Hi.  I've decided to speak non-anonymously.  An update about our baby Nash.  I'd
written in around Thanksgiving to say that he had had Heart Failure.
 
For Effie Marie Hines:     I am so so sorry about Loki and offer my deepest
sympathies.  I was so busy with Nash, that I never even logged on to read any of
the FMLs.  Maybe if I had, I could've clued you in sooner.
 
This is exactly what happened to Nash.  The week before Thanksgiving, he was
feeling really sickly, wouldn't play, lethargic, etc.  All he wanted to do was
sleep.  Then one night (Nov. 16) he just bloated up and his stomach turned
bluish.  His abdomen was huge and he spent the whole night gagging, retching,
but nothing came up.  The next day, I took him to the vet.  The regular ferret
vet wasn't there, so I saw a different doctor.  She thought that he might have a
blockage or a hairball, but didn't know why he'd be bloated.  She did an X-ray,
and returned to tell us that this was much much more serious than she had
thought.
 
She said that the fluid in his abdomen was a condition called pulmonary edema
and signified congestive heart failure.  She said he could die overnight.  After
unsuccessfully trying to extract some fluid with a needle, she gave him a
diuretic to get rid of it so that he could breathe easier and his heart wouldn't
have to work as hard.  That DIURETIC SAVED HIS LIFE.
 
He stayed in the hospital overnight, and needless to say, we didn't sleep at all
that night or the next or the next.  The next morning when we went to see him,
he was back to his normal size and even skinnier than that really.  You could
feel all his bones, like Loki.  The ferret Dr. was back by now, and he did an
EKG.  Thing is, it came back completely NORMAL.  The next step was an
ultrasound.  We did that, and found that all four chambers of his little heart
were enlarged, signifying a progressive heart disease called CARDIOMYOPATHY,
which is the degeneration of the actual heart muscle.  Unfortunately, it cannot
be cured, but it can be treated.  He was put on 4 medications (digitalis or
heart medicine, a bronchodialator,
the diuretic, and a potassium supplement) and an antibiotic.  He must take all 4
medications for the rest of his life.
 
Right now, he is feeling just like his old self.  He gets up for his medicine,
tries to spit it out, and then hops around and plays the Fringe Game (chasing
our fingers under the edge of the oriental rug) and eats and begs and snuggles
and chirps.  We don't know how long.....well, I can't say that, but at least we
have him for now.  At least he's at home, happy, and knowing how much we love
him.  At least he didn't die in a cold cage in a dark hospital alone.
 
If your vet didn't know, then I am very lucky mine did.  I hope everyone will
read this and be informed.  Including vets.  Tell your vet about it.  Maybe
it'll save some more little lives.  I only wish it were in time for Loki.
 
Jennifer Brett & Nash
 
[Posted in FML issue 0669]