Hi Hiveans, I am Helen, a caring and sympathetic veterinary surgeon from Greece. The title of my article is not referring to another tv sitcom like the well-known American tv show “How I Met Your Mother”, but to the actual and fascinating story of how I met my husband, Cos.
We all know the great benefits of having a pet in our life and in some cases - like the one I am about to unfold - the impact they can have in our life is much greater than one can ever imagine. Many people thanks to their furry companions, experience life changing events and they can only feel grateful for having them in their inner family and sharing a life with them.
In our family our little hero is our cat “Frido”. Frido came into our life one sunny day of September 2014 out of nowhere with a special mission, to unite me and my other half in this life. But let’s take thing from the beginning.
Frido our cat and life hero 😍
Frido was found by my husband Cos, outside his house playing with some other kittens he was looking after in his front yard. Frido was a small, almost total white, furry ball seeking for attention in a playful mood. As Cos got closer to have a better look to the new member of the kitten’s clan, he realized that Frido had an injury on his front right scapula that required immediate medical attention.
Frido on the first day he was found and his first day in our life
That was the day Cos walked in to my vet clinic for the first time, holding our little “Hitch” (matchmaker) on his hands. Without wasting any time, he briefly laid out the facts and handed me over Frido to examine him. Once I thoroughly cleaned up the wound from the dried blood and the dirt, a clean 4cm cut was revealed exposing his inner flesh. That was a relatively big cut for such a small kitten, and I could not just clean up the wound and suture it as bacterial infection was imminent. The best option at that time was to prescribe topical and internal antibiotics and hand over detailed instructions for treating the wound twice a day.
His wound after three weeks of treatment. Its was twice as big! 😢
The wound took a while to heal completely and for those 7-8 weeks Cos was visiting me regularly once or twice a week to monitor Frido’s progress and provide further instructions and medication necessary to continue the treatment. During those weeks we have been given the time to get to know each other a bit better and build a certain level of trust and appreciation for each other. Cos was a truly kind and caring person and I was quite pleased with his devotion and effort put on taking care of Frido, treating his wound daily.
Laying around the house in purr (e) cuteness 😻
Cos was a senior executive (CIO) at that time with a very tight schedule, but nevertheless he was providing a consistent treatment to Frido twice a day as per my instructions. There were times that he was carrying Frido with him in his office and even in lengthy meetings to keep up with Frido’s treatment schedule. Thank goodness that his boss at that time, had an extreme sympathy for pets and she was deeply passionate about animal welfare. Imagine that not only he had to carry Frido around the company’s premises but also Frido’s litter box, food and water bowls and all his favourite toys to keep Frido happy and busy while Cos was trying to keep up with his work schedule.
Frido laying on the top of a wardrobe in his room 😁
Once Frido’s wound healed completely Cos wanted to thank me and express his gratitude with a symbolic gift, a silver Disney themed photo frame, decorated with little paws and cats laying around the frame, and a cute photo of Frido on the inside with the inscription “To Helen my beloved doctor. Purr. Purr.”. Normally I do not accept gifts from clients and especially from men, but due to the symbolic nature of the gift I felt that denying it wouldn’t be appropriate.
How can you say no to such a thoughtful gift? It has a permanent and prominent position in my office. 😉
Cos kept visiting my clinic on a regular basis, once or twice a month for supplies and health check-ups, until one day Frido decided to take a leap of faith that he can fly while he was observing the birds from the balcony of Cos’s apartment on the second floor. He soon found out that he cannot fly and ended up in my clinic once again for a new adventure. One broken leg was the outcome of his free fall with more frequent visits to my clinic and more opportunities for me and Cos to get to know each other better. Eventually, Frido’s leap of faith was not that he could fly but that he could bring me and Cos together on the same path of life.
Rehabilitation period. The broken leg had no negative effect on his cuteness 😇
After the last incident we started talking with Cos almost daily, either on the phone or in person during his visits to my clinic, and within the following months we started eventually expressing our feelings for each other. Frido’s mission was crowned with a success on August 2016, when me and Cos were finally started walking on the same path of life holding hands side by side. Only a few months later, on the 21st of May 2017, we also decided to join our lives together with our wedding vows. As of today, we keep walking with Cos side by side holding hands (literally), feeling grateful to our “cat child” Frido for his priceless gift, a lifelong trip of happiness for all three of us together.
Thanks for reading! Now our story is officially part of hive’s history!
This cat just knows how to smile 😂