The Short Truth of What Happened

I was told with time I would see things differently. It's been over 8 months now and I see things clearer and stronger and not differently. Here is what happened.

Kuma was doing really well. The day before she walked for 30 minutes in the park, the longest walk in a while. The next day Saturday, she felt so great that I texted people to say she is doing really well. Later that night she had a hard seizure unexpectedly. She came out of it herself and walked twice and peed and drank water and an hour and a half after I gave her the antibiotic Simplesef, she went into continuous seizures. She had 4 hard seizures in a row then stayed unconscious and continued with short 15 to 30 second light seizures. I tried to stop them myself by giving her valium every hour. After a total of 14 valiums I took her to the hospital.

Simplicef - the Drug that Caused Kuma's last Seizures

The cause of Kuma's continuous seizures was the pill that I gave her. Simplesef is listed in siezure.org as a drug that causes continuous seizures in old people or people who have had seizures before. I didn't know that. I read up on it earlier and only saw that it was a common antibiotic which was quite safe. I didn't see the warning about seizures until after. Kuma was doing really well but she didn't have a chance against this drug. This antibiotic drug passes through the blood brain barrier.

At the Hospital

The admitting Vet Dr. Claudia examined Kuma and wanted to help her recover. She convinced me that with treatment, Kuma could actually recover and be better than before. She gave Kuma a first time very heavy loading dose (one week's worth in one day) of anti-seizure medication along with a valium drip to try to stop the seizures along with Malitol to reduce her brain inflamation. She said it would take about 3 to 4 days for Kuma to wake up from this heavily sedating medication but she should be good after. The next vet on duty saw Kuma, knew nothing about her but immediately called Cheryl to say that she should be put down. Obviously, this vet knew nothing about Kuma's planned recovery. The next day another vet called Cheryl to say the same thing and Cheryl then cut Kuma off all medication and told them to put her down. Kuma was just sleeping and was recovering faster than anticipated. Cheryl ordered her to be killed less than two full days in the hospital. I pleaded and asked for at least one more day as planned to let her wake up. They ignored me because Cheryl was listed as the owner. I asked Kuma to show me a sign and she started to wake up early, then went into continuous seizures because she was abruptly cut off all medication.

Kuma was still alive but she was being treated like a piece of garbage that needed to be thrown out. They treated her like she was dead already. I was trying to be nice when I should of stood up for Kuma and screamed. They didn't tell me what was going on. They didn't tell me her last dose was at 6 am. No, instead the vet called me to say that there was no change and Kuma was fine and not to hurry to get to the hospital. The vet was hoping that Kuma would die before I got there. When I got to the hospital Kuma's charts were missing. When I asked to see them they told me they couldn't find them.

Kuma died a horrible death. She was seizing for 30 minutes with her head on fire, her body spasming and her paws flailing in the air while they took their time trying and failing to kill her. It took them 3 tries to stop her heart. They could not sedate her so they finally put the poison straight into her vein without any sedative. The vet that called Cheryl to kill her told me that they should not have done that because the drug would burn her inside and be very painful. This is how Kuma died. Kuma was a beautiful loving being and she did not deserve this horrible treatment from the vets or from her mother Cheryl. Everyone just washed their hands of Kuma and considered that task done. There that's done and out of the way.

8 Months Later

At first I could not accept or feel the full brunt of what happened. As time passes, I understand and feel more clearly the full effect of what happened. It feels like it just happened. I still cannot accept that Kuma is gone. I cannot accept the way her life was cut short when she was trying so hard to live and was getting so much better. I cannot accept the unconscionable way Kuma was tortured at the end. All of it just hits me harder than ever and makes me angrier at the people who did this to her. I can't get past that. Kuma should still be alive today. Kuma did not deserve to be cut down like that and treated like her life didn't matter.