Tuesday night

We heard back from two of the DVMs in Eden Prairie today. Max is doing okay, relaxing in his oxygen cage. He had a needle biopsy on his liver today and we are waiting on the detailed results from the slides taken today. While we wait, Max is going to be relaxing in his oxygen-rich environment. Tonight, the doctors are going to experiment with the mix a bit, to determine how Max will do without the supplemental oxygen. The hope is that Miracle Max can come home or to the local veterinarian while we wait for the comprehensive biopsy results. Obviously, we would prefer that he comes home, but we will do what is best for his health. You might say this is just a cat, but Max is a beloved member of our family. It sounds the same, but in our home, there is a big difference.

Tuesday morning

This morning, I talked to another veterinarian, the doctor who takes the overnight shift at AEVS. Miracle Max is doing okay, but still in the oxygen cage. Another DVM who is a veterinary radiology specialist is coming in this morning and will do an examination via sonogram on Max, the results of which will help us to decide on the prognosis and what to do next. Max is a member of our family and we aren't going to make any hasty decisions. We want the most complete information available to us and the best care given to our family members, human or otherwise.

Monday, worrying but hopeful.

You know, sometimes it makes me wonder. This is going to be vague for observable reasons, but if someone goes out and gets a cat or a dog, and that creature isn’t fitting their lifestyle, I find it quite ‘interesting’ how it is easy to… eliminate… the animal. Two things come to my mind here. First, things are different from one family to another, and for some, a cat or a dog is like window dressing, a convenience, a decoration, perhaps. How nice. Like all decorations, what-nots, and nick-knacks, it is quite easy to get rid of an animal that is just an object introduced into a family environment for the purpose of ‘decorating’ their household. That isn’t the way it works in our home. Our dogs and cats are our companion animals. We maintain our home for the comfort of our son, Gabriel, and our companions, who are essentially our kids and our family. Species is not a qualifier. Our family is our family, period.

I have heard of some who have a dog or cat that is no longer ‘convenient’ or that chews up a shoe, also known as “doing what puppies naturally do” and what is the response? The simple way out, of course… how about a bullet in the head, a little lead and their annoyingly inconvenient pet is dead? It’s only a stupid cat or a bothersome dog, after all. In our home, that is unacceptable. That is not ‘us.’ Anyone who judges us because of that, we say, “So be it” and “Who cares what they think?” That brings me to my second point. Obviously, emergency care isn’t free. Our cat is ill, but we are spending our money on it. Anyone who says to me, “Why don’t you just let him go? Even if you treat him, he may die anyway, and what a waste of money that would be” just doesn’t get it. Two quick sub-points, to reiterate. One, that is not how we do things around here. And two, if you disagree and think we are wasting our money, well, it isn’t really your business and it isn’t your money… so butt out.


Now that I got that off my chest, I feel a little better. Heather and I are going to continue hoping and praying. I am as German as can be, and anybody who knows me knows that I am not going to give up easily, especially when my cat greets me, purrs, and shows affection when we visit him in the hospital. When I am told to ‘just let him go,’ I think, if we do not look out for those we care about, it doesn’t say much about our human values. Does it? No matter what happens with Miracle Max, he has been a wonderful and loving friend. More importantly, his illness has helped us to reaffirm our faith and the importance of prayer. That is quite an accomplishment for him. After all… he is just a cat, so why bother? Some day, I hope that the human race can learn to share unconditional love, something that our Fuzzman has taught us much about. We aren’t letting him go without a fight and lots of prayers. God knows best, and we are following His lead.

Monday

Very early this morning, we transferred Max to the Veterinary Emergency Center in Eden Prairie. He is doing okay, but has that problem with labored breathing due to his bacterial pneumonia. He spent today in an oxygen cage, where the vets increase the oxygen content to 40 percent (atmospheric air is 20 percent oxygen at ground level). This has helped Max breath a lot easier, but it seems likely he will be on oxygen for at least another day. The doctor on this shift just called and said he is doing okay, relaxing in his oxygen cage, while they are giving him two synergistic antibiotics to cover all the possible types of infection, aerobic, anaerobic, Grams plus and Grams negative. Max’s condition is guarded but we are very hopeful, praying every day with more fervor than ever, and not willing to give up easily. Max is a member of our family, and he is worth every bit of this. Heather and I completely and unequivocally agree.

Sunday

Miracle Max’s breathing is labored again, and at 5:30 this morning, Heather woke me up to tell me that he is open-mouth breathing, which is not a good thing. I called the on-call veterinarian and he met me at 6:00 a.m. He gave Max oxygen but did not have the facilities to properly take care of him. Heather and I took Max to Saint Cloud, and he spent the rest of the day in an oxygen cage. That helped Max breathe a lot easier.

Dave and Josh were here all day, with Josh asking to go to a skateboard shop ad infinitum. He was not too pleased, as most of the ‘mom and pop’ businesses in town are not open on Sundays. For a city of 20,000 people, I guess that is odd, but even the malls close here on weekends at 5:00 p.m. I admit, that is odd, with all the tourists here. I mean, the population of Crow Wing County more than triples on summer weekends. Still… it isn’t summer, yet. Soon, it will be like driving through a metro area, just to go to the grocery store. Oh, joy!

