I am posting anonymously this morning because I'm being selfish.  The
last time I posted about losing one of my babies the outpouring of
sympathy and kindness from FMLers was amazing.  Right now I'm simply
not strong enough for tha t and just want to mourn alone.
 
My sweet boy had a perfect check up the 1st of August 2003, including a
thorough palpating.  The vet even remarked on what a handsome and healthy
3 year old boy he was.
 
Last week, I noticed he was a bit sleepier than normal but he was still
acting like a normal boy, playing...eating.... drinking.... with normal
urine and poops.  Still, loving him as I do I scheduled a BG for the
following week.  Thursday of last week (and 1 day before his BG) when I
took the babies out for their playtime my boy had a big, hard belly.  I
brought him to the vet within hours.
 
Initially I saw the vet who has less experience with ferrets and she said
she was confident that it was an enlarged spleen that could be easily
removed.  He was otherwise healthy, with a good strong heart beat.  I
next saw "the ferret expert" who agreed that it was an enlarged spleen
and scheduled the surgery for Tuesday (9/30).  I asked if during the
interim we coul d try Clavamox/Flagyl/Pepto in the off chance that maybe
the spleen had flared up due to helicobacter.  I knew it was a slim
chance but since I had to wait for surgery I didn't think it could hurt.
 
My boy continued to eat/drink/urinate/poop and kiss me up until the
morning of the surgery.  By the morning of surgery his belly was even
bigger.  I dropped my baby off for the surgery and wanted to find
something to try and keep me busy (yeah right!).  Knowing what a loving
and giving boy this particular member of my ferret family was I packed up
a box of treats for a ferret rescue and put it in the mail....I knew my
boy would be pleased.  When I got back to the clinic, the technicians and
staff (who are also my close friends and co workers) told me that it was
not an enlarged spleen at all but some kind of tumor and that my boy was
not woken up because it had so compromised him.
 
I got a chance to see the tumor, it was big and it was ugly.  It had
enveloped his kidneys.  Otherwise he was perfect inside, nice spleen,
heart etc.  The doctor was unable to ascertain where it had begun.  In
her 10 years of practice she had never seen anything this fast growing or
aggressive in a ferret.  I didn't biopsy (I know I really should have).
I have 11 remaining ferrets, all with health issues that could use the
$140 that the biopsy would've cost to stay healthy and live as long as
possible.  I am incredibly sad but I need to be here for the rest of my
11 "medically challenged" babies.  I've lost 3 this year and hope that
I face no more loss.  I want to be able to buy presents for all 11 on
Christmas!!!!
 
Thank you all for listening I knew that you would understand!!!
 
[BI]
[Posted in FML issue 4288]