I don’t normally share things like this, but I felt compelled to tell my story. It begins in April 2024, when I moved my three beautiful Boston’s from Ireland to Australia. Just one month after arriving, we lost one of our precious boys, and that is where this story really begins.
Losing him took a piece of my heart that will never be replaced. Every day since, I’ve carried this heavy guilt, wondering whether we made the right decision in making such a big move. Back home in Ireland, I only ever brought my dogs to one vet, not because she was better than anyone else, but because she knew my babies. She cared for them so naturally, so genuinely. When Chico died, I suddenly realised that if my other dogs ever needed care here in Australia, how could I possibly trust anyone new? It sounds silly, I know, but when your heart is grieving, rational thoughts are hard to find.
That’s the background. Now here’s where my story starts with SASH.
In April this year, I made my first visit to SASH North Ryde to see Dr Mark Billson, who came highly recommended by my vet in Allambie Heights. It was my first time driving to North Ryde from Dee Why, little did I know it certainly wouldn’t be my last. During that first consultation, Dr Mark was so kind. He reminded me of my vet at home in Ireland. He confirmed what we had already been told: Alfie had cataracts in both eyes and would need surgery within the next couple of months. It wasn’t the news I wanted to hear, but at least we had time. I told myself the priority was saving my baby’s sight.
That weekend, time was taken from us as we noticed one of Alfie’s eyes turning cloudy with a slight blue tinge. Not understanding much at the time, we thought it might be caused by his new medication. Nothing could have prepared us for the next appointment 72 hours later. The moment Dr Mark checked Alfie’s eye pressure, he rushed him out of the room to perform an emergency procedure. This was not the last time this happened. Despite their efforts, the pressure spike over those days caused Alfie to lose sight in his right eye.
Over the months that followed, Dr Mark and Dr James have done everything possible to save the vision in Alfie’s remaining eye, and we are still fighting that fight. Understandably, every trip to the hospital has become more emotional and more stressful, but there is something incredibly important I want to say: Dr Mark and Dr James have been on this emotional journey with us. They feel every setback (and there has been many). It’s obvious they truly care for Alfie; he has never been just a patient to them.
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve sat in that consultation room, watching the seconds slip by on my internal stopwatch, knowing that the longer each examination took, the greater the chance that something wasn’t right. The news was never easy to hear. But with each new complication, the bond between Dr Mark, Dr James and Alfie grew even stronger. You could sense Marks and James’s genuine connection that formed through every complication.
After each surgical procedure, all ten of them now, I keep telling myself to be strong, to stay hopeful, and most days I hide those feelings deep inside. But in the reception room, the stories you overhear cling to you. One woman said she saves her tears for her morning shower, and I felt every word.
We’re all carrying our own grief, our own private battles… yet somehow, we’re held together, united by SASH and the compassion and care they give when we need it the most.
That compassion is what matters most. This has been one of the hardest journeys I’ve ever had with Alfie, but I know that Dr Mark and Dr James are right beside us, doing everything they can to give him the best care possible.
And it would be wrong of me not to mention the incredible nurses, the reception team, and the night staff who cared for Alfie as though he were their own. On so many occasions, I woke to emails letting me know how he’d been overnight, small gestures that meant the world to me.
My emotional story may have begun more than a year ago, and my journey with SASH is far from over. If my boy keeps fighting, I will keep fighting and I find comfort, real comfort, in knowing that our baby is in the hands of an exceptional team at SASH.
– North Ryde NSW
