More bad news

After our fantastic vacation that really took our minds off the stress of my Dad's illness and the treatment that he has to undergo, we really got smacked in the face with reality upon our return home. The day after we get home, Dad started his radiation treatments, in preperation for his surgery on January 18th. As if that wasn't enough, we found a very large lump behind the ear of one of our cats.

This is Pepe (AKA Pepoucho), who has been Tracey's constant companion since he was a kitten, almost 17 years ago. She refers to him as her "number one", and she doesn't just mean number one CAT.....I know my place, and I'm number two on a good day. She is quick to point out that he's been around a hell of a lot longer than I have.

Pepe is one of the sweetest, most loving cats I have ever known, and he has cancer. On Wednesday we are taking him for X-rays to see if it has spread; if it hasn't, the doctor will do some blood work to see if he is otherwise healthy enough for surgery. If all that goes well, we can hopefully get him cured through surgery. If not, then I guess we bring him home and make him as happy as we can for the time he has left.

Those of you who know us well know that our cats are our kids. We are a lot closer to Pepe than we are to my Dad, so this illness is much more stressful. Dad's illness is a little more time consuming, with constant drives to the Cancer Clinic in Abbotsford for radiation, but Wednesday has the potential to be a very, very bad day.

Keep us in your thoughts.