Miracle Max isn't feeling so good.

Miracle Max has been losing weight for a while, and Thursday, he started having problems with labored breathing. I hate when any of our kids are not feeling so well. Max went to the vet on Friday. As it turns out, Max has bacterial pneumonia and an enlarged liver. He tested negative for feline leukemia on 3 occasions and is negative for feline immune deficiency. Those are the ailments that the veterinarians feel would be the obvious causes of his weight loss, but the DVMs have ruled out all of those. Its so much easier with humans… they can tell you what isn’t feeling right.

Visitors coming this weekend

Dave and Josh are coming up this weekend. The house is a bit of a disaster, but that is no news flash, I suppose. Heather is busy being a mom to Gabriel and taking care of things here. I am busy, between my job looking after casinos, being on call 24-7, with the predictable overtime, and my education. My niece, Christina, and a friend are stopping in to visit. They are in the lakes region, staying at one of the “old money” resorts like Craguns’ or Maddens’, for a student government conference or something like that. By the way, in this case, “old money” resorts are those that have been in business since way, way, way before the lakes country was the place to be on weekends, and before everyone and his brother owned a lake-front property. Those resorts have been in business here since the 1930s, and therefore, they are the old money resorts.

Juan Pablo II

I have a road trip of about 600 miles, starting early in the morning. My class schedule this week is heavy with assignments, dealing with APA form, grammatical context, and writing a persuasive essay. I want to wake by 4 in the morning, so I can return home at a reasonable time, especially since Gabriel is not feeling so good right now. I'm a Dad... I worry about my little guy. I wish I had the inspiration to write something great, but my mind is exhausted tonight. Instead, here is something full of meaning, from a brilliant conservative mind, and I give him full credit. Rich Galen, mullmeister extraordinaire, as always, way to go, weaving words, skillfully, into a masterpiece. If you want to read more from him, check out http://www.mullings.com.

From Rich Galen: Keith Olbermann, on MSNBC Saturday night, said he remembered the time in Los Angeles when Pope John Paul II was being fawned over by the LA crowd: the singers, the dancers, the actors.

I had forgotten about this incident, but Olbermann had not.

The Pope singled out a young man who had been born without arms, but who had learned to play the guitar with his feet and toes. The young man played for the Pope. Oscars, Grammies, Golden Globes meant nothing.

A boy who had, through no fault of his own, been visited with what should have been a devastating disability. The boy got to play for the Pope. The Pope chose that boy to perform.

In the first days of the 21st Century there are many things in classical Catholic teachings with which one might disagree. You can disagree with, but not fault, a person who - like John Paul II - speaks from his heart. And from his soul.

Before he was elected Pope, John Paul II was Karol Wojtyla of Poland. While he was the Cardinal of Poland, he gave strength and support to the Solidarity movement in Poland which foreshadowed the collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe.

Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt defeated the Nazis; Ronald Reagan and Karol Wojtyla, arguably, defeated Communism.

Pretty good group.

Most of us go through life barely scanning what others write. Some are lucky enough to add commas and semi-colons and page-breaks to the daily discourse.

But men like John Paul II, and before him Churchill, Roosevelt and Reagan, fashion the great works of their times and leave the rest of us to ponder how, in some minute manner, we can be more like them.

Oseh shalom beem'roh'mahv, hoo ya'aseh shalom aleynu' v'eemru:

He who makes peace in His heights, may He make peace upon us... now say:
Amen.

Thanks, Mr. Galen, for helping me out tonight. Okay... it's my pathetic excuse for writing from here 'til the end of this entry.

It occurred to me that Terri Schindler was very possibly holding open the gate, waiting for Pope John Paul to come Home.

I am sure that Juan Pablo II is doing fine now, free of his physical ailments. The bigger question is, how will we do without him? Karol Wojtyla, Pope John Paul II, rest in peace.

Rest in peace, Terri Schindler

Today, i have no doubt that Terri Schindler lives on in a much better place. I am sure that she is looking down, wishing her family was in Paradise with her, as her parents and her siblings, who stood by her until the very end, and even in death, are trying to honor her memory with a proper Roman Catholic burial, while Michael Schiavo celebrates her death by tossing her ashes to the wind, and far from home. Did it ever occur to you that Terri's suffering and death was not in vain? If we learn something from this about the sanctity of life, maybe we can follow her example, knowing that she learned from the very paradigm of sacrifice, given about 2035 years ago.

I like this verse, and it says better than me that Terri is doing just fine, maybe even dancing in the presence of the Lord.

“O Death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord." (1 Corinthians 15: 54b-58)

Judicial Tyranny part 4

Terri Schindler has taught us all, she has spoken volumes without one audible word about the value and dignity of life. God has a place and a purpose for each life. We can learn from Terri, and from the least of our brethren. God gives life, and no one but God can rightfully take life away.

