Sadly, Enya's CH wasn't the only thing she battled. After countless visits to the vet, and complete devotion to her - Enya's condition only worsened to the point of complete paralysis. Something much more severe than just the CH, but the vet couldn't determine what was wrong with her.
After days of watching her brother Thomas improve and adjust to his mild CH, Enya was eventually only able to faintly meow while laying paralyzed from the neck down. I waited painfully each day to see improvement, but she just got worse each day. After a week or so, we couldn't bear to see her suffer any more. Only after every effort was made to help her did we decide to end her suffering. We kissed her head lovingly, we prayed for her and we cried as we let the vet take her away and we said our goodbyes.
We spread her ashes in the Spring, over the roses in the garden. It was moving to me - she was finally free from the trapping of her little body. I imagined her running and jumping all around the yard, free from the restraints of her CH, free from the pain of whatever else was raveging her body. I imagined her tumbling and playing with her brother Thomas, just as she should have.
I smile when I think of her. Though she suffered some, I still see those bright eyes of hers and remember how loved she was and how happy she was - the sound of her happy purr. Her life was short but significant. She touched the lives of my family, friends, the workers at the Vet's office and people online as well who are affected by CH. Maybe she helped inspire others to adopt pets with disabilities. Maybe her story will help those with CH kitties to appreciate each day dispite it's struggle over-coming a defect or adapting to life, because no matter how hard the life - it's still a life and that's worth something. I hope she is remembered. Look at those eyes, how can you forget a kitten so sweet?
It's months later now, and Thomas is a tank. He is a little clumsy, tripping and falling from things he shouldn't have climbed to begin with. A true brat, if ever a boy cat could be. Yet loveable and sweet, and enjoying the life of a cat well loved.
