minimal liver damage. And since our liver is the one organ that regenerates itself, I will be fine.

Now, my poor little mother who is on her second chemotherpy for large cell lymphoma needs her miracle.

And JJ needs his.

We are a family of miracles. Another miracle was that my children were all born while I had this disease. I had all my family tested. All came back clear. Thank god... I cringe when I think of the times my husband has bandaged me when I have been working on the house in years past and handled my blood. But he never got the disease. He has stood by me through all the hard times and all the puking from the meds and all the times I have been very ill natured due to the Rebetol. Someone said in this thread that my husband is a good man. And that is absolutely true.

Jenn

Originally Posted by jcribbs

I also had to bed him to treat me at all.

Click to expand...

I'm so happy for you. Bless you. I'm sorry but I just couldn't stop chuckling when I read this line. Kind of reminded me of the old casting couch stories.

oh my........... that's not what I meant at all. hehehe

beg beg beg........

I guess I gotta watch those tie-pos...... and those spilling mistakes... folks might tink im jist a hic.........

hehe

Jenn that's fantastic news about the Hep C, horrible disease that one!

About your enclosure, I love the idea of burying the fence (actually I think it's a must). Could I recommend the deeper the better. I've been having terrible problems in my backyard with skunks (and other critters) digging under the fence. They've pulled out, and dug under all sorts of obstacles that I've tried. I would recommend if you could get the mesh down at least 6 inches and securely down...that's what I would do. Last night I went out in my yard and plugged all the holes that the neighbourhood skunk made in about 24 hours so I could let my two out in the backyard. Low and behold I turn around and there is another cat tearing through my backyard and attacking Lucky. I don't know where it came from or how it got in (i was out there at the time...must have gone under the fence at the back)....Scared the crap out of me (excuse my language) and luckily i was out there...and Lucky had an escape into the house. I would hate to think of something sneaking into the enclosure and your boys not having an escape (or vice versa them escaping).

I'll stop blabbing now...

I know you have read Pebbles thread, but just wanted to say that I had read those kind of things about side effects, and my vet said it could take her up to 6 months to be back to normal cos she is 11, yet she is doing better than anyone expected, so dont get too disheartened about some of the negative side effects. And I am really pleased you have beat Hep C

I am glad I beat hcv as well.......... It was a struggle.

Now, back to kitties......hehe

6" deep might be wise. I didn't think about anything coming in. Just them getting out. hmm.. I'll discuss this with my husband. The fencing we have brought are squares 2" x 4". Little rectanges. I am out there a lot at the new place working and I have not seen any skunks yet but have heard pigs, and hawks and turkeys... We are making it 6 feet tall as well.

When I reach the point of actually putting the fence line up, I will proalby ask for some suggestions on this. Right now I have the post holes dug and the land cleared. We are putting the fence up all at once when we get to that point. Dog fence and cat fence. They will have one common fence line. Buti the dog yard is only going to be 4 feet tall. The cats is 6 feet tall. I am sure the dogs will sit and gaze at the cats in their enclosure... We want the cat encloure this tall so I can put a door outside so I can go inside it to clean and do my stuff.

Tomorrow I have a doctors visit and then I'm done with that. Then next week, my hubby and I are hanging the rock. Thats going to be hard work.

Take care.......gotta clean a little house now.
Jenn

It's funny...i never thought about something getting in the backyard...just my two getting out. What a scare when that feral took off after Lucky. I would definitely ask around her for suggestions, i'm wondering what those who have fenced in chicken yards do to keep foxes out....might have some good advice on that.

I can't wait to see the finished enclosure. If i knew i was staying put at this place for longer i would definitely try and get one built.....not sure what it would do as a selling feature on my house. lol..my neighbours already think i'm the crazy cat lady!

I actually think a cat enclosure would increase a selling value of a house if it is made to look half way decent. Since it has or should have a small kitty door going into it from the house, people with little dogs would love it... I'm sure my dachund will have a blast playing outdoor in the enclosure. She already thinks she is a kitty.

