Hi all.
 
Less than happy news on the homefront. Our 4-year-old, Claudia, went in for
her third bladder stone surgery yesterday.
 
Some of you may remember me by my maiden name (Thewes) and by the snail
mail I undoubtedly sent your shelter/rescue three years ago desperately
searching for help in a cure or treatment. Claudia developed bladder stones
at just a little over a year. Two were taken out. Six months later she was
having problems again and four came out. Dr. Tom Kawasaki and I spent much
time poring over his medical directories looking for help in how to treat
her. The reason? Her stones were cystine (only seen in dogs) as compared to
struvite (more common in ferrets and cats), leaving us the problem of how
to treat her.
 
Dave and I seriously considered having her put to sleep, as we couldn't
bear the thought of putting her through surgery every six months for the
rest of her life, especially since she was only a year old. Eventually we
seemed to find the right combination of medicines to stop them (or so we
thought).
 
I noticed a couple of months ago that Claudia looked to be having problems,
but it would come and go. Friday night I knew for sure. The Xray showed at
least *six* stones (that I could see) this time.
 
Claudia's home from surgery and recovering pretty well, but I have a
request for you all. I know for sure of one other person whose ferret had
the same type (cystine) of stones, because Dr. K's office called me about
it like six months ago. If you know of or have had these same stone
problems yourself, PLEASE EMAIL ME directly with the details of your case.
My ultimate fear is that Claudia's developing a tolerance to the medicine,
and in that case we start back at square one.
 
And especially if you know of that person in the Metro D.C. area that went
to Kawasaki's for help, have them get in touch with me.
 
I'm sorry for the long post guys, but I can't begin to tell you how my
heart sank when I saw the Xray.
 
Amy & Dave (and their gaggle of giggling ferrets)
[Posted in FML issue 1254]