It is time to take America back. Terri Schindler did not have to die. Activist judges and an amoral, untrustworthy, treacherous court system are now espousing repugnance for the most basic of liberties, the right to life. Clearly, these lawyers murdered Terri Schindler. A bunch of wise guys once put pen to paper and declared they were creating a new nation, saying, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” Note life is mentioned first. Life is the most basic of all human rights. What part of that is hard to comprehend, judge?

The elected officials who said, “My hands are tied” are accomplices in the death of Terri Schindler, as well. There is a significant difference between the established ‘facts of the case’ and what is the undeniable truth. The definition of truth, in the court’s eyes, is an elastic, amoral piece of trash that can be perverted or disregarded at any time to suit the needs of the oligarchy in their lust for unconstitutional supremacy. By judicial decree, thanks to these lawyers, it is legally acceptable to murder ‘pre-born’ children, since the legal description of an unborn child is as ambiguous as Michael Jackson’s gender. Lawyers bend words to suit their purposes, no matter how disreputable they may be. Remember this, George Felos is an Evangelical Christian. Maybe he needs to look down one time to see the people he is trampling, in his quest for power and influence at any cost. According to that CBS poll, 82 percent of Americans said that the feeding tube should go. Had they educated themselves to the truth, that Terri was not EVER on life support, maybe they would have pangs of guilt for a millisecond before they went back to their reality TV. The 82 percent of Americans who said, “Terri must die,” are wrong, but we all have blood on our hands.

It is time to take America back from this judicial tyranny. This is not the America where I want to raise my children, and yes, we do have a choice in the matter.

Judicial Tyranny part 3

Were you among those who sided with Michael Schiavo, urging the torture of his de facto murder victim? The undertones surrounding George Felos and the ‘right to die’ crowd say she was just a vegetable and not worth saving. Oh really? Who next? How about babies with cleft palates, minor birth defects or the wrong gender? Not in America, not yet, but soon, yes, post-birth terminations for defects. We must follow those who are intellectually gifted, like much of Europe, (NOTE SARCASM). They know so much better than those silly Americans who worship an unconstitutional god, and actually still had a modicum, no, just an infinitesimal shred of respect for life… at least, until Terri Schindler was murdered by judicial diktat with the support of 82 percent of Americans, according to polls. That statement alone, according to polls, requires a huge disclaimer, penitence, atonement, and a tetanus shot. The implications of the brainwashed masses being led to the slaughter by the major media, seeking the poll result they need, to further their indoctrination into the guidelines of death as duty. It is just so foul, I am ashamed to be an American today. For what it is worth, I did not abandon Terri. Did you?

Judicial tyranny part 2

The arguments saying that this is a private matter ring hollow to the intellectually honest. This is a test case for ‘the duty to die’ in America today. Playing devil’s advocate, then, let’s say that Michael Schiavo physically harmed Terri Schiavo, putting her into this so-called persistent vegetative state, and ultimately caused her death by his legal ministrations. How is that remarkably different from Scott Peterson, murdering his wife and unborn son, Connor? That story was splashed on every channel on TV and in every paper for over a year. Wasn’t that a private matter? Or was it enthusiastically sadistic voyeurism?


Speaking further about private matters where the Supremes overstepped their bounds, Terri Schindler and abortion, not related, right? There are bold-faced parallels, as well. After all, children under a few years old are unable to feed themselves. Should they be killed because they are not autonomous beings? Well, yeah, if you are a liberal, your party demands protections of the professed right to have a doctor violate the Hippocratic oath and chop up, then vacuum an innocent child out of the safety of the womb in which he has been sheltered.


Coming soon to America, the right to kill your baby after the birth, but only in the first few years of life. How accomodating. We are civilized, after all. Baby killing is a civil right, according to the likes of Whoopee Goldberg, the Hollywood crowd, and millions of others. After all, unwanted babies should be killed. They are just slugs of flesh anyway. This is insanity, guaranteed to infringe upon the right to life of the least of our brethren. As I said, may God have mercy on America.

Judicial tyranny part 1

I heard that the Congress and the President intervening to save Terri Schindler were overstepping their authority. Oh really? Gee, all you constitutional geniuses who know so much better can answer this, “Whatever happened to ‘separate but equal’ and the ‘balance of power?’ Congress and the judiciary balance the President. The President and the judiciary balance the legislative branch. Who balances out the judiciary? In today’s America, nobody does.


In defense of the Constitution of these United States of America, the judicial branch was not intended to be the final arbiter of all decisions without any recourse. The legislative branch has the constitutional right, and the express written duty, to overrule the judiciary and to constrain the judiciary from acting on specific issues. This is constitutionally written and guaranteed as a balace of the powers of the three branches of federal government.

What we are seeing here is the opening salvo in the battle of the constitutional protections of America, versus the unelected and unaccountable judicial oligarchy. These lawyers in black dresses are completely out of control. They facilitated the murder of Terri Schiavo, and they are as guilty of negligence as George Felos and Michael Schiavo are of murder.


If the idea that a judge can order your death, though you have committed no crime, doesn’t scare the hell out of you, then you scare me more than a little bit.