Albert is home and I'm less miserable

I have a cat. His name is Albert. He's a cat.

We met on the streets of Dorchester about 10 years ago. I think he was abandoned by his previous owners, but that's just conjecture on my part. He doesn't like boxes and I think they packed up and left him behind. I was in a pretty bad way when Albert and I met and it's not hyperbole to say that he saved my life. I felt responsible for him in a way that I didn't feel responsible for anyone else, and the desire to be a better pet owner kicked my ass to go into therapy, get on some medication that worked, and address some of the issues that were wrong in my life.

Since COVID settled into the world, I've watched friends work from home, connect with people they haven't seen in years, start online D&D campaigns, and somehow get more connected with the world -- or at least get differently connected. I haven't managed to do that, and I've been feeling more isolated and alone than I have in my life. Albert has been a big help dealing with that, and now he's gone for two weeks.

He's in the hospital, getting a thyroid treatment. It was planned and necessary, but he'll be gone for 15 days. Because the treatment involved radioactivity, it's done in a special ward at the animal hospital and I cannot go and visit him. He'll be fine, but for the next two weeks his bodily fluids need to be disposed of by specialists and no one can have more than brief physical contact with him. If he were home, I don't know how I could reject him if he wanted to snuggle with me, so he's at the hospital until he's given the all clear.

The treatment is expensive. Between the initial visit, consultations, tests, and the next two weeks, it's over five thousand dollars (plus the bite GoFundme takes). In addition to hitting me socially, COVID has also hit me pretty hard in the wallet. As a performing artist, I'm one of many who watched as venue after venue closed, many to never re-open. The other thing I do is run a space that is used for live classes, rehearsals, etc. With no performances, the need for rehearsal and audition space dried up. With no one wanting to be in the same space as each other, income from teachers renting class space disappeared.

I'm using this campaign to help both us -- me and Albert. It'll help Albert with his medical bills, but it'll also let me know that I'm still connected to people out there in the world. I just want to know that people care, and I'm not really picky about whether you're showing that you care about me, care about Albert, or care about both of us.

Thanks for reading.