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Your Pet Loss Diaries'Elyse & Krista'
About Krista
Krista came to me in mid September 1996 when I was 9 years old at a fall craft fair. My mom saw someone giving away her and a sibling and allowed me to bring her home. Krista was never an ordinary cat; we bonded together instantly. Anyone who has ever had a Siamese will tell you that they bond to one person for life. I was that person for Krista, and she was my pride and joy. Over the years we moved countless times, she carried me through my parent's divorce, through high school, college, and as I tried to decide what to do with my life. She was there for it all and she was always willing to greet me with a playful (and sometimes demanding) meow. In early 2011 I brought Krista to work with me (I work for a vet's office as a technician) for routine labwork like I did every year, or more, depending on what my cats needed. I had just lost another of my babies a month or so prior to liver cancer so I was feeling a little paranoid. The labwork came back fairly routine, with some elevations suggestive of inflammation. We decided to take a couple of x-rays to rule out any stomach problems and to just sort of establish a baseline. In doing so, we found a mass on her right lung lobe. Since she was not symptomatic, we decided to monitor and treat conservatively with antibiotics. Over the next few months her follow ups were fairly routine. Repeated x-rays showed no significant changes, and her bloodwork remained normal. Krista continued to act like the sweetheart she always was. Starting in May 2011, her appetite started to go downhill, and her weight along with it. Dr K and I decided to start her on an appetitie stimulant to help her keep weight on, and continued to give her antibiotics. Early June 2011 she began spiking high fevers and really seemed to be depressed. I switched her over to injectable medications to help keep her fever down and started taking her to work with me every day. I had an ultrasound done on her lung on June 20, 2011 and the vet who did it diagnosed her with "sick lung" and said it needed to be removed immediately. I took her home to contemplate the potential complications of such surgery as well as her quality of life after surgery. On June 22,2011 I noticed her breathing seemed a little heavy. I took her into work and we gave her an injection to help open up her airways. X-rays then revealed some fluid in her abdomen, suggestive that her heart was having trouble coping with her lung issues. That afternoon she began to have trouble breathing and she had to be placed on oxygen therapy. I lost it and had to spend several hours in a room next to her on the oxygen tank just crying. When she stabilized I decided to take her home and bring her back the next morning for surgery. That morning, June 23, I woke up to a totally different cat. She had jumped off the bed from my side in the middle of the night and was curled up in the closet, breathing heavily, when I looked into her eyes they were glossy and clearly begged me to say goodbye. With all the strength I could manage I held her tight and told her I loved her. Then I called work to tell them we'd be down to put her to sleep. A few minutes after 9 in the morning, Krista left this life in my arms looking directly into my eyes. All the love she had given me for the past 15 years was reflected in my eyes back at her. I will never be the same.
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