ShazzieB
ShazzieB's JournalThanks for all the good wishes for Willow. ❤
I'm sorry I didn't thank each of you individually at the time. Please accept my apologies and consider yourselves all thanked now, from the bottom of my heart.
We got the news from the vet yesterday, and it isn't good. The tumors are malignant. She needs additional tests plus surgery that will add up to several thousand dollars. My husband is freaking out about the cost, but I've decided I don't care. I am going to raid my 401K to pay for it.
Most cats that develop these kinds of mammary tumors are much older than Willow and usually either unspayed or didn't get spayed until an advanced age. Willow is 8 years old, tops, and was spayed by the time she was two. So she was not at all a likely candidate for this. But you know how life is - shit happens, and it doesn't pay any attention to statistics.
There are still a lot of unanswered questions right now. The next step will be to take her in for x-rays and an abdominal ultrasound to check for any metastasis. That will give us a better idea of her long term chances.
Then she'll have the surgery and the stuff they remove will be analyzed in the lab to determine the type of cancer and the stage. Best case scenario would be no metastasis, the surgery gets it all, and she gets a few more years to enjoy life. That's what I'm hoping for.
I'm sitting on my bed typing this right now, and Willow is curled up next to me sleeping peacefully, completely oblivious to what's going on. Looking at her, it's hard to accept the fact that her little furry body has been invaded by a deadly disease. The whole thing seems surreal.
I guess that's it for now. I'll keep you all posted on everything that happens, step by step. Thanks so much for being here and rooting for us. It helps a lot just to be able to come here and talk about it. This group is the best!
Willow's trip to the vet
Hubby and I took our feisty little tortie to the vet on Thursday, because we had noticed a suspicious lump in her abdominal area. When the vet examined Willow, she also found another smaller lump. She said they could be mammary tumors and suggested doing a needle aspiration of both lumps and sending the samples to the lab to find out exactly what's going on. We readily agreed and are now awaiting the results. She said it could take up to 10 days, maybe less but not more than that. With luck, we'll hear some time next week, and I'll post as soon as we know anything.
I'm trying not to worry too much, but it's hard not knowing if my kitty has the feline equivalent of breast cancer. Willow's only about 7-8 years old, so I wasn't expecting to have to worry about any serious health problems for a few more years.
We also found out she has some bad teeth and probably will need some extractions, but we didn't schedule anything yet. We'll figure that out when we find out what's up with the lumps and the treatment options for that. If she needs surgery, I'm hoping they can take care of the teeth at the same time.
I'm okay right now, since we haven't gotten any definite horrible news yet, but thoughts, prayers, an good vibes are always welcome.
In the meantime, here's a pic of our little lady.
There's a revolution happening in children's book publishing--you can thank the book bans.
Publishers are fighting back on book bans by flooding the market with books representing diverse points of view.
Book bans arent new; the practice is centuries old. But over the past four years, right-wing organizations have been on a crusade to remove books from school libraries and classrooms. Last school year, these groups challenged more than 3,000 titles. The top reasons for contesting books is that they deal with LBGTQ+ issues or shine a light on racism. As someone who tackles both of these issues in his work, Smith has gotten used to his books being challenged. In many cases, librarians dont even bother buying them, because they know parents will contest them, he says. They dont even have a chance to be banned.
But while the book bans cut into his sales, Smith says hes more motivated than ever to keep working on issues that are important to him. It fires me up to make more books about truth and history and justice for all, he says. I want to live in a country where there is diversity of thought.
Smith isnt alone. Publishers, writers, and progressive organizations across the childrens book industry arent letting the book bans hold them back. Instead, theyre turning the bans into a rallying cry to publish even more diverse characters and points of view. Indeed, over the last five years, there has been a steady increase in books by and about people of color. And people are finding creative ways to make sure these books get out into the world.
More here: https://www.fastcompany.com/91087732/theres-a-revolution-happening-in-childrens-publishing-you-can-thank-the-book-bans
This a fairly long but, imo, encouraging read.
Need suggestions for chicken free cat treats.
I'm going to be cat sitting for my daughter and her partner for a few days next month. This will consist of going over to their place each day to refill food and water dishes as needed and scoop out the litter box.
This will be my second time doing this. Banshee and Pooka are very shy little girls, and when I went over to take care of them last year, they spent most of the time I was there hiding. By the last day, they were showing themselves more but would still dart away if I got too close.
I want to make friends with these girls and would like to try offering some yummy treats to help them associate my presence with something positive. The problem is, daughter says Banshee is allergic to chicken, so I need to find something without that (very popular) ingredient.
I have a few weeks to get ready, so I'm starting to research what's available out there. I was wondering if any of the cat lovers in thIs group might have any suggestions.
I'm tired of my grandkitties thinking of me as the strange lady they have to hide from when she comes over and want them to start thinking of me as the lady who comes over every now and then and brings them *DELICIOUS THINGS*!
People come in all flavors.
I started writing a reply to someone's post but it started getting rather long, so I decided to put my thoughts in an op instead. I was responding to a comment expressing the view that Republican politicians aren't really people. It bothered me for some reason, and in the process of trying to explain why, this is what I came up with.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Those Republicans of which you speak are not good quality people, that's for sure. Some or them are complete garbage people. But whether we like it is not, they are human.
Humans come in a vast array of flavors, like Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. Like the aforementioned beans, some are delightful, some are quite vile, and many are somewhere in between.