And I have been thinking about the bottom of the fence line. What I could do is dig a small 4" ditch where the fence line will be and fill it with rocks/gravel after the fence is in and then pour quick-crete in the rock ditch. It would make it permanent and there is NO WAY anothing could get in or they could get out. Their fence posts are going to be natural cedar from our land and we are doing them the same way. The cats can use them as scratching posts as well so they will serve a dual purpose.

I am also the crazy cat lady in my area........ I consider it a compliment!!!

It took unbelievable courage & determination to go through what you did to beat Hep C.

I am sitting here laughing because of the thread I referred you to about "Alex & his 3 feet".
Alexander the Burn Victim..is the title of a song.
Boy...do I feel silly.

Crazy cat lady?
Bravo!

Hi jcribbs!

Our kitty (who lives with my mum) had to get a back leg amputated at age 10 because he had a cyst wrapped all around the muscles and tendons and things. They tried cutting it out, but it came back worse. We ummed and ahhed over it for a while due to the cost and his age.

We decided to go ahead with the op, and when he came home after surgery, he hopped straight out of the cage on his own, and hopped away under a bed where he sat giving us the evil eye and sulking for a while.

It took him no time to get used to it, and he's a bit slower than he used to be, but his whole temperament changed after the amputation and he's soooo much nicer now! He's now 16 and purely an inside cat, but still in excellent health and one happy cat.

That is so encouraging about your elder cat sarahp. I have 4 more days to wait for the vet appointment. JJ is getting fixed too during whatever procedure the vet decides to do. And poor JJ. He walks around the house meowing that male cat meow. Poor little guy. He sniffs all my female cats but thank god they are all fixed. Aint nothing happening there!! hehe

And yeah, the HCV meds knocked my socks off but I have always been hardheaded and refused to give up. I have heard and READ so much about HCV I fee like an expert on the subject. If anone reads this thread that might have this disease, I say NEVER give up. The meds get easier after a while. You get used to low grade fever and it will quit effecting you in a negative way. Don't take no as an answer if your doctor labels you a non responder. They are only human. And all the companies that make the meds have some sort of program to help pay for the meds. And if you are a vet, get to your local VA hospital and MAKE them treat you. And god bless us all.........

And.......I have never heard that song. I will have to find it online and listen to it...

Did I mention in this thread that Star is scared to death of Possums??? She is trying to guard the porch at night but end up dashing in the house. She is so funny. The other cats just ignore them. One of the possums is bigger than JJ. Huge big rat things. One good thing is they don't carry rabies. Their body temps run too low for rabies to live in a possom. Raccoons carry rabies however. So glad mine have all their shots. But it's still nice to know no rapid possom is hanging out. And these are fat possums. They sure love the cat food.

Speaking from experience, your cat would be fine without a leg. Seriously, you would be amazed at how quickly they respond after a leg has been removed. My vet says that "all cats are born with an extra leg."

Tazzy may she RIP got hit by a car last year. She suffered a lot of other injuries, but the worst was to her front leg where they kept insisting it was "nerve damage." I finally took her to another vet who recommended amputation because she had broken it far above the scapula a place that never breaks. We decided to get it done and the day after surgery she was running around the room!

She passed away from other complications none involving the leg, just a collision between a vehicle and a cat that we dearly miss.

After her death, we decided to build a cat enclosure, you can see it here:

Cat Enclosure

+1
I agree with Hissy. Being a vet tech in several amputation surgeries and seeing the results afterwards; it's amazing. Most cats feel an immense relief to have the bum limb gone and out of the way. Some cats even get up and move around in their cages before they go home!

PS Hissy: the cat enclosure is heavenly! I'm jealous!

OH my gosh......... I love that enclosure. What you did with the bottom of it with gravel and cement is EXACTLY what I have in mind. My husband said but when we enlarge it, how are we going to do that? I told him we move the door so that they can have two rooms. Right now, it is only 10 x 20 but I plan after we clear some land to make it 40 x 20. I love the roof as well. I am fixing to check and see if hubby is asleep yet. I want him to look at this.

It is absolutely perfect Hissy........

I showed my husband and he LOVES it... He was a carpenter for 20 years in his youth so he has all kind of idea floating through his head now. He also said it wants us to have one ulta large. But we will have to increase the size little by little. We have to get the first area finished first and get the house finished so we can move in.... What a wonderful play area your kitties have His......

