Prof. Boyd: What I Learned When I Saved the Life of My Old Cat
March 6, 2018
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Writing on OZY, Betsy Boyd, a lecturer in the University of Baltimore's Klein Family School of Communications Design, tells the story of the surgery that saved the life of her family cat, Stanley. Boyd details the "exorbitant sacrifice" she made for the cat, and the confidence she has that she made the right decision.
"I talked to Stanley. I explained how much I wanted him to live but said I didn’t know what I should do," Boyd writes about the agonizing decision to have the surgery done. "I watched how he responded to the needle-stabbing treatment I administered at home and the low-key but regular vet visits that were merely meant to keep him alive a bit longer. He purred a lot. He wanted to live, I believed. But he wouldn't, couldn't—not with a bum couple of shriveled kidneys.
"Still, I couldn't decide. I'd find Stan collapsed on a chair and half-hope he'd died in his sleep. He hadn't. I was elated.
"'The sooner you get him a new kidney, if that's what you decide to do, the longer he'll get to have a chance to enjoy it,' our local vet said to me by phone while I paced the backyard. Somehow, once Nancy gave her blessing, I became fearless.
"The morning of the surgery, Dr. Aronson stepped into Lynn's office where I was holding Stan, petting him and saying my potential goodbye. She wore green scrubs that swallowed her petite frame and old white Keds, and she looked pale.
"'I'll do my best,' she said, 'but I can't make any promises.'"
Read the article. Learn more about Prof. Boyd and the Klein Family School of Communications Design.