Wednesday, May 7

Yesterday, when we got back from the anganwadi, Shanti raced down the stairs and jumped up at Simi, and played with Lekshmi, who stayed in the rickshaw but went as far as leaning out and stroking her.

In the evening she became extremely lethargic and refused to eat or drink. This morning I had to wake her, she could hardly stand, her head hung down and she wobbled as she walked. She walked with great reluctance for the shortest distance possible before collapsing on the floor again.

I took some photographs and a video to show how she looked and behaved. The photograph fails to capture the difference between resting and passed out. The video showed it better.

I tried to balance not panicking with acting blasé and, after some WhatsApp chat with Irma, I called Sanu and arranged to take her to Petcity. After a lot of blood tests, and intravenous drips, the doctor decided that she had a recurrence of tick fever. Bringing her in turned out the right decision.

In the evening I will have to carry her upstairs to the bedroom. She weighs 27.5kg and I feel every kilo by the time we get upstairs.