Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Cats, Cops, and Critical Care

Well do we have a story to tell. Today while we were taking our cousins, Kim and Robert Jones, daughter Sarah home we stopped at a red light on a major 6 lane road. A small cat jumped out of the median in front of us trying to cross the road. We waited but the light turned green and other cars started to go. She was very frightened and ran under our car. Now we were stuck not able to move. I got out of the van to see what I could do and she jumped into my arms! I am allergic but I could not leave her there to surely die so I put her in the van. I asked Sarah to hold her (she owns a cat) but she yelled that the cat might have rabies and didn't want to touch it. Now my little ones are freaking out ( the cat was fine just frightened) and the light turned red again. I calmed the children (Sarah included) and we went to 2 animal hospitals looking for help to keep this cat off the street. Unbeknownst to us the driver on the road behind us had dialed 911 and told the police we hit the cat and it was animal cruelty. Well both hospitals were closed so we decided to find a policeman to help us and when we did we got a shock, they were looking for us! After we assured him the cat was fine he said he would lead us to the local animal shelter. As we followed him another police car followed us. Talk about your low speed chase! Hahaha When we got the the shelter they came running out and were very glad to see a healthy cat not a run over one. We took her in and signed her in and they even remembered us because our older beagle Misty got out and they brought her home when Gordon first got to Texas. When I mentioned we were the family with the old beagle that snored they said - you are the people from Nebraska. Apparently Misty made quite an impression that day. Anyway thanks to the fact we had the cat and could show she was not injured we did not face animal cruelty charges. Also we are now friends of the Sugarland police department and the animal shelter. If you are in Texas there is a pretty grey cat looking for a home. Sweet and not afraid of strangers.

Those of you that know me know that while this story may seem far fetched it is the kind of thing that happens to us all the time and now we can start to feel at home in Texas! Also in case you are wondering while my arms swelled up I did not have any breathing problems so we where blessed for helping a defenseless animal and we did eventually get Sarah home.

Now onto other news. We were supposed to close on our house Thursday but the paperwork is not finished so it may not happen till Friday morning. I will get you the address and phone next week, it may be Tuesday before the hook ups are complete. Also we had our first appointment at MD Anderson and it was great! They really knew what they were talking about and the are taking great care of us. We have an MRI on Friday and then we will be hospitalized on Tuesday for our inpatient chemo. I was really impressed that with all the questions I threw at the doctor he knew all the answers without having to look and was not worried about anything going on, just gave us a plan to handle things. I will have lots more info when we are at the hospital Tuesday but we did learn that Josh will not be going to school this year. I don't know exactly what the plan is for him, it could include homebound instruction or even online school, but we will get that all set next week. They say that it is too much for them to try to get to school with unstable counts and the weakness the chemo brings. Every cycle will be harder on his system so we will go to plan B. (this is another thing Nebraska was wrong about) Faced with the school uniform Josh was not too sad to stay home and is excited about learning on the computer. All in all things seem to be falling into place so we are excited about what happened today and are feeling better about being here. God Bless you and I am sure your prayers are making a difference so thank you and keep it up, we pray for you too.

14 comments:

A mother heart said...

You sound like you're in good spirits now that a few more things are settled. Have fun signing all those papers for your house. (I swear, you sign your life away when you buy a house. I'm surprised they don't make you sign in your own blood.)

I'm glad you are liking the doctors a lot better. I'm sure that makes HUGE difference!
Love you all!

Anonymous said...

Only you would have a story like that, and I'd believe it. Thanks for saving the cat. And, it is good to hear you are already making friends in Texas. Love and hugs,

Susan

Anonymous said...

Don't lump all of Nebraska in with what you considered to be substandard care - the whole state did not do you wrong. And lots of people were extremely kind to you when you lived here. One doctor's lack of care does not define what all of the other people here did for Josh when he was here.

NIblet said...

Wow, someone from Nebraska is touchy... I never got the sense from you, Ruth, that you felt you received substandard care there, and I KNOW how much you loved the people there and it was hard to move. I believe you said you had seen several mistakes by more than one doctor/nurse, and thought it best to get him to the folks who knew his type of cancer/treatment the best. The fact that you moved to Nebraska - by obeying inspiration - saved Joshua's life... and you wouldn't have moved away if you didn't think it might save him again. I know your family appreciates how well your friends in Nebraska took care of you and your family during all this, you told us how great they all have been.
- robin

Anonymous said...

It's funny how one comment in your blog can bring out the best in people. I don't think you said anything bad about Nebraska, in fact I know how much you loved it there. So, whomever "anonymous" is should own up to what they wrote. Chicken? Have a great day, a blow off those comments that really don't matter. You know you are doing what's best for your family. Keep smiling! P.S. I would've left the cat, sorry...not a cat person.

Anonymous said...

"Cats, Cops, & Critical Care"...HEY! that sounds like one SMASHING reality TV show!

If Josh wants to be "Email Pals" with our boys who Homeschool too, let me know! You'll find that there are several LDS Homeschool support groups who schedule field trips and other fun get-togethers.

We still pray for you all...ooops...I mean "YA'LL!"

We love you!
The Florida Wilsons

Lanae said...

so good to see such a good post. can't wait to see pics of the house. keep us posted.
love you you tons, glad the drs are what you were hoping for. jeffey keeps praying for josh.
take care
lanae

Lanae said...

ps i agree with your friend. if you are going to leave a comment like that, you better make sure you are going to sign it! kind of ironic that whoever wrote it was singing the praises of everyone in nebraska and setting the opposite example themselves. oh well

Britt said...

Wow, I can totally see that whole cat thing happening to you. That is crazy. You are so good to try to take care of it. Good luck getting into your new home and we'll continue to pray for Josh and all of you. Ruth, you're amazing!

cyndi said...

hi from the pereira family! I found you - I'm glad to hear that the adventures continue - life on 173rd Ave just isn't the same. I haven't read through everything yet but it sounds like things are beginning to come together in a good way. I miss seeing and hearing your tribe down the street.

Thanks for the many ways you touched my life. Prayers and "lovin's" - Cyndi

Anonymous said...

Hi Jones Family
We miss you all here at Wheeler Elementary and hope you are finally settling in there. What adventures you have had since leaving Omaha.
Please give Josh an extra hug from us (and Teddy too).
I hope things slow down and get to some kind of normal there.

From Barb Douglas

Anonymous said...

I am glad to know things are going better for your family-I drove by your house yesterday and it looked so different...you are missed.


Kisses to the kids-

loveyouall-cheri

ArchRay said...

From one who got great help in Nebraska for mine and my daughter's cancers, I have to tell "anonymous" that your doctor did "drop the ball" many times. Bad doctors can happen anywhere. Most of mine were great (with one exception) and yours weren't. Such is life. I LOVED the cat story and I am glad you didn't react. I am glad Josh won't go school. I hated to catch colds during chemo because they were major productions.

Lanae said...

heard you had a good day, tell josh we love him. call when you get a chance. love you
lanae