The Power to Heal

2017 was the year that I found out that both of my grandparents were diagnosed with cancer. 2017 was also the same here I adopted Ino, but we will get into that in a second.

Growing up I always wanted a cat more than I did a dog. I would see stray cats all over town and I would love it whenever one of them would follow me home from school because in those short moments it felt like they were mine. See my mom absolutely hated cats to the point where she would get the shakes just thinking about them. By the way they moved and sounded she believed that they were evil. The closest that I ever been to owning a cat was when my mom would allow my siblings and I to put food and water out for a stray cat we named Tiger.

Whenever Chris and I moved out we both agreed that we would adopt a kitten since we both came from families who weren’t so fond of felines. We didn’t know when we would adopt a cat but there were definitely times we would be so close but then we had to remember our responsibilities as adults.

And suddenly everything started to change. My grandma was done with her chemo therapy which allowed everyone to finally breathe. I was feeling extremely guilty because I live states away from my family and couldn’t afford to go back to be with my grandparents. This is something that has been eating away at me even till this day. I thought everything was turning around and that there would be another chance for me to go down and visit. The same day I talked to my dad about going back home is when I found out that my grandpa was being sent to the ICU.

It was too late. About two days later they took my grandpa back home where he would pass away peacefully. Even after my grandpa’s passing I still wasn’t able to go back to Texas to attend his funeral. After all of this I kept falling in and out of depression. My emotions were everywhere I was feeling guilty, homesick, and very sad in general. Chris tried his best to comfort me, and I appreciate everything that he did but not even he could shake these emotions.

A couple days after my grandpa passed Chris and I ended up at a pet store, We weren’t really sure why we were there considering a gym membership was our main focus. We looked around at treats for Mister and toys for our hamster when we came across the kittens in the corner of the store. Surprisingly it was Chris who begged me to get Ino because I didn’t really know what I wanted at the time but I agreed to make him happy.

As we were driving back home with this little kitten in a box I couldn’t help but think of my grandpa. I’m not the kind of person who believes in fate but I truly feel as if we were meant to stray away from our path and bring Ino home with us that night. I never imagined this little ball of fur would be the thing that helped in the healing of my hurting heart.

Having this new life to care for gave me this great feeling of being needed. The way that she would follow me around wanting to be picked up or how she would snuggle up with me at night it was like my grandpa was giving me this kitten to care for since I couldn’t be there to care for him and my grandma.

Some people don’t believe that animals have the same comforting/ healing abilities that humans have but as I sit here thinking about all of the smiles and laughs I have had because of this ball of energy there is no denying that animals are some kinda magic! Sadly no matter how many times I say it I don’t think she will ever understand how much she has done for me or how much we love her.

To all of the animals out there bringing sunshine to our rainy days

Thank You!