Still got a broke-ass phone. Contacted all parties, and was denied by each. LG said I can send it back to be looked over by their technicians, and then they'll know how much repair costs. WireFly said "Fuck you. Call them". T-Mobile said "Fuck you, but you have insurance. Call them.". Odd... nowhere on my account can I find what they call the PHP Bundle- Premium Handset Protection. But she said I have it. However... it's through a company called Asurion, and what you do is file a claim with them, and if you've paid your $5.99 a month they accept that claim. Then they charge you your deductible (in my case, $130), and send you a new phone. OR they can send you a refurbished phone. OR if they don't have the phone you claimed, they will send you something similar. So, even with this so-called 'insurance', there's a chance that I'll end up with a refurbished G1 or something. I'm not really cool with that. They have a lawsuit going on in California against them- they were sending people phones that were not the models they claimed, and were refurbished, and that were worth less than the deductible. Shady... Not so happy with T-Mobile for working with such a scammy company.
So then next morning, I went into work, still bummed about the phone. And that Joe wasn't any better. On Wednesday, I had left a glass on my desk with about an inch of water left in the bottom. The office cat had knocked that glass over. Right onto the keyboard of my work laptop. It was off, but plugged in at the time. We left it open, and are hoping with a few days to dry out it'll come back to life.
So Thursday was crappy. Then I get home, and Joe is worse. He sounded completely congested, though there isn't any snot. Up until then, he didn't act sick at all- was his normal self. But when I got home, he didn't meet me at the door. He was laying under a table, all lethargic and pathetic and snorty. I took him back to the vet Friday morning. And he sent me to UGA emergency. I can't afford them. When they work up a case, they go for all the fancy equipment they have- and it's awesome they have it- but I don't have the fancy dollars to go with it. They have no payment plans, and actually charge 50% of the estimate (they come up with an estimate when you admit your animal, before they even know what's wrong) up front. No deposit, no vet care. Their estimate= 1500-3500 bucks.
So before I take him I check my checking account- I figure I probably have about $200 or so 'extra' (hardly- just not going directly to bills. Also now not going toward eating) dollars in there. EXCEPT that I had set up an online payment for my student loans a couple weeks ago. That was supposed to be $50. It went through, but the withdrew all $250 of my current balance. I am on forbearance, so I don't have to pay anything- I was just trying to get ahead. I freaked and called and they said "Sorry, can't reverse the charge." All they can do is process a refund and if I'm approved, they send me a paper check in 3-4 weeks. Shit shit shit.
I also had about 300 in a savings account I haven't touched in a while. I immediately set up a transfer for that. I called my dad. But he doesn't think of pets the same way I do. And is out of touch with what vet care costs these days. He might send me something. We'll see. He thought if it was going to be more than 200-300 bucks I should just euthanize him. I have about $100 left of my credit limit on my Discover card. So I'm working with limited funding here.
Anyway, I take him in. They rush him off, put him on oxygen. Then after a bit they come and get a history. Then talk about what they want to do. Here is where I have to say "I'm a shitty human and can't hand you 3K all at once to fix my baby" and I feel like they're judging me because of that. (Not in the way the student and doctor spoke with me- they were nice. But I've been backstage there- I did 25 weeks of interning there, and I've heard the way some of the doctors talk about owners with limited financial means. Basically "they have no business owning a pet if they can't pay for this stuff". Shit. Most people can't pay for that stuff for themselves). So they try to keep things to a minimum to start with. I leave him there. They anesthetize him and do a visual airway exam. They didn't see any masses, but found that his vocal folds were greyish instead of pink, so they did a swab and found a lot of inflammatory cells there. Bloodwork is normal. Temperature and heart rate are normal. Lungs sound fine, but they did note it was hard to hear over his snorting. They called me and said it could be an infection causing the folds to inflame and close up. They suggested trying antibiotic and steroid therapy to see if that's the cause. They asked if I wanted him to stay overnight; I said yes because I wanted him to be there should it escalate quickly and I don't have a car.
I picked him up yesterday morning, and he seemed much better. I get home, and when he starts moving around it's right back to the way it was. He's trying to eat, but I think it makes it hard for him to breathe so he doesn't take more than a few bites. I tried wet food, but he has already shown his distaste for the food I bought for them (Organic red tuna and shredded chicken?? HOW DARE I?? Haha!). I tried some regular old Friskies wet food. No dice. I think he can't really sleep, because the angle of his head determines how easy it is to breathe. I know he was up most of the night, just laying there next to me. I'm really frustrated. It's sad to be so helpless while I know he feels awful.
I'm going to do what I have to to help him. I won't fight a losing fight- if it ends up being something with a poor prognosis, well, I'll deal with that when I have to. But I at least want to know what's wrong. What if it's just a foreign body in his sinus cavity? Or a benign mass just past his pharynx that's easily removed? I can't stand the idea of euthanizing him only to find that he would have been fine had I known what the cause of all this was. I have a few things I can sell- nothing of value except a decent clarinet I don't use any longer, but still. Anything will help. I will also be trying to work as many tours and events and what have you. My friend David wants to set up a donation page. I am a little wary of that, because I don't want people to think I'm not taking personal responsibility for my own pets. But he says 'screw it, give it a shot'. And since I am reaching the level of begging, I'll most likely let him do it. It is voluntary after all, and people always say that you can't get help unless you ask for it.
June 1 is Joe's 13th birthday. I really want him to be around for a while longer.
L-R: Joe, Oliver, Sadie
No comments:
Post a Comment