I have been so busy tending to Ben that I forget to post on his progress.
Shame on me since so many of you where nice enough to keep him in your
prayers and send cards.
 
Well anyways Ben is very slowly improving.  I will give a little
refresher since it was a while ago when I originally posted.  I found Ben
one night in our bathtub (the kids love to play there) well when I found
him he was not breathing.  He was not breathing and was covered in urine
and feces and his body temp had dropped-to the touch you would have
thought he was dead.  I frantically grabbed him put him in a sleep sack
and started my way to the vets.  I have never driven so fast and done
mouth to mouth.  Since he has insolinomia I thought his BG got to low and
he seized.  As I was driving I found a piece of gum in the car and wet it
and started rubbing it on his gums.  All while yelling at him that it is
not his time and that he is a fighter.  "Ben you are not going to die on
me!" The vet that I went to got him stabled and sent me home with him on
fluids.  I stayed up all night watching him.  The next day the vets where
very surprised to see me, they didn't think he would make it through the
night.  Well to make a long story short he was kept on fluids for a few
days and I started to try and nurse him back to health.
 
Since then he has had consistent dark tarry diarehha-gastrointestinal
bleeding.  We started him on carafate and then eventually Amoxi & Biaxin.
He has since been diagnosed with Addisons.  He had both adrenals out; one
about a year ago and the rt about 4 months ago.  The right showed up
cancerous.  So because of the Addisons he is on Percortin (sp).  That
helped him for about a week.  Then he became lethargic again and stopped
eating and the diarrhea returned.  Well we now believe that he has Kidney
disease.  So every night he is get 50mls of fluids sub-q.
 
I have never seen a ferret so mad, he hates me.  But you'd hate me to if
I had to force Carafate, Amoxi & Biaxin on you atleast 2 times a day and
then stick a 20g needle into your every night.  I feel so bad.  I am a
bad ferret Mommy.
 
He still has the dark stools and bouts of diarrhea so please keep him in
your prayers.
 
The good news... He war danced the other day!  He was jumping up and down
chasing his little hiney and doing flips in the air.  Chasing the other
ferrets and letting them know that he is still Alpha ferret.
 
I want to thank everyone who sent cards and good wishes.  They definitely
are working.
 
One last thing.  To all the fmlers, their families and fuzzbutts Happy
Thanksgiving!  Enjoy the holidays and count our blessing because we have
more than we know.  I know their are guardian angels all around.
 
Lisa & her 24 paws
[Posted in FML issue 3979]