This Week With Jane and Freddy: My Cat and I Are on the Same Med

Hello, Dear Readers! This week, my eye continues to heal after my victrectomy surgery on March 31st for vitreomacular traction. As I write this, I’m 22 days out of the surgery, and I’ve made it through the six hours of “face-down” time every day (that went on for ten days after the surgery). I still can’t lie on my back, but I no longer have to sleep face-down. After getting through the surgery and other stuff, I’ll take it.

I still have the gas bubble sloshing around in my eye, but I can see it shrinking a little bit every day. It’s down below the half-way mark in my eye, and I can now see over the top of it, which is quite a thrill.

Not such a thrill is that my vision — or what I can see over the top of the bubble — is still distorted in that eye. Wait, what?! But my retinal surgeon, Dr. Fiander, says it will continue to improve over the next few months, even after the bubble disappears. I’m holding onto that, since she knows way more about this stuff than I do.

I have a tiny bit of traction in my other eye, but she thinks it will likely resolve on its own without surgery. I’ll hang onto that, as well.

I’m very happy that she gave me the go-ahead to drive again, so I’ve been wandering around the Peninsula taking pics here and there, checking my mail at the Old Mission Post Office, playing Mahjong with the Bluff Road Gang, going to church, and I even went to my long-time yoga class at Neahtawanta (had to do some modifications, but glad to be back).

Here’s a fox who politely let me take his picture after class.

Freddy, the Big Orange Cat Who Thinks He’s a Dog, continues to be a source of comfort and entertainment. I’m so glad he’s been here during my recovery. He’s made it way more bearable.

He does this funny thing where if he’s standing next to you and you lightly push down on his back, he’ll sit. Will and I have taken to saying “sit” when we do this. We’re hoping we can train him to sit and further confirm our theory that he actually is a dog.

He’s really taken a shine to the woodstove, and if he hears me open the door to put more wood in, he’ll show up from wherever he is in the house. Or it could just be because I’m near his food supply. He’s very food-driven, and would eat whatever I put out for him. Right now, he gets one can in the morning and one can at night. And ok, sometimes one of the smaller cans at night. And dry food whenever he wants it.

He was a stray before he arrived here from TC Paw, so maybe he’s just getting used to having a regular food supply. He weighs about 16 pounds right now.

When he arrived here, he would have these wheezing fits, where he would sort of half wheeze/half sneeze for 10 or 15 seconds. I took him for a checkup at Oakwood Veterinary Hospital (Charley’s vet, Dr. Mason, was out, so we saw Dr. Megan Cooper-Lydon and she was great), and she took some x-rays and didn’t see anything of concern. She put him on prednisolone, and we haven’t seen him wheezing since he’s been on it.

I’m now tapering him off the prednisolone, and he still seems to be doing ok. Other than that, Dr. Megan said he’s a healthy cat. Will and I haven’t noticed any other breathing issues.

Of note is that *I* am also on prednisolone in the form of eyedrops, and I’m also in the tapering off phase. After surgery, they gave me a schedule of eyedrops over four weeks so I can keep track, starting with an antibiotic, dilator and steroid (prednisolone). After today, I’ll be down to just one eyedrop a day.

I added Freddy into the schedule. Yes, my cat and I are on the same med. I think I speak for both of us when I say, thank goodness for modern medicine!

Also Read…

Jane’s Eye Surgery Update and the Artemis II Moon Mission

This Week With Jane and Freddy: My Cat Thinks He’s a Dog

This Week With Jane: New Cat in the ‘Hood and an Eye Update (Send Me Your Old Mission Stories!)