Well, it's Monday (Tuesday by the time anyone reads this).  I've been
waiting all day for a call from the vet about Calix's test results.  I've
called them twice now and I still haven't found out anything.  Is it
wrong of me to want to get our file from them and switch to another vet?
It's not like we've been with them all that long really, just this year
and they're not even our normal vet.  *sigh*
 
Calix has been having trouble walking, falling over and losing
coordination to even stand still.  He's been staring into space and when
I get anywhere near him during it he jumps like something attacked him.
He's attacked a couple of the other ferrets, once I think they scared him
out of a trance and he just went off on them.  He normally runs away (he
likes being chased, not chasing).  He stopped eating and drinking, and I
noticed his poop was a little red-orange but still solid.  His spleen was
enlarged and hard as a rock (I only know that because Pixie's spleen was
enlarged before she passed away.  Calix is also pretty lethargic, he
pitches a hissy fit if he can't find his toy or his favorite sleep spot.
He's also hissing a lot at the other ferts.  We have kept him separated
from the other ferts for the most part, but we didn't want to keep them
apart the whole time.  So he's got the hospital cage set up just outside
the fert room.  We've been feeding baby food and yesterday started mixing
ground kibble in it with a little laxatone for flavoring.  I've also
been giving him water by syringe and mixing some in his food.  He's only
eating a little each time and he wasn't eating much at all when we fed
him every 4 hours, so we're feeding him every 5 hours now and he seems
to be eating better.  He started having diarrhea when we started feeding
him the baby food, but the vet gave him something to help clear that up.
His poopie is back to mostly solid, kind of chunky at the moment, but a
whole lot better than before.
 
I've been doing a little research on the FML and FHL archives, and
reading some articles in Ferrets magazine as well as about diseases in
Ferrets for Dummies, and he has almost every symptom of insulinoma.  But
his fasting blood/sugar level was 140 on Saturday morning, so the vet
ruled that out for the most part.  The vet suspects lymphoma first, then
adrenal.  I read somewhere that you should get a biopsy of the spleen in
this case, does anyone know about that?  Of course, I don't know what the
test results say yet because they haven't called me yet.  Grrr.  It's so
horrible having to wait for some info when you could probably be doing
something more beneficial.  I've got knots in my stomach, my head hurts,
and I've been crying for the past few days worrying about Calix.  I know
so much about ferrets until I actually have to deal with a sickness...
it's like my brain shuts down or something.  I've been so frustrated.
Fortunately I have Adrian who takes care of things in times of crisis...
sometimes his nonchalant attitude comes in handy.
 
^.^ Anyway, below are a few links to pics of calix, check 'em out ^.^
 
me & Cal
http://www.haager.net/gallery/fert3/7046_G
 
a few easter pics of Cal
http://www.haager.net/gallery/fert3/7044_G
http://www.haager.net/gallery/fert3/7010_G
 
of course, once you get to those pictures, you can look around at the
others if you want.  Thanks for listening to me complain.
 
In Christ,
Ann Haager (& hubby - Adrian)
~Ferrets: Lupi, Dewey, Rainbow, Skittles, Calix, Pearl, Snap, Oreo,
Gandalf & Samweis
~~Rainbow Bridge: Xanth & Pixie
~Dogs: Shadow & Onyx
~Cat: Zoe
 
http://ann.haager.net
http://www.haager.net/gallery/aahaager
[Posted in FML issue 5006]