After what seemed like an eternity getting from diagnosis to surgery, my father went under the proverbial knife Thursday to remove the aggressive tumors invading his head from within his sinus cavities.  I believe we spent more than 14 hours at the hospital that day and felt at the end of it as though we hadn’t slept in weeks.

Stress, anxiety and lack of rest notwithstanding, however, the surgery went smoothly.  The tumors were not as large as the doctors originally feared, so it only took about two hours to remove the offending tissue.

Additional “unusual growths” were found and removed at the same time.  More testing will be done on those and the inverted papillomas to determine if he needs other follow-up treatments.

Meanwhile, he’s now home and feels much better than anticipated or expected.

Time will tell the ultimate outcome, mind you, but thus far we’re thrilled with the lack of problems, the overall prognosis and his quick recovery.

As for al-Zill, he’s had two introductions to the rest of The Kids.

Grendel has been less than welcoming.  As the alpha male of the clan, this comes as no surprise.  I’ll have to keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn’t do too much to damage al-Zill’s calm.

Kako has been…  Well, she’s been Kako.  Rude, way harsh, bitchy…  I like that she’s consistent.  Allow me to note one interesting moment: She walked right by him at one point without realizing who he was, probably assuming she was passing her brother instead of the intruder, and she casually went on with her business without ever looking at him, let alone hissing or growling or swinging or anything else.  I had to laugh about that.

Kazon demonstrated an ambivalent distance at first, a wee bit of hissing rigidity next, and finally topped it off with curiosity mixed with indifference.

Loki surprised me by letting al-Zill lie with him for a bit, a touch of mutual grooming included.  But then the devil showed his true colors with a sneaky bite and slap which sent al-Zill fleeing.  Typical.

Larenti seemed interested yet reserved, sniffing when the opportunity presented itself, offering a few playful swats here and there, and ultimately being the most welcoming tempered with reticence.

Vazra, as expected, showed true feline curiosity at first.  Once he realized no threat existed, he quickly became disinterested.  He’s his own cat, after all, and he really focuses on himself more than anything else.  He did take a few swings when al-Zill invaded his space, but these were nothing more than casual movements not intended to do harm.

As for al-Zill himself, it behooved him to be submissive and friendly, which is precisely what he did.  He offered rubs to every cat he encountered and gave plenty of space when the welcome was less than warm.  He cautiously roamed the entire house, sometimes with tail tucked and sometimes with it held proudly toward the sky.

A great deal of his time was spent investigating the windows and doors with a serious eye toward the patio.  Remember, that has been his safe spot and home for quite some time now.  It must have seemed eerily familiar yet alien to see it from this side of the glass.

He attempted escape once as I came back inside from the patio.  To be honest, it scared the hell out of me that he actually might succeed.  Recapturing him would present little problem, sure, but I’ve always feared for any of The Kids should they get outside.  al-Zill’s neurological problems make that concern sharper and clearer.

I salvaged the situation, however, and he remained in the house where he needs to be.  That ended his free roaming for now and he’s back in the bathroom where he can rest a bit and eat and drink without interference.  This respite also gives the other cats time to relax.

I’ll continue these outings for him over the next week, slowly increasing the time he spends freely outside the bathroom while monitoring for any unpleasantness between him and the other predators ruling the roost.  Unless something cataclysmic happens between now and then, I suspect he’ll be out and about permanently by next weekend.

As for me, I feel like I have a hangover from a week-long drinking binge.  Tired.  Sore.  Anxious.  Befuddled by a mental fog that won’t end.

Considering I was the only one of us children to attend and help with my father’s surgery, and considering I was the only one of four who has been there from the beginning to make sure we got through this successfully, I feel disappointed, heavily burdened, fatigued.

On top of that, capturing al-Zill last weekend and his following adoption and integration since then only added to the weight I carried.  Again I say Mom was right: Life has a way of piling up all at once.

I wish I could say the long weekend will help.  Regrettably, I go on call Monday.  The only rest I will get comes today and tomorrow.  The holiday is lost to me, as is the three-day weekend.

[note that I’ll begin work on al-Zill’s page in the next few days and will update the links in his posts while migrating those entries into the appropriate categories]