First, thanks to all of the well-wishers who took the time to write me
about Sprinkles. :)
 
An update... I took Sprinkles to the vet last week to get checked out.
By this time her wet sneezing attacks had petered out.  She still had the
occasional sneeze but it was nowhere near as bad as it was before.  The
vet and I agreed that this was just a cold that had passed.  I'd kept
Sprinkles in my (very warm) kitchen for a few days which may have helped.
 
But her belly was still swollen.  The vet did an x-ray which was largely
inconclusive; the amount of fluid in her belly made reading the x-ray
very difficult.  So on Saturday we took a ~40 mile trip to another
veterinary group who had an ultrasound machine, and in Sprinkles went.
 
The results were not good.  Sprinkles has several tumors inside of her
body, including at least one on her lymph gland (lymphoma).  At least one
of the tumors is draining fluid into her belly.  The vet took a sample
of the fluid for testing; our treatment options, if any, will depend on
the results of that test.  In the meantime, the hole in Sprinkles' belly
(when they took the sample) has allowed most of the fluid to drain.  I
had a couple of diapers (not the disposable kind, don't worry) set up as
a bed and Sprinkles slept through almost the entire day yesterday.  I
changed the diapers twice 'cause they were soaked with whatever fluid
was in her belly.
 
Today she's back to her normal size but not her normal behavior.  There's
a large bruise on her stomach from where the needle took the sample and
she's having difficulty moving.  I suspect her stomach is just in too
much pain, both as a result of all that fluid being drained out and the
needle puncture.  I've got a call into the vet's office to see if I
should be worrying more.  Otherwise, she seems unchanged; she's still
eating and drinking normally.
 
My big concern right now is how much any treatment is going to cost.  The
x-ray and ultrasound visits cost almost $500, and I'm still financially
recovering from a couple of months ago when another one of my ferrets had
a ~$5k pacemaker installed.  (Yes, really.  I'm not kidding.) Plus, I
hate my job.  So if anyone out there needs to hire a Macintosh guru/tech
in the Manhattan area please let me know.
 
More updates as events warrant.
[Posted in FML issue 4041]