Frankie’s Friends National Fund helped Omar receive the care he needed for diabetes. This is a note from his family.
“Omar and I would like to extend our thanks from the bottom of our hearts for even considering our application for aid during our time of emergency. Omar’s mother kitty was run over when he was just a kitten and his whole litter was abandoned; he leapt into my arms at a BARC animal shelter in Houston 12 years ago, when I was merely 20 years old—it was like he “chose me.” Today, I am 32, and he is still my absolute best friend and the reason I get up in the morning every day. Though I come from a rural low socio-economic background and am a first generation American and college student, I find myself finishing my degree now in Denver amidst the pandemic whilst also giving back to the community—my very job is running a food pantry on campus (now mobile) of which I implemented a pet food pantry within due to my commitment to all animals.
When Omar got diagnosed with diabetes last year, I committed to budgeting for him, but I never expected so many mishaps and such expenses to befall us during this critical time of year for me amid a pandemic and when we students are all waiting for our student grants and scholarships and just holding onto our minimum wage work-study jobs. My whole family lives in Texas, so I really have no one here since I moved here for a better life five years ago. My two cats, Omar and Beck, are like my children. Amidst all this stress, I also need to find a new place to rent by August 31st and my parents, 67 years old and back in Texas, are experiencing a heartbreaking “grey divorce” amidst the COVID-19 peak and losing not just 45 years of marriage together, but our family farm. So they really cannot help us.
Needless to say, my chosen family here in Colorado are my two wonderful furbabies and they are crucial to my mental health, given all I am going through.
Omar is the sort of cat that “changes peoples minds about cats.” He is a lover, a “floppy”—he willingly wears cute hats and will just lay cradled in your arms recieving love and giving it. Omar always knows when something is wrong—when I roll out my yoga mat, he always comes to lay next to me and support me. Omar is also a resilient warrior—he has hidden the pain of this pancreatitis and hepatic lipidosis and tried his absolute best to keep eating at home, but now he needs our help, a seven days feeding tube to get enough proper nourishment in him in order to flush his liver.
Omar loves having his feet tickled and “kneading bread” on his favorite stuffed animals. Omar sleeps next to me every night and loves to nuzzle his face into my chest. He is so soft and furry, he dries up all my tears during this stressful time in the world. I feel I can be honest: I am a survivor and I have C-PTSD, so Omar (and his healthy brother cat Beck, rescued one year after Omar so that he had a playmate) are truly a part of my lifeline to survival too as a single adult and childless female trying to make a better life for herself.
I know Omar will have diabetes for the rest of his life, and I was prepared for that. But hepatic lipidosis is reversible. this is the only way to save him. I know someday I will have to say goodbye to Omar and going through this has prepared me to make end of life decisions for him but even right now, I wouldn’t have the funds to do that at home with Caring Pathways safely and I am not sure if I could live with that decision when there is a cure but I have simply run out of money in time. It just is not fair.
Omar’s resilience inspires me to start advocating for students with pets in his name, long after he is gone...but Omar is still here today, for now. I write this letter in desperation, coaxing him every few hours with another type of food and giving him fluids and meds to keep him going I hope until 7:30 in the morning when we can call the vet, and I hope say yes to the help he needs (we cannot get services without money).
Omar needs this feeding tube, and we need help obtaining it. He has a 97% chance of recovery with a tube and after spending it all to get this far, any help to save his life now would mean everything to the both of us. We are all animals and interconnected—I know Omar is asking me to fight for him. He gets so much better, then in one night falls sallow, jaundiced and will not eat. I cannot cure this on my own and every weekend I fear this happening because I cannot afford a weekend ER visit.
We are honored and grateful. You are saving one kitty life and honestly, prolonging the quality of life for an adult student trying to advocate for people and pets all over.
Thank you and please, stay safe and well. ”
