Better to have loved and lost...
This post is overdue.. by approximately a week.
My name is Damien, the caretaker, adoptive father, and best friend to Nergal the Opossum.
As much as it hurts my very being to put these words in stone..
After a very short, struggle with serious illness, Nergal has passed away.
I apologise for this coming so late, but my grief had been far too strong for me to even look at social media and I don't think confronting it sooner would've weighed well on my depression.
His passing came as a shocking surprise for everyone in our household.
His sickness came on very swiftly and over the course of 3 to 4 days.
He became lethargic and a bit annoyed on the 1st day and had no interest in food or water.
Day 2 was the same, he slept most, if not all of the day. I reverted him to liquid food formula to ensure he received some nutrition. He was a bit more bitey, but I was able to coax him into drinking small amounts of formula and water.
Day 3 was much of the same, but I actually believed he was getting better, he'd roam just a bit, then would go back to sleep. He still lacked a want for food or water. Later that night, I gave him a warm bath, made sure he was nice and dry before bed. I placed him in his bed, but he kept coming to me, to snuggle up. After the second time I let him stay, I pet him until he fell asleep.
Early morning Day 4 I woke up, around maybe 1 or 2 AM. I happened to brush against him and he was completely cold to touch... I knew I had woken up far too late to do anything.. if anything could've been done.
Why did this happen?
I am still at a loss for the cause of illness, and sadly when it comes to indigenous animals it's hard to find care for them, a veterinarian won't see them because they're technically wild animals and a Rehabilitation specialist won't see them because they're technically not wild if you're housing them. Before I met Nergal, I did an ample amount of research, I wanted to assure I could overcome any obstacle, except for actual surgery. This was blindsiding for me, it came out of nowhere.. it was fast.. and I made the misjudgement of assuming it wasn't deadly. I have a few hypothesise for the cause of sickness, from a bad genetic trait to just being exposed to a really bad germ. I've been mentally examining and reexamining his diet, but I couldn't find fault in the contents or the proportions. I began to assume that life began to feel I was too happy and sought to undo my happiness.
What was this blog about and how my experience with Nergal came to be:
My interest in Opossums started with sad story as well, in April 2015 I happened to be on the local train headed to work early that morning and unfortunately became a part of this news story, http://www.bnd.com/news/local/article21488958.html
It was.. horrible.. no, not that someone would give their life for an animal.. but the judgement she received for giving her life for one. "Why give your life for a dirty pest?" Is among some of the rhetoric I heard in the aftermath of the incident. This was the spark, so I went to work.. researching as much as I could about Opossums. I wanted the truth for myself. "Are they really that much of a unkindly sight to society?" I began crafting the answer to that with physical proof. Sadly, the passing of the only person who had insight into Opossums was the sacrifice for this inspiration and ironically she was probably the only one who could've helped me save my boy within nearly a hundred miles.
Nergal wasn't just a Opossum, he was my child. From day one when I held him in my hand, he was my child before anything else. I loved him and cared about him and when I was away from him I felt empty, and when I was with him I was always happy and interaction with him was my therapy.
You can take one animal away from the harsh realities of the wilderness, and make them happy and pamper them. But I never felt like I was doing him a favor.. I felt like he had did one for me.
I wanted to share what I felt with the world. Nergal then became a social experiment, I wanted to see if I could adjust the way people see these North American Marsupials. Most everyday persons will associated Opossums with mean creatures, who are unclean, ugly and a danger to them. Vermin, pests, etc.
What the results of this "social experiment" was.
It was incomplete. But, while incomplete, it was positive. I've met and introduced countless people to Nergal in the few months we had together.
If I could put a estimate of people that have had a chance to physically interact with him, I'd put that number over 120 people, but definitely shy of 200 people.
Out of those 120ish people, 60% of them had never seen a opossum up close. 30% of those people had negative views of them due to experiences with wild Opossums. The remaining 10% were persons who took time to educate themselves on Opossums and usually were the first to approach me to greet him or pet him.
I can easily say that out of these 120ish people, the 108 people that made up that 90%. Through interaction with Nergal, majority came to a definite change of opinion on possums. It was really amazing too.. In my town of 42,000 people, I felt like positive traction was starting. There was one extremely nice woman who I ran into multiple times across these few months and every time she needed a new picture of him, because she was enjoying seeing him grow. On warm nights I'd bring him with me to my local pub and sit with him on my shoulder on the patio, a family would come along every so often and the children would be so enamored with him and asking me questions about him. On occasions the parents would buy me a drink or two just so I would stick around longer.
People would invite me into their stores and they'd be bright eyed and curious. They'd field me questions about his diet and "Why a opposum?"
I loved it, I loved the interest. There was a share of ignorance out there, but the sheer love was overwhelming. Just like it is here on Tumblr.
I just wish it could've continued..
What next?
The short answer to that, for this blog specifically..
Nothing.
My son is gone, and I think I kept this blog so well updated, I only have a couple handfuls of pictures that haven't been seen here.
Now that this has come to light, I feel that posting more would just be a cause for others to mourn him more than he already will be.
Nergals story has ended, sooner than we all expected, but it's still an end. There's nothing more to write, but there's still plenty here to be shared amongst people who haven't heard his story.
I won't delete this blog, I wouldn't even be able to bring myself to do such a thing.
I want to leave as much motivation as possible out there for people to show love to even the most uncommon animal.
What's next for me.
Studying and preparing. Alot of it. This isn't the end of Opossums for me, in fact I think it's a companionship I can't live without anymore. I do need time though, time to better myself and put together all the things I learned about Nergal to ensure that the next time I get my chance at being a father to such a kind creature, I can ensure that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, they will live a complete and happy life... And we can all grow a bit older together.
I thank you all so much for your kindness and love. Maybe I'll see you all again in the future.
~Damien
Rest in peace my child
Nergal Trashcaticus
July 2017 - December 2017
"The goodiest boy of all."