The rest of the story....We were running out of time, as the clinic was
about to close, and Fang was about to die.  The vet called the two blood
banks in the U.S., and neither one had ferret blood; even if they did, time
was against us.  We called the shelter ; no ferrets.  Then I heard one of
the girls on the phone say,"You will?" My heart almost stopped.  She told
me that this lady wouldn't get off til 5:00, and Fang wouldn't make it.  I
took the phone, and through my sobbing, told her how grateful I was; that
Fang was dying, and that we would wait; the clinic would stay open for her.
Three minutes later she calld back.  She had found someone (in two minutes)
that would drive clear across town to get her ferret and rush him to the
clinic.  This was a real adrenal rush for me; it was like all your prayers
came through in a grand finale' from the Heavens!
 
I paced the clinic, holding Fang against my cheek, telling him to hang
on just a little longer. The blood was seeping badly from his body. Then
he was there, this white angel in a ferret's body, huge, and healthy
looking! We didn't have time to test him; we were just so grateful.
Fifteen minutes later Fang had this stranger's blood flowing through his
dying body. I decided I wouldn't let him go home with the vet; I had to
take him with me to my friends' where my husband drove the two hrs.from
our hometown to meet me. The vet said if he was going to die, he should
be with us, and there was nothing more that he could do if this
transfusion didn't work. We syringe-fed him every two hours until 1:00
am; then every three hrs. in the night. Around 9:00 P.M. we noticed that
the seepage had stopped...the little nose that had been white that
afternon turned back to the normal pink, and the shine returned to his
eyes. The vet checked him this morning; warned us that the prognosis was
guarded, and that Fang probably would be in the lower end of the
*average* life span following insulinoma surgery......still, we are so
grateful for whatever time he has left. He has to stay in his cage for
two weeks for obvious reasons, but I am tempted to make a chest carrier
(I am NOT a creative seamstress; just your basic *straight hemmer*).
Does anybody out there have a pattern for a workable chest carrier?  I am
also in need of any info on fert livers..vet said they were much like cat
livers.  The lab results on the liver came back today: not cancerous, but
in the hepatitus family; the *least bad*of three possibilities.  Not much
chance for rejuvination, he thought, due to the fact that there was not a
part of the liver that looked healthy.  I will concentrate on that problem
after he gets over this hump.
 
 The vet left for Las Vegas for a vet convention for a week, and told me
not to do anything new until I talk to him. My plan is to gather as much
info from you guys as I can and compile it...please send me what you
know, or any experience you've had with failing livers. I forgot to get
a copy of the lab report to bring home, so I can't remember the exact
diagnosis :-(   I was emotionally drained and temorarily brain dead, but
very, very happy that little Fang was coming home.
 
Thank you , more than you will ever know, for your prayers and your
recipes for the various duck soups. I am headed to the store in the
morning to buy the ingredients I need to try them. He is on canned
*Eukanuba vet diet Max.calorie*,  Gerber's canned chicken, vit K,
Amoxicillan, and pedialyte. Hated the gatorade; spit it out. Will let
you all know how he pulls through; I am putting his cage upstairs beside
my pillow tonight. We will have you all in our prayers for your
thoughfulness and kindness that you sent. Fang says *you should see my
tummy, I'm Frankenstein Ferret! *
 
What do we do about ferret blood at the donor banks? I don't want any of
you to go through this!!! Also, get your baseline glucose test early, so
you can detect insulinoma before it puts a hardship on the liver (it
overworked I think) as Fang's seems to have. I didn't see any signs of
the insulinoma in his pancreas until it was so late.
 
Hug your babies and bless your hearts,
Lizzi , Fang, and family
[Posted in FML issue 2964]