Okay, more thoughts from the side of the practitioner here...this is THE SECRET to obtaining comprehensive care: because all clinicians are so pressed for time in today's health care climate, a patient must triage their problems in order of priority and then feed them into the purview of their primary care provider one at a time. Its a great idea to bring in a list, but don't expect everything on the list to be managed at that one visit--know yourself what THE thing is that must be addressed at that visit, tell the clinician, then either hand the physical list over for reference at other visits to be put in your chart or just mentally make a note of where you are in your internal list of needs. Then go back for another visit until you've knocked all the problems down. The second thing is that communication between the people to whom we refer and the person doing the referring is uniformly shoddy--I think its a great scandal in medical care. Anyway, take the referring clinician's card, stick it in the hand of the person to whom you've been referred and ask them to send a note back on the visit to that person. Your chances are improved with this maneuver, but by no means guaranteed. Then, after a suitable amount of time has gone by--enough time for a transcribed note for the specialist visit to have been generated and sent--call the referring clinician and leave them a message as to whether they've received the results of your specialty visit. Ask them to call you with the results. This will prod them to ask someone on their staff to call the specialist and get them to FAX the note from you visit that they've not been sent, etc. etc. You've got to be an active participant in this game.

Before I went to bed last night I found some lengthy conversations about Pump-n-Seal and FoodSaver on a website called "Chowhound". There were several threads, all of which I read, and this is one. Some of the others are listed if you scroll down on that site. http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/650398 The gist of what was said on this forum was that some people got FoodSavers that really didn't last very long. Apparently you need to read the instructions carefully and do all the do's and not do any of the don'ts. Some people, on that forum and also on the Amazon.com reviews, had a lot of trouble getting the FS jar-sealing attachments to seal jars. Some people were getting the jar-sealing attachments confused with the "universal lids", which are two similar but totally different things -- mostly because the universal lids are meant to stay on the container, in place of any other kind of lid, and the jar-sealing attachments are meant to seal down a canning flat and then be removed and used to seal another..and another.. and so on. That's what had me confused for awhile. Some people were finding that the jars they used had to be new and of a certain shape and not have any little imperfections where the jar sealer attachment seats onto because if it can't seal itself onto the jar, temporarily, it can't vacuum out the jar. And of course your jar rim and lid have to be clean, and the lid has to be in good shape, though you can re-use the lids as long as you are careful each time you open the jar to release the pressure. Some people found it worked better if they pushed down on the jar sealer while it was in operation. Apparently some folks had a lot of trouble with the PnS when it came to sucking the air out of a zip-lock bag. You've got to be really good at it in order to pull the tube out of the bag and then finish the zipping process without losing the vacuum in the bag. And of course there's the issue of the ziplock bag not being high quality enough bag material to hold the vacuum once it's been sealed. Lots of people tried the Zip-lock pump (they have new bags out now with a suction baffle on them that might lend themselves better for use with the PnS). But everybody said the Zip-lock pump was a piece of junk. So it looks to me like, if a person ever thought they'd need to use the part that sucks the air out of bags, they probably should go with the FoodSaver. Most people said they didn't like how they had to waste 2 or 3 inches of the bag on both ends because the bag sensor that triggers the heat sealer is that far from the heat sealing strip. But other than that, most of them had found other ways to solve the problem of how expensive the bags are (catching them on sale, washing and reusing bags if they didn't contain meats, and buying off-brands) Ken said, on one of his posts on Harvest, that he had a separate heat-sealer that he always sealed the bottoms of his bags with, and at least saved the 2-3 inches there. If I ever get a FS, I guess I could use the Pak'n Save that I have now for that. You have to use the heavier-weight bag material because if you try to seal a regular ziplock bag on it, the bag will melt all over the sealing strip and can ruin it. But people said they resealed potato chip and cereal bags from the store with the FS, without using the vacuum part, without problems. According to the chart that is on the PnS site, the one I linked in the previous post, the PnS, at 28.9 inches HG and the FoodSaver, at 24.2 inches HG are the only two with the ability to pull sufficient pressure. My Pak'n Save was next on the list at only 2.5 inches HG. Of course there is the chance of sucking up liquids and ruining your equipment, or preventing the seal from working. Same with powdery stuff like flour. One person solved the powdery stuff problem by putting it in a bag inside the jar. This kept the powder in the jar better while still being able to remove the air, both from the inside of the jar AND the bag inside the jar. Someone else said the instructions with the machine suggest you freeze liquids and foods that have liquids that leak from them, like meats, before you vacuum seal. One guy said he freezes soup, vacuum seals it in bags, and mails it to his kids. By the time the soup gets there it's thawed and ready to eat. I sure wouldn't recommend this. Good way to knock off your kids, though, if that's what you're interested in. Heh. There was also some discussion of the vacuum crushing things like potato chips and cookies and some people said that they vacuum sealed potato chips and listened to the chips snapping under the pressure for several hours after. Might be a great home-school science project. There's a You-Tube of a marshmallow that was pressure sealed in a jar that people say is quite entertaining. I haven't seen it but I imagine the marshmallow expands like it does in the microwave. If you think about it, there are some things that you buy at the store that are packed with air in the bag. Such as chips and cookies. On the PnS site, they had a reprint of an article done by the Chicago Tribune back in 2006. Of course it being on the PnS site, one would not know if they had edited it in places to make it sound more favorable to their product. So I went to the website of the Chicago Tribune and paid $3 for their archived article and the two versions were the same. The author of the article said they "fell in love" with the PnS, but then according to them, the FoodSaver did what it was supposed to do, too. Now, this is not definitive proof, because I've met newspaper reporters and they are not.... like, experts or anything. But the article did say that the seal was still good after "more than a couple of weeks" in the jars that they sealed. An added advantage of the PnS over the FS is that the PnS is small enough you can just put it in a drawer when you're done using it. The FS takes up a little counter space. Something that is a scarce commodity in my kitchen. And PnS is hand-operated so no noise and no electricity needed. They say it's quicker, too, and good for when you're away from home, like camping,etc. You can use it to repressure pop bottles so the contents won't go flat, they say. Hmmmmmmm. Maybe both these places should send me an advertising fee or something. What I'm thinking, for the time being, is that I might go ahead and spend the $30 and get one of those Pump-n-Seal contraptions. They said on Chowhound that the bowl covers Pump-n-Seal sells are not worth the money, but I was just planning on ordering the basic package and not the more expensive one that includes a couple of bowl covers, anyway. Once I have it, then I might look it over and see if the tube of it looks like it would fit into the FoodSaver jar-sealing attachments. If so, then I could just order the jar-sealing attachments and use them with the PnS. Maybe those little pieces of tape would hold the vacuum in just fine, I don't know, but I would want to test that out before I did anything large scale. It would be easy enough to know you've lost pressure when the canning flat falls off the jar, right? Heh. Who knows, maybe I will happen upon a FoodSaver at a garage sale or estate sale this summer. Or maybe now that I'm registered on the FoodSaver website, they will send me an e-mail that tells me they're running a 24-hour half-price sale, as they did for Ken, when he was still posting on the Harvest forum. OK, so Dawn, did you get the jar sealer attachments with the FoodSaver that you got for Christmas?