Unlike candy beans, humans have the ability (at least in theory) to make choices about what flavor they're going to be. As we all know, some of them make very bad choices. But candy beans are still candy beans, no matter what they taste like, and humans are humans, regardless of what terrible choices they may made.
This rather silly analogy is just my way of trying to express how I feel about saying any group of people, even truly awful ones, are not people, i.e., human. That kind of thing makes me twitch, because it's the exact strategy that has been used all too often throughout history to convince certain groups of humans that certain other groups of humans are not really human, and that the world would therefore be a better place if those other groups were eradicated.
Tell me I'm too sensitive if you want, but it makes me extremely uncomfortable to see comments like that at DU, even though I'm pretty sure that no one here really thinks that Republicansn (or any other group of humans) literally aren't human. (At least I sure hope so!)
To be honest, if I saw a comment of that sort anywhere other than DU, I'd probably just ignore it. But I feel like we here at DU should hold ourselves to a higher standard. We're Democrats, the party that values all kinds of people, and we never know who might be lurking here, especially in an election year. I thereby suggest that we try to avoid any kind of comment that sounds even almost, kinda, sorta like the kind of comments those vile flavored beans, err, people, sometimes make to vilify the groups they consider inferior to themselves.
I don't expect everyone to agree with me or do what I'm suggesting. But I hope everyone who reads this will just think about it a little. Then go ahead and do what feels right to you.
Peace out.
Next time I see a crying teenager...
Next time I see a crying teenager, I'm going to hug them and tell them it only gets worse.
(From a funny tweet.)
Here's Why The Total Solar Eclipse Has Prompted States Of Emergency In Parts Of U.S.
*snip*
[Indiana Governor] Holcombs executive order cited the states membership in the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, a national mutual aid program that allows states to call on others for assistance or resources when a governor issues a state of emergency.
State of emergency declarations can trigger several potential means of assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, including individual assistance for small businesses and households, as well as public assistance programs for road systems, public facilities and other emergency protective measures.
On county and city levels, such declarations allow local officials to get assistance from state emergency management agenciesbut local and state governments can directly request assistance from the federal government if needed, including asking the president to declare a major disaster, according to FEMA.
More here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/caileygleeson/2024/04/04/heres-why-the-total-solar-eclipse-has-prompted-states-of-emergency-in-parts-of-us/
Tl/dr: Don't freak out when you hear about states of emergency being declared due to the eclipse. It's nothing to worry about and is intended to provide an extra measure of safety for those in the path of totality (both residents and visitors to affected areas).
Biden to Netanyahu: Protect civilians or else
The 30-minute conversation was the two leaders first phone call since an Israeli strike killed seven aid workers from the World Central Kitchen in Gaza. The killings have set off a furor inside the White House and Biden has been described as reaching a new level of frustration with Israels campaign.
President Biden emphasized that the strikes on humanitarian workers and the overall humanitarian situation are unacceptable, the White House said in a statement shortly after the call wrapped. He made clear that US policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israels immediate action on these steps.
*snip*
The call amounts to perhaps the most serious sign of Bidens frustration with Israels campaign in Gaza, which was launched in the wake of the October 7 attacks by Hamas. In the time since, more than 32,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Palestinian enclaves health ministry, and grisly reports of civilian deaths are made every day.
More: https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/04/politics/biden-netanyahu-call-wck-deaths/index.html
Prosecutors say school shooter Ethan Crumbley's parents show 'chilling lack of remorse' after manslaughter convictions
In two separate sentencing memorandums dated April 3, Oakland County prosecutors asked the judge to sentence each parent to 10 to 15 years in state prison.
The prosecutors allege Crumbleys father has repeatedly threatened Prosecuting Attorney Karen McDonald and has said there will be retribution, while the mother has asked to serve her sentence under house arrest in her defense attorneys home.
James and Jennifer Crumbley were both found guilty on four counts of involuntary manslaughter in two separate trials this year for their roles in their sons mass shooting at Oxford High School on November 30, 2021. Jurors found they were both grossly negligent in allowing their teenage son to have a gun and ignoring signs of his spiraling mental health. Ethan, who was 15 at the time, killed four classmates Madisyn Baldwin, 17; Tate Myre, 16; Hana St. Juliana, 14; and Justin Shilling, 17 and injured seven other people.
Lots more here: https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/03/us/crumbley-parents-michigan-shooting-prosecutors-sentence/index.html
The whole thing is worth a read if you have the time.
These people are...strange. I actually feel sorry for Ethan. With parents like these, he never really had a chance.

ELECTION RFK Jr. campaign disowns its fundraising email calling Jan. 6 rioters 'activists'
Source: NBC News
WASHINGTON The campaign of independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sent out with a fundraising email Thursday referring to Jan. 6 defendants as "activists" who have been "stripped of their Constitutional liberties," echoing former President Donald Trump's rhetoric about the 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
In the appeal sent to supporters, signed by "Team Kennedy," the campaign called for the exoneration of "political prisoner Julian Assange," the founder of WikiLeaks, suggesting he and Jan. 6 defendants are victims of prosecutorial abuse.
*snip*
After publication of this piece, Kennedy spokesperson Stephanie Spear told NBC News that the language was an "error."
That statement was an error that does not reflect Mr. Kennedys views. It was inserted by a new marketing contractor and slipped through the normal approval process, she said.
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/rfk-jr-campaign-jan-6-activists-stripped-constitutional-liberties-rcna146445
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Name: SharonGender: Female
Hometown: Chicago area, IL
Home country: USA
Member since: Tue Mar 26, 2013, 03:18 AM
Number of posts: 19,291