Our Cat has Nine Lives
For those who would like to take part from a distance, we will be holding Caitlin’s service at 2pm today. I’ve attached a PDF of the program that I put together. I’m so grateful to Caitlin’s dear friend Billy Duffey—who must not have slept a wink the past two nights—who formatted it with all of […]
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Caitlin never complained. Her not-complaining actually became a problem—we who knew her best honestly could not tell how she was feeling, because she always put up a good, rather jolly front. Andrew would say, “Hey, Kitty, should we go to a movie today?” Or I would say, “Want to try and go out today?” And […]
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On Friday afternoon, we will be hosting a private, quiet memorial service for Caitlin in an extremely tiny chapel at the cemetery we have chosen. This will necessarily be a small gathering for our American family and her close friends. At the same time, in Wexford, Ireland, her Irish family will be attending a mass […]
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Deep thanks to Bryan Marquard and The Boston Globe for writing this beautiful tribute to Caitlin, and publishing it on the front page today: Caitlin O’Hara, who brought compassion to others while she sought a transplant, dies at 33 Caitlin’s death was ultimately caused by her too-long wait. The surgery itself was technically easier than […]
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It’s Christmas Eve, a night for faith and hope, no matter what your faith, no matter what you hope for. Last night, a visiting friend said he was angry, said, “That’s where I struggle with faith. How could any God allow that to happen?” “No, no, no!” I said. “Please don’t think that. I need […]
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We came home yesterday. Our wonderfully kind friend Jimmy C sent his plane for us in Pittsburgh, and Oh my God!—it made for an easy, stress-free transfer, and we couldn’t be more grateful. To just get driven to the airstrip, board the plane, kind pilots, up we go, 50 minutes: home. Home. My wonderful sister […]
Read MoreKeeping Kitten Caitlin alive, the way museums do. Caitlin was, honestly, a bit of an art history genius. She found her calling in an AP Art History class at St. Mark’s School —-looking at slides in the dark, there was nothing better, she always said. At BC, she received the Art History award, and graduated […]
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Word is getting out, so I will speak. After my light-hearted update yesterday, everything spiraled out of control. After an early morning EEG which showed slowed brain activity, morning rounds showed that she had no responses at all. Her left leg had no blood flow below the knee, contributing to her worsening condition, and they […]
Read MoreThe team just rounded. A chest tube on Caitlin’s left side is draining a bit more than Dr. D’Cunha likes. “She’s not unstable but I need to take a look. Clean her out.” Last night, he said she would have a standing slot in the OR, every day for a while, in case they need […]
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Caitlin came back from her trip to the OR. Her surgeon and his fellow thoroughly searched for anything that could be causing the high lactate levels. The good news was that they did a deep and thorough search and everything looked good. No dead tissue to be seen. The liver is likely the problem, because […]
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