It is fantastic and a i hope to one day have one just half as great as yours!!

Right now I have three inside cats. Jimmy, JJ and Yellow. One of those is feral and one is going to be handicapped and one rans off. So they stay in and hate it. The cat enclosure is basically for them. The others are in/out cats. But if I can make my enclosure large enough, I will keep them all in the house and they can spend their outside time in the enclosure SAFE...

That is what I want. They can live their kitty lives comfortably with me having no fear of anything getting them or harming them... What a relief that will be......

Thank you for sharing the photos. I needed to see that.j And I am so sorry about the loss of your cat... But the info about the three legs is encouraging. My huband keep hoping there is something the vet can do so JJ can keep his leg but I told him it would be better to go ahead and amputate. If the nerve damage is permant and no feeling ever comes back in the leg, then he will have to keep it bandaged forever and that would suck...

I think he will adjust and do fine. And he will love his kitty enclosure.

By the way, I was telling eileen today that Jimmy ate some raw steak for me. He came toward me to get it. He ate three feet from me. I dont' try to touch him as he does not like it but he is slowly coming around. Also the baby kitten that we HAD been calling Minny is Jimmy's special friend. He takes care of her and they are going to be very close. We are definately keeping her for him. My husband named her Princess Minny. So we have Prince Jimmy and Princess MInny.

Also this is my tentative plan for the enclosure. Thanks to Hissy's pictures I see my dream.
I am only going to get one room done before we get the house finished. But one day I hope to have it completed. The second room might be a year away but the first will be pretty soon since we already have the fencing and stuff for that. You have to have a dream!! If you don't nothing will ever happen.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...closureGIF.gif

AND

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f308/dovey123/all.jpg


And JJ has decided he is a lap kitty. He will NOT stay out of my lap. When I am on the computer, he comes to me, meows, and puts his front legs in my lap so I'll pick him up. He is so big he can't lay across my lap so I have to hold him on my shoulder like a baby. He has decided he wants to be spoiled. He even like laying on his back in my arms like a baby. He's come a long way for a stray......

Two more days till the vet.........

Jenn

JJ has decided he likes being spoiled. If I sit at the computer, he wants to lay in my lap like a baby on it's back.

If I'm on the couch, he wants beside me.

He is an excellent cat!! Extremely sweet natured.

Tomorrow is vet day...... I can't wait to see what they say. I sure hope it's good news. I am going to remain hopeful until I know otherwise.

JJ's foot is looking better. When I go to the new place Ill get my camera battery charger and take a picture. But the swelling is down and it is healing.

Thank god......

Jenn- stop bandaging it and splinting it. Leave it completely alone except to treat with antibiotic ointment. Honestly, both you and JJ will be better off if you just amputate the leg. They truly do NOT miss the leg at all. It is amazing, but with you stressing over it, fussing about it, you can give him a nasty bone infection. Splinting/bandaging of a cat needs to be done by experts, especially with a damaged limb. Nature has given cats a lot of regenerative powers, the problems come when humans intervene (with good intentions) and turn out making it worse without meaning to.

All this is spoken from experience on my end. I am not chastising you in anyway. Just cautioning you to leave the leg alone and let the vet decide the best course of action.

I understand what you are saying Hiss, but I have to cover it. It is not splinted at this point but it is covered with a bandage with antibiotic ointment. I quit splinting it after the second day because it did no good as far as him staying off of the sore.. If he drags it around on the sore uncovered, it gets infected and carpet fibers get in the hole of the sore. We will see the vet in the morning but it will be covered until then unless he advises me otherwise.

I change his bandage once a day in the AM with fresh ointment and the vet is absolutely aware of that. We discussed it when I made his appointment.

The sore is healing because it is protected on a paralyzed leg. However, that has no bearing on the paralysis of the limb in itself. I also think the vet will advise amputation of the limb but you never can tell.

But I can't just leave his wound open like that while he has his limb intact due to the dragging. And yes, I agree, he will be absolutely better off without the limb. In fact if this vet does not agree to the amputation, I will probably take him to another vet. Otherwise JJ will suffer sores on that foot for the rest of his life. And that is totally unacceptable to me.

Jenn