A Bunny Tale

The Perfect Bunny for Our Family

I'd of never believed this bunny tale if I had not lived it. It is a most unusual tale of a boy, his bunny and how this bunny REALLY is the perfect fit for our family. Sure, you've heard folks say that their pet is part of their family, that their pet fits in perfectly, but I don't think you've ever heard a story like this. This is quite an unusual bunny tale.

I have to explain just a bit about our family before I begin the tale. Two of our children have a rare, genetic bone marrow failure syndrome called Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome (SDS). We've been through many hospital stays, surgeries and doctor's visits over the years. We drive eight hours to Cincinnati Children's hospital just to be seen in their Bone Marrow Failure Clinic. Children with SDS can develop life-threatening infections quickly. For instance, our Joseph had neurosurgery last year and developed an infection at the incision site which required IV antibiotics and a longer hospital stay. He has also had to be hospitalized 36 hours after scraping his knee due to infection. We know the hospital well.

We bought Henrietta for five dollars. Joseph used his own money to buy his special bunny. He requested that it be a girl, too. We knew it was hard to determine the sex of rabbits when they were young, but we just kept on assuming Henrietta was a girl. Six months later, we found out that Henrietta is really a Henry. Henry began exhibiting certain boy behaviors and seemingly had an insatiable appetite for this "boy behavior". We decided that he needed to be neutered.