Sara (or Sassy Sara as she now prefers to be called) has been my foster through Last Chance Animal Sanctuary since November 30,2020. Sara like many kittens who come into foster care seemed to have a bit of an upper respiratory infection a few days after getting spayed. Then it was like she ballooned up overnight her belly was just so big this poor little girl just looked miserable. Off to the vet we went, they drew blood pulled fluid from her abdomen and the Dr said words no cat parents ever want to hear, “it looks like it’s FIP”. I lost a beautiful foster, Felix, to this 3 years ago so it wasn’t unfamiliar to me. I was told to take her home and keep her comfortable and I would know when it was time to let her go. After I somewhat stopped blubbering I made a call to the only person I could think of, Julie ,who has been helping FIP babies for quite some time now with a treatment that isn’t widely known. Julie told me we would beat this “we got this” she said. We started her on meds that first night and she quickly reabsorbed the fluids within just a few days . I was shocked it was so hard to believe how soon I saw improvement in her, she was eating like a champ. She got stronger and gained weight in a healthy way, it was amazing. She was now Sassy Sara. She made it all the way through her first round of treatment, I was lucky enough that she was able to stay on pills the whole time. She wasn’t happy about it. She had to be given her meds at the same time every day with an hour window thankfully my daughter was able to help me ensure it happened. We made it through 84 days of treatment not without a few scratches here and there but we did it! I was so excited to be able to fight back this time. Sassy Sara made it to about day 30 of observation and then it seemed like something wasn’t right she didn’t want to eat again instead of chowing down on her food she was trying to cover it up or gagging when I put it in front of her. Back to the vet we went. For those of you who have never had the “pleasure” of riding in a car with Sara let me just tell you she does NOT like car rides. This one was the worst ever she stressed herself out so bad. They were able to draw blood and the vet said the FIP was back. After connecting with all the amazing warriors out there and reading their stories I knew it was possible but still I was heartbroken. Sara had relapsed with neurological FIP. Julie again helped me through everything, Sassy Sara wasn’t so sassy anymore, she had seizures for 3 days, it was terrifying. We of course started her back on medication, I just couldn’t understand how this sweet baby would end up as my foster when I had a personal connection to someone who helped others beat this disease just to loose her. After day three of seizures I woke up and went to check on her first thing and again called Julie crying my eyes out because she was standing there demanding her breakfast as though the seizures had never happened, I was so thankful God had answered my prayers. Sara will complete her 84th day of observation Saturday 10/16/21 and as you can see she is doing amazing. Sassy Sara got to celebrate her first birthday on 9/2/21 and I’m so thankful for it. This has been an amazing journey and I’m so thankful for all the warriors out there who never give up ! I want to say thank you to everyone who supported me through this, Carrie thank you so much for supporting and helping save her when many wouldn’t have. Sharon thank you for always checking in and rooting me on, Heather thank you for saving Sassy Sara’s mom and getting her here , Jenn thank you so much for helping me always make sure she got her meds on time and helping transport to and from the vet(I know the trips weren’t pleasant), my husband Eric for always supporting me and my craziness, and everyone else friend and family who’s said prayers and rooted for Sassy Sara throughout her journey. Last but never least Julie I could never have done this without you. I don’t know that I’d have had the strength to push through this if you weren’t there every time I needed you to talk me through the scary times and share my amazement in the good. Love to you all from Sassy Sara