It’s been a tough few months

As the title suggests, the last 4 months or so have been quite turbulent in the Brooker household…

I’m not sure if I mentioned this before, but 2 days before Chan was born, we lost our cat, Moby. Then, after we got back from the hospital, Lola started taking a turn for the worse. It was weird, because we knew she was probably depressed about losing her pal, Moby, but she just kept getting worse and worse.

The vets didn’t really help matters. They first diagnosed her with arthritis and incontinence. So we started the regimen of pills that she would ultimately take for the rest of her life. The thing is, she realized that every time she ate, we would shove a pill down her throat. So, she stopped eating.

This, of course led to a myriad of other issues. To sum it up, the last three months have involved the above afflictions, as well as bleeding stomach ulcers, explosive diarrhea, Lyme disease and ultimately what we believe to be cancer.

We spent thousands of dollars on a variety of meds and treatments, only to have no answers whatsoever. It was eerily reminiscent of what happened with Moby.

A week or so ago, we had her put to sleep. She had begun to wither away and was barely a shell of the Lola we have loved all these years. In the end, it became a quality of life issue for both her and us.

I took her to the vet by myself that day. I took a half day from work so I could at least spend a few hours with her before she left us. I sat on the floor of the examination room and held her head as they sedated her and watched her drift off into her final sleep.

My hand was on her chest as she drew her last breath. I cried.

That weekend I went to Griffith Park by myself and buried her collar in a green open area she loved to run in. I never saw her happier than when we took her off the leash and let her frolic in the grass.

Our house and our family feels so much smaller now. As long as Heather and I have been married, we have had these two creatures with us. Channing is a true blessing, but I can’t help but feel sad for her as she will never know the joy that Moby and Lola brought into our lives.

I try not to dwell on the weirdness of the situation. Losing two animals so close to one another is so strange and off-putting. Heather and I have constant conversations, trying to rationalize or find some reasoning/blame for what happened. Ultimately, I have to tell myself that this is just an unfortunate turn of events and life will go on.

It doesn’t take away the pain however. I know that will fade.