Don’t count me out! … I’m still very much alive! Thank goodness, or God, or oh I don’t know who to thank but at any rate, I’m not dead, people!

Yes, it’s me, Erin and I just had to come back to tell all you humans what has happened since your kind and compassionate condolences to my mama and pop regarding my health.

I don’t know what happened and neither do my folks…one day last week I just lost all control of my lower body. I couldn’t walk and I lost the control of my bladder. I literally dragged myself around the house.

They both examined me for signs of bleeding or cuts from being hit by a car or hurt in some other way but there was nothing.

After about two days my pop grabbed my limp body up and carried me to the kitchen sink to give me a bath…people there are no words to adequately describe my indignation!

Such humiliation! … And himself a man! … Of course I fought him and let him see my strength was not gone and neither was my pride! But alas, he won the struggle and washed my lifeless body. Now all I could do was to glare at him, which I did with intense frustration and rage. I refused to let him finish towel drying me, as I leapt from the sink and high crawled it out of there!

Now my folks were torn regarding my fate. My eyes became sore and crusted over with mucus which pop gently washed away with warm salt water and cotton balls. The smell of rot and decay engulfed my limp and useless body.

My pop kept saying “she’s dying and the humane thing to do is to take her in and have her put down.” But my mama refused. She answered him with “we have to let Erin do it her way, honey. I can’t take her life from her…we need to let her go the way she wants to go.”

All he could see was that I’d lost all control from my midsection down and he didn’t want me to suffer. He was getting ready to leave for the road and was very concerned for both of us. If it became necessary to have me put down while he was away he knew that would just about kill my mama…BUT I WANTED TO LIVE!