Therapy for Two XVI

Dan and I left the room when Karen showed up. We gave her ten minutes to say her good byes while we paid the bill and caught our breath for the final stage of our own good byes. I used the wall to keep upright and threw a text to Stephanie to let her know it would still be about two hours...she didn't care, as long as Django was comfortable and we were there. I finally slouched onto the bench behind me and caught my head in my hands as I bent over to stare at the floor. I think we were wrong, I think she was dying from the inside out and that her legs were just a sign of something much worse. It doesn't matter now though, if it's cancer you can already smell it coming from her and no amount of treatment can reverse death.

The door opened and Karen waved us back in. I wanted that ten minutes to last forever. Dan grabbed my hand and led me back into the room where Django had become progressively worse since I sat with her this morning. Karen took the couch, Dan laid behind her and crawled in front and kept my nose touching hers and eyes locked. I once read that no matter how difficult it is to say good bye to your pet, it is far worse for them if they have to make the journey alone...I placed her paw in my hand and kissed her nose.

There was a light knock on the door and the doctor peeked in, I never broke my stare...