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TK went for his yearly Echo, etc., at Tufts this week.
Some good news, and, as I see it, a disturbing development.
The Good:
TK has turned out to be the one in a thousand cats that has
seen MAJOR reversal in his HCM. Reversal to the point where
it is almost nonexistent.
Mitral regurge.....undetectable in all but his most excited state.
Wall thicknesses......damn near normal
Atrium.......near normal
I don't have the full report, yet, or I'd post the numbers.
But his overall condition is excellent.
Dr Rush said that if this was the first time he'd seen TK, he would
tell me that I could discontinue the (twice a  week) aspirin, but under
the circumstances he was reluctant to suggest changing anything.
So since his kidney values are all good, we're continuing the aspirin
and monitoring kidney function regularly.
Overall, the news couldn't be much better.

Now the disturbing development (and it may keep me from going
back to Tufts):
Dr. Rush and another cardiologist were looking at the echo. Pointing,
running playbacks, and talking VERY quietly among themselves.
This was before I knew the results and it was making me VERY
uptight. As my wife later described it, there was a "feeling of urgency
in the room". Looking back, I would describe it as a "feeling of excitement".
You kinda had to be there, but it was very unnerving for me.
So Dr. Rush told us how well TK was doing......and then:
He wanted to sedate TK to take some readings when he was in
a less excited state (TK was very excited about the whole event.
squirming, bitching, etc.....He was not a happy cat)
I was reluctant to sedate him.
Then came the offer that really disturbed me.
"We'd like to use him in a couple of studies we're doing. We want
to sedate him for some more tests, do some x-rays, and draw some
blood for (someone else) who is doing a genetic study of HCM. If
you consent to this, there will be no charge for today's visit or any
follow-up care" Uh-Oh. .......Houston, we have a problem.
TK has just gone from "patient" to "data point".

While I would like to help in research that might do some good
for other cats, I have several reservations.
a) TK is NOT a good subject for a study. He may live in a
house, but he is not a "housecat". He's still at least 75% wild
and is very distrusting of humans (especially men, which may
say something about his life before we found him). He trusts
me, he trusts my wife, but nobody else.
b) I don't want to subject him to "tests" that he does not need
and that increase his risks (ex. X-rays)
c) "Safe" anesthetics have almost killed me twice. (Do you know
anyone who has been on the edge of cardiac arrest from a drop
of Novocaine in the eye?....You do now!)
d) TK can't give his "consent" for the tests.
e) He may be an important "data point" to Dr Rush, but to me
he's my "buddy".
(This kinda goes back to Philosophy 101. Would you kill one
person if it would cure cancer for all mankind?... What if that person
were someone you loved?)

Anyway, I thought about it for a VERY short time and then declined.
Dr Rush was visibly "displeased" with my decision.I think he thought
I would jump at saving $300 on the day's visit since most of the time
(as my  wife describes it) I "look like I should be standing on the street
corner with a tin cup in my hand". (A bit of advice, guys. You may want
to think twice about marrying a fashion model if you're really fond
of your 10 y.o. jeans)

But anyway, the mood in the room REALLY went downhill from there.
I stood firm. TK was NOT going to be part of their study. I did finally
agree to let them draw a small blood sample for genetic testing.
That turned out to be a big mistake even though it seemed like a fairly
benign proceedure.
An assistant prepared the needle and Dr Rush grabbed TK and held
him in position to draw blood from his jugular. TK struggled, Dr Rush
held him tighter, assistant poked, Tk struggled, assistant poked again.....
Four times and no blood sample. Then TK pulled back, shook his
head, and missed the point of the needle with his eye by what looked
like millimeters. That was enough! So I said "I don't think this is working
very well".
Dr Rush snapped at me: "If your going to say things like that when
TRAINED PROFESSIONALS are doing their job, you'll have to
LEAVE THE ROOM."
"No, were done", I said in as non-belligerent a tone as I could muster.
"He's just too excitable today"
"You want to stop?"......"Yes"
So that was it for the blood draw.
Admittedly, I might have been a little more diplomatic about stopping
things, especially since two students were in the room. But I wanted it
stopped, immediately, and didn't have the time to choose my words
as carefully as I would have liked.
The visit was wrapped up with a level of tension that was so thick
you could cut it with a knife.
Went out to the counter to pay the bill and get the basic report. Written
on the bottom under "follow up visit" we were "advised that TK will
need to be sedated" for the next echo.
Dammit!
If TK continues to do well, I've got a year to decide how to handle
this. But my gut feeling says DON'T take him back to Tufts now that
he is considered an important data point in a research project.

This turned into a longer rant than I intended, but I'm really torn as
to how I should handle this. Obviously, my concern is to get TK
to best care possible for TK.

I see two choices:
Don't go back to Tufts.
(Where do I take him?)
or
Go back to Tufts and make it real clear that I am here for TK's
benefit and I don't give a flying f**k about his research.
(That should go over real big)