I haven't posted anything in awhile, but I thought that by posting
Zeppelin's story, I might be able to help out others in the same situation.
I was too upset to write last week and I am just now able to type this
without breaking into tears.  Our beloved little Zeppelin (a.k.a.  Zeppy
Keneppy, Little Baby Bear Face) passed over to the Rainbow Bridge last
Thursday evening.  I adopted Zeppelin from Kym Becker-Barone (PFRA) about
two years ago (Kym, by the way, is one of the most caring, wonderful people
that I know.  Thank you for letting us bury Zeppy in your special place).
I knew that he was sick when I got him.  It was obvious that the people who
had Zeppy before he was rescued by Kym didn't care too much about his
health.  He had visible mast cell tumors on his back and his foot.  We
estimated his age at about 4 years old at that time.  I adopted Zeppelin
and his cagemate Ozzy right on the spot.  Zeppy was visibly ill and Ozzy
was this poor, skinny, ragged-looking little thing that didn't like other
ferrets (except for Zeppy) and really didn't know how to play.  He kind of
just walked around and looked scared when you let him out of the cage.  We
really chose each other that day... Both of them really warmed up to me
instantly and I knew that there was no way I was leaving there without
them.  I immediately had Zeppy's mast cell tumors removed (they weren't
cancerous) and fattened Ozzy up.  Zeppy was really improving and Ozzy
looked beautiful.  Then, Zeppy started to exhibit classic signs of
insulinoma.  He would stare into space and after only about 10 minutes
of play time, he would go to sleep under the couch or in a sleep-sack
somewhere.  He was diagnosed about a week later.  For the next year and a
half, he lived a great life.  He was on PediaPred and he was stabilizing
quite nicely.  I never saw any other signs that his cancer was advancing.
He would run, play, eat, poop, etc.  He seemed like he was in perfect
health.  That's the scary part.  Also, two months before he died I had a
blood test taken and his blood sugar was normal--it didn't even register as
being low (another classic sign of insulinoma).  One day he was running,
playing and dooking and the next day he was gone.  I had noticed that he
had diarrhea on Thursday morning, but I didn't think it was that serious.
It was only a couple little spots and I had just seen him drinking water
and eating that morning.  Before then, his poop was perfectly normal.  When
I left for work, he was fine and he was curled up in a ball sleeping with
his brothers.  When my fiance got home from work (at 3:30 that afternoon)
he found him on the bottom level of the cage having convulsions.  I was in
NYC on business and didn't know about it at the time.  He rushed him to
the vet where they gave him an IV and stabilized him.  However, he never
regained conciousness.  The doc thought that he might make it though.  But
by the time I got home from NYC, Zeppy was gone.  His little heart just
stopped beating.  I was in shock.  I knew he had insulinoma, but I didn't
know that he would be running around playing one day and then next day he
would be rushed to the vet only to die a few hours later.  I am grateful
that he didn't suffer, though.  He loved life and he knew that he was
loved.  We are lucky that we had him in our lives for as long as we did.
We miss him terribly and he will always be in our hearts.  He's in a better
place now--a place where he'll never have to worry about cancer again.  I
wanted to tell Zeppy's story so that all of you out there who have babies
with insulinoma will know that 1) After diagnosis it is possible that your
baby could live another two years or more and have a happy, normal life; 2)
He/she may seem fine one day and be gone the next...you never know.  So,
please hug your fuzzies extra tight today because you never know when they
might be gone; 3) If you are thinking about adopting a ferret, don't let
the fact that he/she might be sick or a bit older dissuade you from adding
him/her to your family.  Zeppy was the most loving, wonderful little guy
and he brought a lot into our lives.  Every day of our limited time with
him was well worth it.  As hard as it is to let go of him, we wouldn't
change a thing if we had to do it all over again.  Zeppy was a joy to have
around and he needed us as much as we needed him.  Now you can have all the
raisins and Cheerios you want little guy!  Mommy and daddy love you and
we'll see you at the rainbow bridge one day.
 
Jenni and Cliff
Oso, Ozzy and Romeo (who are all missing their brother very, very much)
[Posted in FML issue 2761]