I wanted to give a quick update for everyone following my very panicked
post a couple of weeks ago after Boo's diagnosis with Disseminated
Intravascular Coagulation (DIC).  In my last post, I was debating putting
Boo to sleep after reading the chances of survival in DIC patients.  Boo
is alive and well tonight, playing with Cid and Hope!  She beat the odds.
She was diagnosed very early by a wonderful vet, received aggressive
medical treatment, and lots and lots of prayers were sent up for our
little Boo!
 
I thought it might be helpful to others facing such a sudden experience
if I shared some facts about DIC.  Early diagnosis & medical treatment
saved Boo's life.  DIC is a horrid illness where the blood works against
itself.  It is most known for manifesting in cancer patients or victims
of trauma (given humans, dogs, cats, ferrets, etc.), with a typical
underlying cause (in Boo's case, swelling of her Pancreas post-op from
removal of a tumor, i.e..  Insulinoma).  It is rare in any species but
requires immediate medical treatment.
 
The blood thins, and thus excessive internal (or even external) bleeding
occurs.  Platelets are formed to try to combat the excessive bleeding.
In most cases, the platelet supply is often exhausted and the patient
literally bleeds to death.  The end stages of the illness can be
horrific.  The patient can bleed out any normal bodily orifice (nose,
eyes, ears, genitals), drown from blood in the lungs, or simply go into
complete organ failure.  Others die from a blood clot that breaks loose
from the platelets that originally tried to combat the blood loss.
 
Boo's main symptom after bringing her home after surgery was a thin
bruising around her incision.  By the next morning, the bruising around
the incision had spread and bruising started to appear around where her
arm was bandaged around her iv (the iv was left in her arm after surgery
- just in case).  The bruising around the iv seemed odd to me, as the
bandage was snug - not tight, and the bruising appeared above where her
little arm was wrapped in vet tape.  She arrived back at the vet at 8 AM,
more blood tests were administered, and she was immediately placed on
Heparin twice a day.  Within a time period of 8 hours the bruising from
internal bleeding completely covered her entire tummy and the bruise
from her iv bandage spread up her little arm, even with immediate medical
intervention.  The vet's immediate diagnosis/treatment (and lots of
prayers!) made all the difference between life or death for Boo.
 
I worked as a vet assistant for 5 years and never once witnessed a case
of DIC.  My vet, who specializes in ferrets, had never treated a ferret
with DIC.  It is a rare disorder;I just want to provide a warning to
others should you ever witness a bruise the starts to spread in such a
scenario as mentioned above.  I have also placed up a page on my website
that journals my experiences from that terrible week, including pictures.
http://www.robandmellisa.com/boodic.html I am still kicking myself for
not taking pictures during the 1st 24 hours that would have shown the
bruising patterns leading up to those posted.
 
I hope this information may help others.
 
Mellisa Eberle (A recovered Boo!  Cid, Hope and Chatters too!)
[Posted in FML issue 4563]