I just spoke to Dr. Webb – all went very well with the surgery. Bob handled the anesthesia well, no complications and all is cleaned up and the problem stuff removed.

So far, so good!

I received a call about 6:40 that Bob was anesthetized, prepped and about to go into surgery.

Dr. Webb phoned me this morning with the good news that Bob’s bloodwork was stellar – they were VERY pleased with the bounce back. The thought is that being so wobbly he was also probably a bit nauseous so not eating and drinking as much as normal leading to feeling even a bit worse from slight dehydration and accounting for the enzyme numbers. The extra fluids brought everything back in line. Additionally, he was continuing to eat well, his glucose stayed normal and he also lost the crankies. He was head butting, purring and rubbing up against anyone who gave him some attention. Everything pointed to a go ahead for the surgery so we did. The start is late as there were some Monday morning emergencies and also once it was a go, they needed to scale back his food intake pre-op.

I feel good and glad about the surgery. Obviously, he was feeling worse than I knew and to continue that way would certainly not have been a good thing. This is a tough surgery and he will remain in hospital probably through the end of the week and maybe a bit longer. They will keep him fairly doped up to manage the pain from this procedure. Once the pain can be controlled with oral medication, he will be released. We will stick around several days after to make sure he’s feeling up to the trip home.

When I spoke with Dr. Scherr on Sunday, he said that typically at day 7, they are feeling wonderful.

I had a tough night last night, but after hearing the good news and making the decision and having Dr. Webb tell me he thought it was the right decision for Bob…I felt calm. Bear and I walked, I worked…and repeat. The RV park has been very helpful and understanding of the uncertainty of my schedule and not only moved things around – twice! – so I could stay in this same spot but they initiated a retro-active campground discount card so that I receive, for all of the nights – the 10% member discount.

Hopefully, I will hear by 9-9:30 p.m. MDT that he is through the procedure. I will post a brief update when I hear.

This is my morning view – my place to sit and be still and ask for comfort and healing for Bob, peace for me, and giving thanks for where we are at the moment.

I met with Dr. Webb at 2:30 to look at Bob’s CT Scan. No tumor, no cancer but more than just fluid, in fact there is no fluid. There is some polyp like tissue that is feeding the infection. The surgery is a tough one and would mean he stayed at the hospital for 2-5 days until pain is manageble by oral medication vs I.V. drips.

His blood work is a bit rough in the kidney enzyme department.

Bottom line, I have to make a decision about putting him through this.

He is staying in hospital over the weekend – they suggested keeping him on fluids to see how he responded, i.e. if the kidney numbers come up a bit.

They are also sending the scan to a specialist for reading.

Monday is decision day. Dr. Scherr, who owns the clinic and is the premier surgeon is available.

I visited Bob after speaking to Dr. Webb and then had to run around town to get a bigger litter box than they had, but smaller than his own…and more of his brand of insulin. Around these parts, most of the clinics fill a different type. To add to the excitement it was 101F here today!!! Thankfully, a nice young man here at the park offered to keep an eye on Wild Thing and Bear. I HATE leaving Bear in the motorhome when it this hot in case power would go out or some other AC problem, but it was far too hot to take him in the Jeep. And the Jeep staged a small revolt in protest of the heat and I had to let it cool off in the middle of the running around. It was rather an exciting birthday…

But all got done and Bob has all of his stuff. He has a nice large kennel. I’m sure he’d rather be home and I miss him terribly but I also think this is our best shot at a good outcome. I told Bob all of this. He looked good and only hissed once at Dr. Webb. And everybody loves Bob! This hospital is staffed 24/7 and I’m told they will be updating me and calling if there any concerns at all.

Bear and I found a gorgeous place to walk along the river which we did this morning before it got too, too hot. I did a little work but was a bit distracted and then the run around town.

Bottom line, things are not as bad as they might have been and Bob is one tough cat. I will be quietly considering and praying about what to do. Bear and I will stay here in Great Falls until we can all go home together. We are in a comfortable place, near Bob and I am so grateful that we can do this fairly easily.