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| Solar PlexusSandwich (Fall 2018) |
This has been difficult to write, it has been nine months:
Mowgli's final formal reflexology session became a demo for a veterinary nurse I had never seen before.
We can advocate for our pets the way we (have to) advocate for our human family; we know them best, we know what generally comforts them. This may be important in times of crisis or at end of life; it may make a difference in terms of QoL (quality of life) and may support our own grieving process.
Away from home: We were in a different state - away from home on October 23, 2018 far away from our support system, such as Mowgli's vet, our pet parents friends.
With shaky voice-I somehow managed to advocate for Mowgli and
thus ourselves (after tossing the idea frantically back and forth in my head for a bit, no as a practitioner, I am not prepared for this; yes as a mom, then yes as both).
And that is exactly what has helped me a bit coming to terms with his passing:
I demoed the One Minute Reflexology for Animals on Mowgli to the veterinary nurse while Mowgli was hooked up to IV getting prepared for invasive surgery that could possibly prolong his life (or not!), it did not. In addition, the fact that my partner and I did not take him for granted, that he was given a voice in a way, helped me as well, he was a much loved family member.
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| Paw! |
"This may provide him with some normalcy surrounding this", I said, "he likes it, we have a daily routine" being very aware of the fact that there were protocols to follow by the veterinary professionals and that there is still not enough understanding of Reflexology and that trauma-sensitivity is not wide-spread unfortunately either when it should be the base we operate from especially in times of crisis.
Back to Mowgli; the kind nurse was open to it, however I expected her to end our conversation at any moment. No, there seemed some extra time. Throughout being at the facility, we were given some space by two to three staff which provided relief (I have had my share of very bad experience, of course, but I admit I also take responsibility for some of it; communication is important and lots of pain is caused by silence).
It was important to us to call our vet in New York and include him. - Mowgli had a habit of pulling us to his clinic close to our
apartment because we were always welcome to drop by (and weigh him;
he was so food orientated) and of course, he wanted and got a lollipop - often via hypnosis (staring at the lollipop) 🍭. I also owed it to myself to not only think of our pain right now. As I get older and more aware of the impact of deeply entrenched systems my edges have luckily gotten a bit softer, I understand the stress that seeing so much suffering must have on medical practitioners themselves, how do they cope (a nurse I once asked at a Nurse Appreciation event broke into laughter; I was invited to give reflexology sessions).
- Mowgli was a daily recipient of facial reflexology (inspired by Marie-France Muller) when he was with me at least, which was most of the 9 1/2 years we had him. The nurse later reported that indeed he had gotten a bit of reflexology by the surgeon who also did some acupuncture.
Surgery went well, Mowgli was able to go for a walk we were told the next morning; a bit later we were told, everything turned around, we were losing him. Rushing to the hospital spending some time with him, crying into his forehead (when you are supposed to be calm to ease passing, sorry Mowgli, there was not time enough to mentally prepare for this), and that was that. Mowgli! Forever in our hearts. I returned to New York a few days later via train with his cemented paw print (including some tiny hair), and Regal picked up his ashes a few day later.
We also remembered how we were asked to exit through what was a back door about thirteen years earlier after we said good bye to Luigi (the border collie mix who spent winters with us), again it was a place we were not familiar with. We both were too upset to say anything but we both still years later remember THAT more than the pain of actually losing Luigi which was inevitable.
Aside from all the questions about the mistakes we may have made, what we may have missed, the staff was kind and understanding of our needs surrounding Mowgli's last day, so a big thank you for looking at the big picture and thank you so much for the condolence card, we really appreciated that.
I did some research after Mowgli's passing and invite you to check out the website of Ella Bittel, Holistic Veterinarian whose work should be of interest to anyone who loves animals and has animal family members.
Thank you for your visit as always,
B.
Birgit Nagele, ARCB, LVCY, TCTSY-F
Director ICR (https://icr-reflexology.org/)Reflexology/Y.O.G.A. (Your Own Guru Always)
Private Clients/Corporate/Communities
- NYC-based/International
Tel: (917) 664-5792
A few mindful breaths can at times allow for more ease...
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| With Mowgli out and about in Hell‘s Kitchen (dry and wet) |
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