Thank you, everyone. Animal lovers are the best! There's another beautiful kitty at Rainbow Bridge today. You're right....you know when it's time. I probably should've taken her last night, but she still responded, and having seen her this way before (albeit before getting this old and such), I thought if there was the outside chance she was in recovery from her episode, I wanted her to have it. But this morning, I knew. I was supposed to drive hubby to the airport this morning, but told him I didn't want to make her wait any longer. He drove himself and I took her to the animal ER. I think it was easier, just me and her. I can deal with my own grief, but I wouldn't have been able to with his (his mom's dying too), so I guess it worked out as it should. I held her, cuddled in my arms, as the vet gave the injection, and they gave me a few minutes afterwards too. It was a peaceful room--sofa, low light, waterfall and soothing music in the background. I guess being an ER, they're more than prepared for this type of thing. If it'd been any other morning than Sunday, I could've made arrangements with my own vet clinic to have someone come to the house, but it just didn't work that way. I did call the ER and ask if they knew a vet on call who would make a housecall, but there's none in our area. Oh well....it is what it is. Now she doesn't have to make the looong move with us. Casey will always have a piece of my heart and always be my baby. She'll be the standard against which all future pets are measured. Now to have to answer family and friend's question "how are you doing?" I hate crying in front of people, but I can't imagine even mentioning her name without crying for awhile. Anyway, thanks SO much for all your support these last few months. I'll check back from time to time because I got used to following everyone's stories with their pets, etc. (even if I don't post much). I'll let you know when I get a new kitty to love, too. We'll get settled in our new location first, maybe take a trip or two since we haven't in about 4-5 yrs (since Casey got older and more "needy"). Gotta first find some wondeful neighbors I can trust to care for my pet when we're away....we have the best here where we are--I was sure going to miss them. Later, Tracey

Petra, I am truly sorry your cat is suffering. I miss my cat from 15 years ago. I can never have another I miss him so much. Just thinking about him makes me tear up. I can feel the pain in your post. So very sad for you. A practical thought as your proceed would be to ask the vet. "IS she suffering?" The reason I ask this is one of our dogs, about 4 years ago was gravely ill. Death bed ill. She could not stand for 4 seconds. She was young (4 yrs) and we discovered she had a rare disease effecting her immune system. Long story short. She was not in pain. The vet told us she would not live through the weekend but was not in any kind of pain. Her body was deteriorating and she would die peacefully. We cried our eyes out and planned for her funeral. We took her home and hugged her and slept next to her. Days went by and she began to look better. Now she could sit up, walk about, use the bathroom outside, she could even eat a bit of her food... Two weeks later we brought her back to the vet and discovered she kicked this illness. The Vet as SHOCKED. They even contacted the State University to send samples of her blood work. Everyone was amazed that she had not died. She will always have a comprimised immune system but is still with us years later. She leads a simple life. She naps about 20 hours a day, is not in any pain and is still a wonderful part of our lives. However, if she had been in pain, I could not keep her alive for my comfort. It is horrifically painful to have to say good bye to a close friend/pet but keeping them alive so we won't miss them is not the answer. I hope your cat is not suffering and that she can live a simple life with you. Only the vet can truly advise you on what is going on medically and how she might be handling issues related to her boyd. The fact she is purring is a good sign. This means she is tolerating her discomfort and that she may be happy to live a simple life with you. Animals take pain very differently than humans. What might drive a human nuts would be a mild annoyance to a dog or cat or wild aninmal. The key is her pain factor. If she is not uncomfortable and just weak. She might have a lovely life with you but be more of a napper or quiet little lady watching from a kitty bed or sofa. Whatever happens, and this will be hard, you must remember you have given her a wonderful life and that her future will the best possible life you can provide for her. Just reading all that you do, I am amazed how truly lucky she is to have you. please know you are not alone. sharing our lives with animals is the greatest gift we can give ourselves. We never forget