When Life Hands Ya Lemons…

John Lennon once said, “life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans…” and I never understood what that meant until I was sucked into the most recent whirlwind of poo covered tornado that has come into my life.

Buckle up friends, it’s a wild wild ride.

I have finally learned what it is like to feel like Bifford (the constantly drunk looking, woozy feeling) –well, sort of – and I thought I had my fair share of gnarly neurologic episodes of my years dabbling with epilepsy (totally the universe’s gift of course) but boy was I far from wrong as the universe proudly announces to hold their beer while they razzle dazzle my paperweight of a brain with more shenanigans.

Last year I got COVID-19 and though my symptoms were mild (thanks to the vaccine, wearing my mask and washing my hands) I had no idea what the lasting effects would be but I was soon to find out one of them: Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) which commonly happens after viral illnesses and usually affects women between 13-50 (lucky us right ladies?). Basically, it is a blood flow issue where you can feel extremely lightheaded, faint, nauseous, diarrhea and much more fun exciting things. The absolute kick in the shin? There really is no absolute cut and dry treatment plan (when is there ever?) but essentially with diet changes, lifestyle changes and more there is hope the symptoms lessen over time though it is something that could last anywhere from a few months to a lifetime.

So awesome.

On top of being epileptic and having a plethora of mental illnesses (again, don’t we all in one way or another?) I was gifted with this too. Meh it is another hurdle in this crazy chaos we call life and what else can I do then roll with the punches?

Anyway, enough of the plight that is my neurologic health there are exciting things on the horizon for the Misfit’s Campaign!

–              Our carrier tags are improving! It is so cool to have all you friends on this journey with us (I am sure a lot of you remember the very early on, rudimentary carrier tags and have watched them progress to what they are today) so now we are diving into this technological world – sublimation printing. Essentially sublimation printing is baking ink onto a surface making it hardier and more durable (which is exactly what we want in a carrier tag!) and will come in an array of colors, designs and handicapable abilities. Tentatively we are hoping to launch these bad boys by the end of November/early December 2022! We are still going to provide them free to those who apply for one (of course you can receive more for just the cost of postage).

–              Though our main goal is cerebellar hypoplasia awareness we realized that when we adopted Maxwell that other adorable misfits needed someone to be their voice, for those misunderstood – so we are branching out to adorable misfits of all walks of life. This means that in addition to seeing Bart, Bifford & Maxwell you will see guest appearances from Lucipurr (who is behaviorally challenged) and Bessie (who is vertically challenged) as well as from fellow handicapable friends and their parents. The whole idea for us here is to show the world that “hey! We are all a little messed up in our own special ways, but we are rockin’ it!”

–              Constantly updating our Misfit’s map! Not only will it include handicapable cool veterinarians but will be branching out to include misfit cool rescues, organizations, friends – because it is all about helping one another for the greater good of these adorable misfits, am I right?

Between the new chaos and the usual chaos, I have to say that I am utterly exhausted but thankful for each and everyday!

Friends, I must thank you all because I haven’t been tending to the campaign like I would want to. Sure, that means that messages don’t get replied to as quickly, tags may not go out as fast and some of the content may be recycled (more than once), if you are following us on Instagram (@PresidentBifford) & TikTok (#Presidentbifford) then you will see that there has been mountains to climb in our personal, professional, emotional and mental lives and we are working ever so diligently to process all of this in order to better continue to work on what is so near to our hearts: misfits.

Category: Awareness, Campaign Information, misfits | 2 Comments on When Life Hands Ya Lemons…

Meet “Bart”

September 2017 — In foster home

August 2017 — First Rescued

Bart– February 2018 

Bart was abandoned at a local veterinary clinic after a good samaritan rescued him and his sibling (the calico pictured above) who both had horribly brutal upper respiratory infections (eyes caked shut, severe nasal discharge, congestion) — Bart’s sister slowly improved but Bart did not. Bart came to the clinic with a broken back leg (the veterinarian suspected something had tried to catch Bart as prey), a hernia and his left eye had ruptured most likely due to having feline herpesvirus.

Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis (FVR) is an infectious disease caused by the feline herpesvirus type-1. Typical symptoms of FVR involve the nose, throat and eyes, sneezing, nasal congestion, inflammation of the tissues that line the eyelids and surround the eyes, discharge from the eyes and nose. The herpesvirus can also cause keratitis, or swelling/infection of the cornea that leads to corneal ulcers. Rare cases include the rupture of the cornea, which unfortunately happened due to the herpesvirus in Bart’s situation.

Bart came to our home and was absolutely terrified. He bordered on the “feral” in which he spent the first month at our home cowering under our bed refusing to come out and hated being handled and held by anyone. It was assumed that Bart would be a “cellar dweller” but at least he had a roof over his head and food in his tiny belly.

By December, 2017 Bart had his left eye (what was left of it) removed, his hernia repaired as well as neutered. Upon waking up from surgery he purred for the very first time– a milestone that made his new parents gush with pride (and possibly a few happy tears!). By spring of 2017 Bart realized he needed to make up for lost time while he was sick as a baby and became an ornery, rambunctious kitten!

