Support for Swabbie’s ER Costs (and Cross Country Move)

Edit: Wow, we are beyond grateful to have met the goal to pay off Swabbie’s vet debt. Thank you so so much to anyone who has helped out. That’s so incredibly kind and helpful and I can’t express my gratitude enough. I’m leaving this up a little longer in case any other donations trickle in, as we could definitely still use a little help with the big $3000 move (but obviously this was beyond what we could have imagined and has relieved so much of that stress). All my love to all of you. Ohio friends, see you soon!

My name’s Liz, and my sweet, tiny, 5 year old cat Sweetpea (better known as ‘Swabbie’) had (presumably) her first seizure on the evening of July 23.

We were eating dinner when she started making strange moaning sounds and then collapsed and released her bladder. Unaware of what was happening (because there were no convulsions and very slow and shallow breathing), I got down on the ground and did everything I could to wake her. She was completely unconscious and we thought she had died/was dying. Thankfully, when I lifted her and put her in her carrier, she started to regain consciousness and started meowing. A most glorious sound!

We rushed her to the ER vet in our town, only to be turned away and sent to a location an hour south. Swabbie is very nervous in the car…so what had just happened to her, coupled with an hour drive with 2 emotional humans, made for a very anxious trip. The vet looked her over and recommended bloodwork, a chest X-ray and a 24 hour stay in an oxygen supplied cage.

Thankfully, after (maybe) 3 very broken hours of sleep, I got a call that her assessment seemed mostly normal, and they were unable to pinpoint what exactly caused this event. She was diagnosed with ‘idiopathic epilepsy’ and we were sent on our way…but not before having to pay $2295.00 for the emergency care. They also recommended we see a pet neurologist for further assessment, and we hope to be able to afford that at some point in the near future.

She’s been home now for almost 24 hours and seems to be acting normally, and we are so incredibly grateful. I genuinely didn’t think she’d ever wake up after the episode we witnessed.

Prior to this seizure, we had started to plan for a cross country move back to my home state of Ohio. I was already nervous about how Swabbie would react during this trip, because of her aversion to the car. This, of course, only solidified my fears…but the vet at the ER seemed confident that she could handle the trip, and prescribed us some anti-anxiety medication to help expose her to as little stress as possible and avoid another seizure.

This move is important, because my mom was recently let go from her nursing job due to budgeting cuts. We decided we wanted to support her by living with her for a while and helping to pay a portion of her mortgage. Our plan was to leave before the end of August, to avoid having to pay another month’s rent in California. This scenario makes a lot of sense for us as well, because we have really struggled to afford our rent on a two-artist salary (even in a rough and very stressful neighborhood…if you’ve seen the Instagram stories then you know). We have done what we can to make it work for the past 2 years, and have always made sure the cats have their Science Diet (even though we often grocery shop at the Dollar Tree to make that happen).

We moved to California a couple years ago to help one of my boyfriend’s family members through a tough medical diagnosis. Our tentative plan now is to save money while in Ohio and purchase a nice RV, so we are able to travel back and forth between our families when necessary while keeping the cats in a familiar environment (of course, assuming we get approval from a vet and Swabbie is healthy and capable of it).

If you know me, you know I’ve struggled with my mental health for the better part of the last decade. I developed a debilitating case of panic disorder after a trauma, which has made functioning difficult, to say the least. This has lead me to rely a lot on my boyfriend and my mom for support. I hate this more than anything. I am the problem (and well aware of it), but I have struggled to be able to find my footing for many years. I try to put all of my effort into healing, but have found this very difficult after several years of being very isolated, broke and without health insurance or therapy. I would be so grateful for the ability to pay off Swabbie’s medical bills to get that debt off of my boyfriend’s plate, and to be able to safely get to Ohio and help out the lady who has always done anything in her power to help me.

I’ve set the goal to $2295 to cover the vet debt, and any amount raised over that would be incredibly helpful for paying this last month of California rent and making our cross country move.

I am embarrassed, and I didn’t want to have to ask for help like this. I can hardly afford to do my job with the skyrocketing cost of silver, and I’m still working on the overwhelming amount of orders I had to take to pay June’s rent. I would much rather have done a handmade jewelry fundraiser, but I am unfortunately much too low on time and supplies.

I apologize if I have come off as someone who is entitled or expects handouts over these past several years. Quite the opposite, I feel completely undeserving of any support, whether it’s reciprocal or one-way. It eats away at me that I often have to take too many orders and take too much time to get them out. I am really, REALLY looking forward to getting back home for a while and getting out of survival mode for the first time since I left 6 years ago.

I am eternally grateful for every dollar that anyone is able to give, and I’d love to do something special for every single person who donates when I get settled in Ohio. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. And an extra thank you for sending your love to my kitty in her time of need. Swabbie is the sweetest girl in the world and deserves only the best care. I appreciate you all more than you know. <3

Love, Liz