The Power of Prayer?

Elliott and I went to the vet first thing this morning, and when we arrived he had a temperature of 103 and had lost 2 more ounces of body weight (down to 5 lbs 10.5 oz). After discussing his history with the doctor, we decided to put him on an IV in the morning and a feeding tube in the afternoon. It was really rough for me to make that call...

The good news is that early this afternoon the doctor called to tell me that Elliott was actually eating. After only a few hours on fluids (and before they inserted a feeding tube), his appetite kicked in a bit, and I'm pleased to say that by 7 PM he ate a whole can of food (Fancy Feast) while at the vet. I couldn't believe it.

After work I went to pick him up (IV and all), and so far tonight he has eaten three times. (!) He has probably only ingested a tablespoon total, but he's interested. He has also parked himself in front of the water bowl twice and gulped water. I've flushed his IV catheter once, and I'll do it again in the early morning to keep blood from clotting. He is being so well-behaved. So far, so good.

Tomorrow he'll go back to the vet for another full day of supervision. He'll get more liquids, and if he is still eating on his own, then they'll remove his IV catheter.

Please keep the prayers and happy thoughts coming. Annie - thank you for sending out the prayer circle, because today was a great day, and you have to wonder how much of Elliott's improvement is driven by all of the people that were rooting for him today. I'm still maintaining caution... but please keep up your thoughts and prayers. And thank you so much. :)