Bart still has vision issues (he suffered a corneal ulcer on his right eye as well, luckily it did not rupture and he has some limited vision in it) as well as a habitual “booger nose” and suffers from the occasional flare-ups caused by the herpesvirus but today is a happy, functioning, handsome man!

Bart would have sadly been overlooked in a shelter setting (or even more devastating– euthanized) because of his “special needs” coupled with the fact that he is a black cat to which statistically sit in shelters longer than any other type of cat. By giving this handsome fella a chance the world was able to see what a spunky, resilient kitten he is! Despite almost becoming someone’s snack while in the wild he has made a complete turn around and rules the house! Bart is a typical cat who cuddles, plays and gets into mischief!

Do you have a cat that suffers from herpesvirus? How do you accommodate your home for your special baby?

Category: Miscellaneous, President's Cabinet | LEAVE A COMMENT

The 30 Something-Year-Old’s Constant Plight!

 

       As a 30 something year old married woman I often get the age-old irritating question that I am sure plague many of you,

“so, when are you having kids of your own?”

      Which is cool and all for those that want them but for me? I enjoy not pushing something the size of a large wet St. Bernard through something the size of a keyhole only to have my tatas drag on the ground every morning (kudos to all y’all mamas out there though – y’all are such MVP’s!!!)

     But the statement that people should be echoing (because let’s be honest, I use that as a vehicle to talk about the adorable land of misfits) is, “you are a mom, just not in the traditional sense” which makes sense– we’re the land of misfits’ dudes!

       Nothing (and I mean absolutely nothing) we will say or do will ever be considered or filed away as “traditional”.

But a caregiver is a caregiver, right?

  

  Whether you are a “mom” to a child, an animal that you have forged a deep emotional bond with, a friend, the elderly – anyone that you provide loving, compassionate care for, you are a “parent” in one form or another.

       The next time someone approaches you in that sad sympathetic look with the tone of dismay over how they could never (cue the pearl clutching here) have an animal that is “special needs” and they simply do not know how we do it every day! Ask them why they feel that way and explain maybe you feel the same way about their situations. Do we not worry about our handicapable pets just like new parents fussing over their new baby?

 

        

Regardless of the situation, anytime you dedicate your heart to something as pure as an animal (handicapable or otherwise) or a baby or loved one, you are assuming the care, love, and responsibility for that helpless, defenseless being.

 

        

          So no, I am not a mother in the traditional sense but what fun would that be in the land of misfits where we are all just a little out of the ordinary here?

 

     

 Yet just like many of you I can say I am a nurturing caregiver (and a “parent”) here’s why:

  • I have and will continue to handle more amounts of fecal matter than I had originally anticipated as a child (in case you were wondering, child me had that number at a hard zero – boy was I wrong). I wipe more ass than toilet paper at this point and my regular purchase of non-scented baby wipes has the local store concerned and puzzled.
  • Everyone gets put to bed at nighttime – Maxwell is usually first to go: I help him use the facilities, we give him a little nighttime snack and then we brush his teeth, turn on his white noise machine (yes we play it and he loves the outdoor noises) and tuck him in his crib (a real baby crib) with his lamby he has had since a baby and has seen far better days.  Followed by Bifford and Bart who also both get a little snack of canned food before bedtime before putting them to put with their brother Max in the “boys’ room” (or our spare room that has been commandeered by the handipets).

 

  • On any given night you can hear crying, throwing up, fighting and more – just like kids can do (and yes there have been many a sleepless night up with a restless, crying or sick handipet). 

So where is the disconnect?

 

        A mother who cares for a newborn up to their elbows in diapers and crying is a “mom”, but I am up to my eyeballs in poop many nights up all night crying because I was tired and frustrated, but felt guilty for being so upset because just like babies the handipets do not understand.

 

           One of the major differences is that with  “traditional” mothers eventually their children grow up, grow independent and off on their own but as we all know (especially here at the adorable land of misfits) is that our babies never “grow up”,  Maxwell will forever need assistance using the bathroom, he will always need me to wipe his booty, help in and out of his wheelchair and require constant attention.

        Bifford will still cry when he falls (he is a bottle kitten after all) and need the “danglers” clipped from his long hair, Bart will still need me to help him wipe the half inch long dangling boogers from his nose.

          They are each adorable, affectionate, disgusting in their own individual ways and I often describe them to people as my “adorable dumpster fires” at home but I would not change a thing because the things that make them adorable and gross are the qualities that make them who they are, make them unique and keeps our lives here interesting and entertaining.

                Because the “misfits” are the patchwork to a vibrant and beautiful life, right? Or how about the age old saying “variety is the spice of life”, that definitely applies to being a handicapable pet parent.

            Regardless of if were parents to kids, animals (handicapable or otherwise!), friends or the elderly we are all “moms” and “dads” in our own uniquely misfit way and its worthy of commendation and respect!! 

Category: Awareness, Maxwell Diaries | LEAVE A COMMENT