Hannah's Knee and Ripley's Urgent Vet Needs

My name is Hannah and this is my husband, Atlas. I work as a pediatric phlebotomist and my husband works maintenance for Schuyler county. Recently we’ve been hit with a bunch of hardships back to back. We usually budget really well but one thing after the other has caused us to drown and we don’t want to ask anyone in our personal lives for anything.

Last week, we first got hit with over $900 worth of car work to be able to have Atlas’s car be able to pass inspection. We work opposite shifts so us having 2 cars is pretty important.

Thursday: The day we got atlas’s car back, we have to rush our 3 year old cat, Ripley, into the emergency vet for urinary issues. I (Hannah) am at work getting all of my information through text from Atlas. For the techs to even be able to examine Ripley (who is usually one of the sweetest cats you will ever meet), they have to sedate him with ketamine because his abdomen is tender. From there they run testing and discover he has crystals in his ureter/bladder and will need to stay sedated and catheterized while they try and flush the crystals out. ALSO: he has a preexisting condition that’s common in male cats for them to be susceptible to getting crystals again so he’ll need to be on prescription food and treats. They tell us he’ll need to stay through the weekend. We’ve already paid over $600 out of pocket. That’s only HALF of what they’re projecting it’ll cost by the end of the weekend.

i (Hannah) come home from work after all of this happening IN ONE DAY, and decide to put on music to dance with Atlas to help with the stress. I land wrong and hear/feel a pop and can no longer put weight on my left leg. I’ve dislocated my knee. I get settled onto the couch with plans to have it looked at the next morning since it’s been such an incredibly stressful day already.

Friday: we wake up and immediately go get my knee checked out at an orthopedics walk-in. They take me out of work until we can find out more at an mri. Thankfully I can get an MRI done the next day but now it’s just more and more stress added because the bills are piling up with no end in sight.

Fast forward to yesterday: The vet techs attempted to take out the catheter for Ripley on Sunday and left it out overnight but they found him reblocked with crystals and had to start the ENTIRE PROCESS OVER. More Money. More vet bills. But I will put myself in debt before letting anything happen to my cat.

We appreciate anything you can give, even if it’s just a share to get it out to more people.

With love and gratitude,

Hannah and Atlas