I had the worst night in my memory tonight.

My daughter who is 12 wakes me up at 9:30pmish saying:

"Mooooooooooooooom - Bella's got something coming out of her stomach!"

Bella is our female kitten. We have 2 male kittens and one female. They are our "babies" and are very precious to us. On Friday we had Bella spayed and the 2 males neutered.

When I came down the stairs, blurry eyed, I was thinking maybe the cat had slept in the cat box and probably had junk stuck to her fur.

I looked at my daughter who was a bleach white and then woke up really fast when I looked down at my feet and noticed my kitten had her intestines literally bulged out of her incision area and hanging outside of her stomach.

Trying to remain calm I scooped the kitten up and ran up the stairs, woke up the significant and made him hold her while I put some clothes on. I ran back downstairs looking for the phone book - which someone had inadvertently forgotten to replace and ended up scrambling online to find the VET emergency number.

I call the number to get an answering machine - I leave a frantic message and wait for the on call vet (the only one our small town has)... to call me back.

My significant is freaking out - my daughter is freaking out. The kitten starts vomiting. Life is just bad right about then.

The Vet says - meet us at the clinic if we can get there. She said her truck was buried in the snow.

I looked outside - and about freaked out - we'd just had in the last couple of hours over 3 feet of snow dumped on us.

For those who know me - they know I live in Alaska.

We are currently having the worst BLIZZARD in our town's history.

And it happened during the time I was sleeping - so it shocked me even more.

We wrapped the kitten, everyone squirming about touching the entrails and holding on to her. She didn't even seem to notice what was going on - the poor kitten was freaking out about our moods and was squirming - it was a cluster.

So we stuff the wrapped kitten inside the significant's jacket and we head up the 80 stairs to get to the car. (I live in a condo - the bottom ones, near the lake - and there are 80 steps UP to get to the Parking Area.)

It was a struggle getting to the Parking landing - the snow came up to my hips.

We got to the car. NOT POSSIBLE was all my mind kept telling me.

My car was buried in the snow. You couldn't open the doors - the snow was above the window sill of the car - the roads had not been plowed.

The Significant and I had to make a quick decision then.

The whole town must have been affected also - so the plows hadn't gotten to anything but the main roads yet.

The Car would NOT drive in snow that covered the hood of the car.

We live on a lake - and the Vet Clinic is Across the street from the OPPOSITE side of the lake we live on.

To drive - we go the long way around.

We decided we'd try and hike it there.

Going back down the stairs, we slid and slipped, falling down and getting ourselves buried in the snow. It was incredibly difficult just to make it back down to the lake area.

We decided to keep going on - because our kitten's life depended on it.

Neither of us were dressed for this weather - but we didn't have time to wait - or go get dressed.

We stepped off the porch into waist deep snow and started making trail through the snow.

I've never made trail through thick snow before - but after 10 feet, you're exhausted.

In the middle of the night when you just woke up and you're slogging through the snow just trying not to fall - to not get swallowed up by the snow, trying to breathe as the wind and snow pummels your face - it's miserable.

I kept up with the significant until about half way around the lake. We weren't taking any chances - because the lake might not be completely frozen and it's a deep lake.

About halfway thru - he seemed to be getting further and further ahead of me. He had the kitten so I just kept going, knowing he had the better chance of getting her there before me.

It took a half hour to get through about a block and a half.

My significant's trail was covered by the time I reached it - and it was white out conditions.

I have Fibromyalgia and Neuropathy - so I was in massive pain at this point - and starting to have an asthma attack. I couldn't breathe.

My heart was beating hard in my chest - I could hear it pounding in my ears. I was thankful that I could see my significant was a large distance ahead, thinking that the kitten was in much better hands.

But then I couldn't see him any more.

And my foot hit open water underneath the snow - and it sucked my boot off as I pulled my foot up quickly - trying to balance my weight evenly. We'd taken the shallow end, but even the shallow end route is over 8 feet deep.

I grabbed my boot and I put it back on silently berating myself for not wearing any socks. My boots are those little leather boots that are for going out dancing - not slogging through the snow.

Since the snow was up past my waist - I leaned back against the snow pile all around me- I just couldn't move any further at that moment.

I sat there for a second - just trying to get my breath. Trying to breathe - trying not to pass out from pain and serious exhaustion. I was hot and freezing at the same time. The snow was whipping into my mouth and my eyes, blinding me.

I realized that while I could see the main road from where I was, No one could see me.

If I had a heart attack out there and died, no one would find me until later when my significant went back for me.

If I fell completely through the snow into the water on the lake, no one would hear me scream as the wind was howling all around.

I felt hopeless for a moment at that halfway point. I felt ALONE in a way that I've never felt before and for the first time in my life I realized I had gotten myself into a situation where it was theoretically possible that I could die if I didn't get my ass moving.

I pushed on - and it got harder to breathe - I felt like I was choking in gasps. My muscles were screaming out in protest against the constant lift-shove-lurch that my legs were doing trying to get me through this half mile of snow that was above my hips in most places.

I just kept thinking "one more step" - that's all I need to do... One more step.

I finally stumbled out of the snowbanks onto an area that had been plowed about a half a block away from our destination. I could see that the significant other was standing outside the vet clinic, under the eaves - but there was nowhere to hide from the blizzard as it swept around the building.

I made it to him and the Vet building. The Vet hadn't made it there yet.

My significant said something about kicking the door in - so that we could get out of the snow.

I said no - maybe if we have to - we can break a window or something.

Just as we were getting ready to do something because we were both freezing, the Vet's vehicle drove to the road's edge - and they jumped out of the vehicle into 4 feet of snow and they plowed their way through to us - letting us in.

I broke down and cried then. Not your little sniffle type of crying - but the total adrenaline dump crying.

The "I think I just put my life in danger - and now I'm safe" kind of crying.

The vet took the kitten immediately into the operating room and took care of her, while the vet's significant brought me warm towels.

My significant and I were wet from head to toe - and literally exhausted and freezing.

They got us some hot apple cider and made me sit down with a warmer plate under my frozen feet.

I freaked out - there was NO WAY I was going to go back the same way. I wouldn't make it. Just wasn't going to happen. We waited a little while and the vet agreed to take us as far as he could the long way - on the roads - to where the snow plows had managed to get to.

He got us to within a block of our house.

I came into the house and stripped clothes - and sat down - and just looked at the computer.

I guess I am thankful that I didn't lose it out there in the blizzard.

The Vet just called and let us know that Bella is going to be alright - and that they haven't seen this kind of thing happen in about 10 years. That my daughter saved that kitten's life by being observant.

I don't know if it was worth it - I know my kitten wouldn't be alive right now if we hadn't of done that...

But I don't know if I could do it again.

That - my dear friends, was the absolute worst night of my life in a way that was so profound, that I can't even describe it.

WagerWitch

Reply