Living on Long Island, New York, Lauren and Joel came across a little kitten in the gutter one day.
When they took him to the doctor right away, they were informed that he most likely wouldn’t survive.
He was given the name Mac, and after numerous visits to the veterinarian, it was determined that he had cardiomyopathy, or the hardening of the artery walls, a cleft palate, and only half a nose.
Joel also has health problems; when he was eleven years old, he received a blood transfusion, and the blood was HIV-positive. They grew close right away, and now they take their medications together four times a day.
The two have a very strong bond as a result of everything they have both been through.
