A trip to the Vet and a stay at the Emergency Department

This is a blog about Little Jerry Seinfeld and how he was diagnosed with Diabetes on Jan.31 and how life has been since his diagnosis.  It was scary for us and for him too, I'm sure.  He seems to be getting better as time goes on but we won't let our guard down as things aren't exactly as they are supposed to be yet, but every day a bit of our LJ comes back to us like normal.

Here is a bit of background on how things happened. 

We had noticed for a few months that LJ was losing weight but assumed it was just because he was getting old.  Actually, not getting old, he was already an old boy at the sweet age of 15.  We figured he was slowing down and not as plump as he used to be for that reason.  He was 11.8 pounds for what seemed like forever. :)  Sadly, I know now he was down to just a bit over 5 pounds.  We had no idea he was THAT small! He was still acting like his crazy, hungry, tap drinking,  pretend "plastic eating" boy that everyone loves so we didn't really put a lot of thought into it.  

Recently we started noticing that his balance was a bit off and planned to make a trip to the Vet just to get him checked out.  I came home from work one evening to find him needing to have a poop but poor LJ couldn't get it out. It was stuck halfway out and I couldn't leave him go on like that.  I called the Vet to see what to do but thankfully he passed it while I was on the phone with her.  Since I had her on the phone I made an appointment to have him checked out anyway.  The next 24 hours before his appointment would be agonizing!  

That happened on a Tues night.  He was acting off but nothing that I was overly alarmed about.  Wednesday was a totally different story though.  LJ decided to spend all his time laying in the bathroom, on the floor.  This signalled something bad was happening as I had another kitty who spent time in the bathroom when she was really sick.  Mommy spent the night sleeping on the bathroom floor with her little guy trying to make sure he was ok and anticipating his every move.  Something was wrong with my poor little guy, I just hoped he held on long enough for us to fix him. 

Thursday evening went took him to the Vet.  The dr. didn't look happy but said they'd do some blood work and other tests to see what was wrong.  When she came back she said he had severe diabetes and was in very bad shape.  My heart sunk and I felt like if I wouldn't have thought it was just his age making him lose weight then maybe he wouldn't have gotten so sick.  Was I going to lose my poor little guy right then and there?  The dr. said he needed to spend the next two days in the Emergency so he could get the treatment he needed to hopefully bring him through the worst of this and allow him a chance to get back on the mend again.  After some arranging of things we were off to the Emerg with him.  Poor little guy didn't put up much of a fight and I was again totally heartbroken when they took him but I knew he was in the right place.  

I called first thing the next morning to see how he was and they said he was doing better after getting some insulin, some meds, and some fluids as he was really dehydrated.  It put my mind at ease but I couldn't wait until we could go see him later that evening.  I called before we went over to visit and they said he was doing ok but when we got there the dr said she didn't like what she was seeing and that we could visit and then we'd have another talk.  I knew what that meant.  BUT, LJ had other plans!!  When he seen us in the room she said he became a different kitty.  He perked up, not only would stand for us but walked around the room etc.   She was shocked!  After about a 2 hour visit she said it was time for him to get more blood work done and that she'd call us with his results in 30 mins.  30 mins turned in to almost an hour, leaving me to fear the worst.  When she called she said I can't explain this and she said she even went to another dr to show them but his numbers were way up, pretty much where they should be and all his other blood work looked good, a far cry from the results she seen earlier in the evening.  I couldn't stop crying with happiness!!  I said maybe he just needed to see mommy and poppa Frank so he'd know we didn't give up on him.  She said it appeared that way.  That's mommy's boy!!  Our little fighter!!!  He stayed in Emerg for another 24 hours and was actually released on Sat a few hours earlier then expected.  It was sooooo nice to have him back home where mommy could wait on him hand and foot.  Funny thing is I still do that, almost a month and a half after our first big scare with him.  

I was told it would take him a while to get regulated on his insulin and that the nerve damage in his hind legs may or may not get better and if it did get better it could take up to a year or more.  I was also told he could live a perfectly happy life after everything got regulated.  I'm happy to say as of right now he's still fighting to live and every day we see a bit more of our LJ coming back.  He's on insulin, special food, an appetite supplement to make him hungry, Restoralax so he'll poop, stuff to make it softer coming out, and fluids to keep him hydrated. He has to get readings done so I can keep track of his sugars which he isn't overly thrilled about.  After all, who would like having their ears pierced numerous times, until we can get some blood but he's our trooper and doesn't fight us too much most times.  That being said, he's not a kitty who follows the rules, doesn't eat when he's supposed to making it sometimes tough to judge what he needs for insulin, he doesn't always bleed when we give his the needle to collect his readings and his internal clock must be off as he wakes mommy EVERY morning between 4 and 4:30AM but you know what, he's still with us and I'll fight to keep him with us as long as he fights to be with us.  Hearing his meow is better then the alternative!!  Fight on LJ, fight on!!