Reader (and biologist) Sarah Crews had back surgery yesterday, and came home (the same day!) to find, on the bed, two of her cats in a pose she calls “ridiculousness.” The cats are Professeur Chippeur (“Chippi”), left, and Surprise, Cat! (because he always looks surprised).
This is to wish her a speedy recovery, which is almost guaranteed given that these two funny rescue cats are on hand—and seven other ferals going in and out.
They’re like a cartoon cat heart!
Thanks, Professor Ceiling Cat…between you and Dr. Butterbiscuits I’ll be better soon I’m sure.
Oy! A bad time for backs…Mom had surgery this past Halloween, and Professor Ceiling Cat and I both have muscle spasms as I type…and Sarah’s surgery…
…is it safe to call the human spine an example of Idiot Design? Can we please?
b&
…especially compared with a cat’s spine. Baihu has been absolutely wonderful to me today…but oy! do I wish I had a spine like his…
…and an octopus’s eye, and a salamander’s ability to regrow limbs, and and and and….
b&
Walking upright is bullshit!
Yeah, but it is handy to…ah…have one’s hands free….
b&
For slapping people and running away!
Let me guess…you’re the one holding the fish, and I’m the one running away?
b&
Only if I try to blame the slapping on you.
Diana, I would never have had you down as a ‘slapper’! i.e. a promiscuous or vulgar woman – one of the more polite definitions ont t’internet.
I think vulgar fits me. Very hot polloi.
Very hot? And vulgar?
Something tells me I shouldn’t touch this one with a ten-foot polloi, not if I want to get out of here with all my appendages intact….
b&
Yeah another stupid iPad autocorrect
Do you dance like this as well?
Ben, you never know. A good slap might just re-align it/them.
It’s such an idiot design.
I hope you heal quickly, Sarah. I just got home after having a friend of nearly 20 years euthanized and this picture made me smile. Give those rascals an extra belly rub for me.
So sorry…they deserve so much more than a mere couple decades, and yet they do well to get even that much….
b&
Oh dear, I’m sorry as well.
So sorry to hear this! Take care of yourself tonight!
So very sorry, Mike!
Thank you all for the kind words.
Best to Sarah and Mike both.
Thank you and I’m sorry about your buddy. Last time I was on WEIT it was because of poor little Flippy…someday I hope to be on here because something awesome happens to me!
Thanks everyone! The surgery should keep me going for a few more years. My disc is in pretty horrible shape, but they can do other things when the time comes. Back problems affect so many people and the research done is not proportional to how many are affected. Sciatic nerve pain was miserable; I’d had problems with it off and on for years that I could manage with PT, but this was just unreal. My GPs wouldn’t give me pain meds and asked me if I had tried acupuncture…I asked them if they’d look at my MRI. (on my 4th GP now) I thought the pain couldn’t get worse and then I sneezed…but that got me into the ER and things began getting better (numb) after that. The numbness may be permanent, but anything is better than that pain. I feel like sciatic nerve pain could cause people to become heroin addicts or kill themselves – esp. without access to medical insurance. It was nuts. Glad I’m on the road to recovery!
Oh, man…to have to deal with quack GPs who recommend turning you into a pincushion rather than provide true palliative care, on top of the need for palliative care in the first place…so glad you’re past that part, at least.
b&
The ways doctors treat pain is appalling!
And it’s especially painfully ironic considering that it’s mostly really only ending the pain that any of us really care about in the first place.
Pain management should be front and foremost for all doctors. It’s one thing to say, “I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to hurt you today in order to make the pain go away tomorrow.” We can all accept the necessity of that sort of thing. But too damn many don’t even seem to acknowledge that their patients are even experiencing pain, let alone have any interest in alleviating it. Even with the numeric pain scale…tell them you’re at a 7 or an 8 and they still won’t up the meds for some incomprehensible reason….
b&
Yeah my doctor basically shrugged off the fact that I was having migraines everyday.
How the hell do you wind up as a DOCTOR, of all professions, if you haven’t an ounce of empathy?
I mean, yeah, you need to be able to keep it under control so you can hurt the patient to set the bone or whatever…but shouldn’t it be your primary driving force the rest of the time?
b&
Best wishes for a speedy recovery! I too know well the pain of a bad back. And a bit jealous that Sarah’s bed warmers are so cute!
Get better soon Sarah!
Good luck for a speedy recovery Sarah.
Best of luck on Sarah’s back surgery recovery. She came home the same day? I was a wussie and decided to stay overnight. Sarah is strong.
I didn’t have a choice; my hospital is like a factory! The first two days were tough. Yesterday I made it around the block…in about an hour. Today I hope to break my record at 55 mins!
Heal well & quickly, Sarah! And thanks for sending in such an adorable picture. 🙂
What a lovely picture — ridiculousness indeed, but a most splendid variety thereof.
(I cannot fathom how creationists reconcile the human back with a supposedly ‘perfect’ deity — our spines would surely be among the more egregious examples of divine trolling).
A full & rapid recovery to you, Sarah!