I don't want to scare the newbies to ferretdom, but I DO need to vent when
things get hard here, and it might be that someone else will have one throw
a clot and will know what to do because of Meltdown's experience.  ( It is
so upsetting when I read about vets who still don't know the things which
have been long understood in relation to symptom clusters and treatments.
Something I find frustrating is when a reader complains about the health
posts, then a while later the person will post frantically and we read that
a critical bit of info about common health problems was not known and was
not acted upon in time depsite it being a topic of conversation every few
months, with updates on treatment progress regularly given, and most of or
all of the basic data in the FAQs.  It's each owner's responsibility to read
the FAQs, including the health FAQs and to pass on the health FAQs, plus any
interesting health posts to the vets: they WILL keep your ferret alive!
 
Much more sleep last night than the one before, but Steve and I won't be
able to go back to regular sleep schedules till tonight.
 
She will be having one quater ofd an aspirin every three days (more if she
throws other clots but that is not likely, though it can happen), and she
can restart her Winstrol which helps give her such a positive attitude and
better quality of life.  Without that she might give up.  She has very mild
reduction of function in that leg, which we are told is common when the
problem corrcts in the first 12 hours.  If it had lasted 48 hour s she
probably would not have gotten back the leg.
 
We were afraid that without a wheelchair she might give up, too, but years
ago we gave our's to someone with an emergency and it was never returned,
plus the type of casters we usedwere tiny and had unusual tops which let us
mount a wire frame be mounted with the casters still having full mobility.
Fortunately, Dayna is known to have experience in this realm (and we'd
recently been corresponding about wheelchairs and PT and the like because
kritters (Can't recall her formal name right now; still a bit sleep
deprived.) wants to put together all the info she can get on that to help
her little one and so that the FAQs can contain a section on that topic,
too.  Dayna was ready to jump on a moment's notice with plans and with the
source for the casters, and was greatly relieved when the treatment gave
Meltie her leg back.  (Thank you, Dayna!!)
 
They tell a person when it is time but Meltdown still enjoys life.  It's
true that she sleeps most of the time, and hates her meds, but she is
showing frustration only abot 10 to 20 minutes every few weeks, otherwise
she is boss of the universe, spoiled rotten, gets treats every single day,
gets to spend hours every day in my shirt, is carried everywhere, is bed
guest every night for a while, is massaged, etc., etc...
 
Cardiomyopathy is tricky to manage, each case is different, and it is always
hard for the people involved (just as insulinomae, birth defects, cancers,
and some other things can be) but having experienced (over 14 or so years) I
guess all now of the most dangerous things to which ferrets are most prone
(three times in combination) we can honestly say that if we could choose
which disease/disorder our guys would have for their last we would go with
cardiomyopathy (but without ascites for as long as possible, and then with
the type which goes into the abdomen rather than the chest cavity) because
it is so much more comfortable for them and the tiredness for much of it
well matches the level of ability so frustration with the two we have had
with it was greatest in the beginning when they were still safest.
 
Did you realize that Meltdown is coming up to ten months since her's was
discovered, and that there were three times when it looked like she would
have to be put down but she just plowed on through?  She is just getting
each last little bit of sweetness from life.  Maybe it's easier to treasure
the good parts and want to enjoy them when they are few, and when you mostly
have sovereignty over your own life.  Now I have to go tend to the boss
again!
 
Sukie
[Posted in FML issue 1817]