Trigger warning for graphic animal cruelty

I was going to start with the scary stuff, but it's all scary.

One of my sisters had elective surgery today. Surgery went well, recovery did not. She's having breathing problems now. Don't know how long she will be in the hospital.

My mom was scheduled for a hip replacement (her 2nd) on the 21st. She went to get checked out pre-surgery. They discovered a problem with her aorta, told her she could die on the table if she undergoes anesthetic, and she needs heart surgery ASAP (not sure how they're going to get around anesthetic for that one....).

My mom is 78. She was my abuser. To say my feelings about this are mixed is a ginormous understatement.

My beautiful 19-year-old niece had been dating this guy, her first "real" bf, for 6 months. They went home for a weekend, during which the family dog went missing. Dutchess was an indoor/outdoor dog, so it wasn't too much of a concern for several hours, but the hours turned into days and she didn't pop up. Niece's bf even helped the family search for her.

Early last week, my SIL came home from work and was overwhelmed by the smell of dead dog. She and my brother searched the house top to bottom ... and found Dutchess, having been strangled to death, in the basement ceiling tiles. While Matt was helping the family search for her, he mentioned to my niece that he had been housesitting for friends a couple weeks earlier, and their dog died on him.

My brother immediately lit out for my niece's school, after calling a friend there and having her go get my niece and keep her till he could get there and put them up in a hotel. She is in a sorority, and he paid to have an alarm put on the sorority house. They got a restraining order against the bf. Niece goes to school in Wichita, Kan., which is home of the BTK Killer (serial killer) you probably all read about in the papers last year, and since that guy started out killing animals, they don't take it very lightly anymore. They brought the bf in and profiled him, determined he was not of serial killing mentality but definitely had a few screws loose.

Brother brought niece home for a week, they had some family time, buried the dog, and niece decided she wanted to go back to school there where her friends are, etc. Wichita cops told them to file charges in the county where they live, which they did, and so the county police are going to Wichita tomorrow to arrest the bf and bring him back to KC and bring charges. They said he will probably be able to post bond, but ultimately should end up with at least a year in prison.

I am SICK about this because, although I am closer to some of my other nieces and nephews, this girl is only 6 months older than my son. All her life, she's kind of been a window on his life for me; I would look at her and think that my boy must be doing the same things now, etc. She is an exceptionally attractive girl and, as teenage girls do, tends to dress to accentuate that, and that makes me worry about her anyway, but now I'm worried about what she's learned about relationships, etc.

I can't cope with this all at once........

Candy