Dr. Iverson just called and said Calix is awake and groggy and is now on
pain meds (obviously).
 
They said his spleen (which has been enlarged for 3 weeks) was discolored
in a few areas, looked as if there were growths inside, and in one spot
it had errupted to the outside.  So the spleen had to come out.  The vet
also said that the spleen is most likely what was causing him to be so
lethargic and that it can at the same time cause the little burst of
energy we kept seeing.  He said there were no nodules to be taken out and
it didn't look like insulinoma.  *wheww* While he was checking the other
organs he noticed the left adrenal gland was larger than the right.
There were no growths or tumors, but he suspected that they would follow
the enlargement of the gland soon, so he went ahead and took the left
gland out as well.
 
I'm going to call back around 4 today to check in and make sure things
are going smoothly, then I'll pick him up by 5:30 to bring him home.
The vet doesn't want him moving too much because he took the spleen out
(which held a lot of his blood) and doesn't want to cause Cal to lose
any more blood.  He wanted me to keep him in the carrier, but I told him
about our hospital cage and how it's only bigger than the carrier because
we can fit a litter box into it too.  I've taken the base off so it only
stands as much as 8" tall, so there's no climbing, and I'll take the
hammock out and put in a sleepsack so he doesn't have to climb into bed
either.
 
Like with Xanth when he had his adrenal surgery, there will also be no
playing with the other ferts for a few days (sniffing...yes, playing...
no).  Don't want him getting too excited too quickly.
 
So everything else looked fine, and Calix should be getting back to his
old self in no time.  Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers, they
really helped a ton.  I'm shakier now after the surgery than I was
before...but it's a relieved shaky.  I will post again when we pick him
up from the vet.
 
In Christ,
Ann Haager (Calix thanks you too!)
[Posted in FML issue 5022]