“I Saved Him From the Edge of Death — But He Chose Joe”
“I Saved Him From the Edge of Death — But He Chose Joe”
A Story of Unexpected Love, Healing, and the Unbreakable Bond Between a Rescued Soul and a Gentle Heart
A Story of Unexpected Love, Healing, and the Unbreakable Bond Between a Rescued Soul and a Gentle Heart
He was broken when I found him —
Half-dead, weak, riddled with infection, and covered in deep, brutal wounds from feral cat bites.
By all accounts, he shouldn’t have made it.
But something inside him — and something inside me — refused to give up.
Half-dead, weak, riddled with infection, and covered in deep, brutal wounds from feral cat bites.
By all accounts, he shouldn’t have made it.
But something inside him — and something inside me — refused to give up.
So I nursed him back to life.
Day by day, I cared for his fragile body.
I fed him, bathed him, clipped his delicate nails. I ground his medicine into tiny doses, sometimes mixing it with smoothies just to coax it down.
I made him Possum Pâté and warm, soft meals that brought back his strength.
I kissed his nose, snuggled him close, and whispered to him that he was safe now — that no more pain was coming.
I fed him, bathed him, clipped his delicate nails. I ground his medicine into tiny doses, sometimes mixing it with smoothies just to coax it down.
I made him Possum Pâté and warm, soft meals that brought back his strength.
I kissed his nose, snuggled him close, and whispered to him that he was safe now — that no more pain was coming.
And you know what?
He healed.
He healed.
But the greatest twist in this little love story?
He didn’t become my shadow.
He melted straight into Joe — my disabled brother.
He didn’t become my shadow.
He melted straight into Joe — my disabled brother.
The connection was instant, pure, and deeper than anything I could have orchestrated.
He crawled into Joe’s arms like he’d been searching for him all along.
And there, nestled against the gentle rhythm of Joe’s chest, he slept the deepest sleep I’d ever seen.
As if the trauma, the pain, the survival — all of it — finally had permission to let go.
He crawled into Joe’s arms like he’d been searching for him all along.
And there, nestled against the gentle rhythm of Joe’s chest, he slept the deepest sleep I’d ever seen.
As if the trauma, the pain, the survival — all of it — finally had permission to let go.
We take him everywhere:
To Lowe’s, where curious shoppers do double takes.
To fishing trips, where he observes quietly from the tackle box.
To Starbucks, where the baristas know him by name.
Even to my book-writing spot along the Appalachian Trail, where he sniffs the breeze and finds Joe’s lap once more.
To Lowe’s, where curious shoppers do double takes.
To fishing trips, where he observes quietly from the tackle box.
To Starbucks, where the baristas know him by name.
Even to my book-writing spot along the Appalachian Trail, where he sniffs the breeze and finds Joe’s lap once more.
I’m the one who prepares his meals, gives his medicine, walks him each night beneath the stars.
I’m the one who slips him honey-roasted peanuts and rubs behind his tiny ears.
But when Joe walks into the room, everything else fades.
I’m the one who slips him honey-roasted peanuts and rubs behind his tiny ears.
But when Joe walks into the room, everything else fades.
They become a single heartbeat.
A “Vulcan Body Meld,” I call it.
Two gentle souls, carved into one peaceful statue of trust, safety, and unspoken understanding.
A “Vulcan Body Meld,” I call it.
Two gentle souls, carved into one peaceful statue of trust, safety, and unspoken understanding.
And I wouldn’t change a thing.
Because love doesn’t always go where we expect.
Sometimes, we rescue a life — and that life finds healing not in our arms, but in the arms of someone we love even more.
Sometimes, we rescue a life — and that life finds healing not in our arms, but in the arms of someone we love even more.
That opossum may think Joe is some kind of Opossum God…
…but I think they saved each other.
And me? I just get the joy of watching a miracle unfold, every single day
…but I think they saved each other.
And me? I just get the joy of watching a miracle unfold, every single day
