There has been a sick fish in my son’s pond for months now. At one point, there were two of them, floating belly up, side by side, and sporting ugly ulcers. They were so ill that we had even been obliged to discuss the possibility of euthanasia, although that goes against all we have learned about the nature of hope over the past few years.
We even went as far as buying clove oil with which to anaesthetise the fish if their suffering seemed too much for them to bear….and the day we did so, they rallied. It seemed at the time as if, having accepted that responsibility, the need for action was removed.
We named the fish for their characteristics during their illness, to distinguish between them for the daily reports on their progress or lack of it. Once, grossly swollen and looking for all the world as if he would die of dropsy, a virtually incurable problem, we called Fat Fish. The other is now on his third name.
After a few weeks, Fat Fish made a truly remarkable recovery, against all odds and predictions. The other fish was not so lucky. At first, all he could do was flap feebly. Then we had a period where his recovery looked impossible… and the next day he would be swimming. We named him Trooper for his gallantry.
Unfortunately, it was all downhill from there.
Trooper hid himself under the plants and no longer swam. He was not eating and became translucent, thin and weak. Every day, I twitched his blanket of plants when I arrived at my son’s home…at first, expecting the worst, then as the days went by, hoping for his release and knowing that by all logic, he should already be dead.
We were back to the big question again… how long could we leave him in this state? We had tried every medication and intervention by now and nothing was working.
Continue reading at The Silent Eye
Sue Vincent's Daily Echo 
Hi Sue I can’t seem to get to The silent Eye to continue. I would love to know how the fish are doing. I know you have gremlins and are not around this weekend so I shall have to be patient and hope for Trooper and Fat Fish 💜💜
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Sorted x
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Thank you 💜🌹
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Reblogged this on anita dawes and jaye marie.
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As Willow said, we can’t click through to the Silent Eye. I went to the site to read the rest of the post but couldn’t see anywhere for comments. Wonderful post.
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Thanks, Mary… sorted the link, but I can’t see any problem with the comments box…
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This was a great story – so glad those fish pulled through. Thanks for sharing The Silent Eye’s post!
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Thank you! My son’s fish are always a great source of inspiration… as well as worry 🙂
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We have had goldfish in a tank for nearly 8 years. One died over the summer and we thought its mate wasn’t going to make it either because he seemed depressed. But now he is back to his normal swimming!
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They are social creatures. One of my fish lost his mate and moped for weeks… he soon perked up though when we put other fish of the same kind in with him.
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I absolutely love this. Your son, in his own lifetime, has undergone a recovery from which most people would have died, so his belief in the fish is not without some reference in reality. I loved reading this story because it demonstrates the sacredness in all of us and in the creatures of the world. We are an amazing group of people with truly incredible stories to share. This is such a beautiful story of a real-life miracle, and these things do happen for sure. I am so happy for the outcome. Thank you very kindly.
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We are just keeping our fingers crossed that Trooper continues to recover 🙂
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Yay, Super Trooper! 😀
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Yep…and he’s still with us 🙂
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There is something about life I think we will never understand. At times, it becomes easy to just surf through life, without much effort – but then there are times when we need the help of others, otherwise we stagnate and die. It is the reassuring touch of those around us that help us, make us whole and realize what a great world we live in. Great story, Sue.
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Thanks, Randall. I agree, we can go through life alone, but it only lights up when we can share the journey for a time.
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