Have received some mails from people who haven't caught the term "variable
expression" in relation to W.S..  What that means is that it is entirely
possible to have an individual with some features of the syndrome appearing
but not others, or to have some features appear in a mild form (or a harsh
form).  This does not mean that the offspring of individuals who have mild
expression will themselves have mild expression, though; they could very
easily be strongly affected.  There has been a LOT about WS in past FML
issues so people can read up in those or elsewhere.  (Reminder here about
the computer problems I had and that I lost MANY files so I'd have to
reconstruct or search as much as you'd have to search and I simply don't
have much spare time now.) Remember, too, that some of the things we have
been discussing (such as the possibility that some ferrets' lives may have
been shortened due to WS) remain only hypothetical but still interesting
and something which it pays to have someone later look at formally.
 
The shots the kits typically come with tend to be ONLY the FIRST of the kit
series.  Without the later ones in the series being given within the right
time frame there won't be protection.  Important reminder here: one of the
FIRST things to do with any new kit is to have a VET CHECK-UP and to have
the vaccine schedule set up, also a fecal check done right away, and
quarantine for a while till the health of the new one is known.
 
I think it makes sense to remove vets from lists IF they are clearly bad
and IF this is backed by MULTIPLE clear cases, but when there is simply a
tricky diagnosis, or an individual whose treatment options put everyone
between a rock and a hard place (as is happening now with our Meeteetse),
or the ferret succumbs to some sort of personal individual medical quirk
then that is NOT cause to remove a vet.  Heck, I react to some component of
general anesthesia myself.  Scared the heck out of my physicians the first
time I did it 20 years ago.  We know how to deal with my problem now, but
it could have been a lot worse so I just got lucky.  My reacting is NOT
the fault of the physicians.  Now, if one KNEW that I am among the small
minority who have that sort of allergy and THEN would not take the proper
precautions, well, THAT would be wrong on the physician's part, but when no
one knows and such a rare thing just happens then it is not anyone's fault.
Same with vets.  It's just something which occurred, sad as it is.  Neither
vets nor physicians are gods; they have to sometimes work with unexpected
and scary surprises, incomplete information, or situations for which there
is no good answer.  They try, same as anyone else.  It is not only not
logical to expect them to be more than human, it is also unfair.
[Posted in FML issue 3121]