Anatomy of a lie
On Friday, May 14 Kino completely and inexplicably suddenly lost control of his rear legs. Since Burton Creek vet in Tahoe City was closed Andrea and Annika took Kino to the Donner-Truckee Vet Hospital in Truckee.
After I dropped Niki & Britta off at school, I met Andrea at the Truckee vet.
After taking a look the vet suspected that Kino had suffered a spinal stroke, but they didn’t have the equipment (CT, etc) to treat him further so they recommended we go to Reno at the Sierra Vet Specialists & Emergency Center.
We decided that Andrea would take Kino to Reno (we didn’t know how long that would take), and I’d take Annika back home as she had things to do. Also, I needed to pick up Niki & Britta after school for their first COVID-19 shot.
Around noon Andrea texts me to say they are putting Kino out to take some tests, and they recommended that Andrea go home. I recommended she stay until she knows what they might find; at this point we aren’t thinking that he will be spending the night in Reno. Eventually, they confirm a spinal stroke but ask to keep him overnight; Andrea comes home.
The weekend was going to be busy; Niki & Britta have a weekend soccer tournament in Carson City (we have hotel reservations to stay overnight on Saturday), and Andrea has work catering on Saturday, also in Carson City. Thus we take two cars to Carson City, expecting/hoping that one of us will eventually pick up Kino while the other stay with Niki & Britta and their soccer tournament. At 4:34 Andrea asks me to call the Vet; I do, and the nurse agrees that it’s OK for us to pick up Kino so the plan is that we will pick him up around 7 (Reno is about 30 minutes north of Carson City). I call Andrea instead of texting her, to explain all this; Andrea is worried about Kino and so volunteers to get out of catering early, and to pick him up that night. So Andrea finishes with catering, comes by the soccer field to briefly see Niki & Britta, and quickly leaves for Reno as she would like to pick him up. Niki & Britta and I check in to our hotel, and I text Andrea the address. Andrea makes it back with Kino to Carson City around 9PM; she has driven the bus, and since Kino still can’t walk she wants to sleep in the bus with him.
On Sunday Niki & Britta finish their soccer tournament. We all return home, and Kino is improving a lot and starting to walk more on his own. On Monday we all together bring Kino to see Buckton, the vet in Tahoe City. (This is when his anal gland tumor is found). On Tuesday he is swimming in the lake again. On Thursday Andrea takes him back to Reno, while Niki, Britta and I are at their track meet in Carson City.
On Friday (5/21), a week after this started, I write a check to reimburse Andrea for the total cost of the Reno bill for the previous weekend.
In June I will spend another $4,498 on the surgery to remove a tumor from his anal gland; and in October/November, another $5,494 to remove his cancerous lymph nodes.
But that’s irrelevant to this story.
I assume the impression one might get after reading the above text and screenshots is that Andrea and I were balancing the juggling act of family commitments (school, shots, extra curricular activities) along with a pet emergency – working in unison to work it all out.
However, in November I stumble upon (owing to my Dad’s passing) this text Andrea sent to my Dad on Saturday May 15th at 6:57 – the night that I am in Carson City with Niki & Britta at their soccer tournament, while Andrea is (per her preference) picking up Kino from the Reno vet.
It’s equally sad and depressing: the complete fabrication of Andrea’s story, and my Dad going along with it.