What was supposed to be a routine vaccination day for my ferts turned out
to be a complete horror.  My Chico had a severe reaction to the Imrab vac.
that he received.  My vet said that his reaction is none like he has seen
before out of all the ferrets he has given rabies vaccinations to.  Approx.
10 minutes after he received his shot - he began throwing up, throwing up
blood and having very runny, loose stools.  He completely went limp and his
breathing was almost nil.  It's a good thing that I was at the office and
the vet immediately took care of him, not really sure exactly all the meds
he gave Chico they all sounded like greek to me since I was so very worried
about my little guy.
 
I sat at the office for 2 1/2 hours, the last hour my vet brought out Chico
for me to hold.  He was in so much pain, he had a very gassy tummy, headache
and would lose a bit of his watery stool at times while I held him.  He lay
limp, trying to hold his head up every once in a while but had no energy.
I sat and stroked his fur and gave him little kisses on his head.  The vet
checked on him every couple of minutes.  Chico started re-gaining color in
his gums and was getting warmer as I cuddled him with a towel.  After his
last examination, the vet gave the ok to take him home.  Once home, he was
very weak, could not stand for more than a second.  I tried to get him to
sleep it off but he wanted to play with his brother, Tango.  I put him in
his hammock and he was out like a light.
 
When he woke up, he used his litter pan and passed a huge clump of blood (my
vet told me he would be by his phone if I needed to call him - what a
wonderful vet he is)!  Chico was so disoriented he didn't even know where he
was.  By the end of the night, he was looking and feeling much better.  My
vet called me first thing in the morning and I told him that Chico was doing
really good.
 
I know that a lot of you have had ferts who just can't take vaccinations
and have read some of your stories, they were heartwrenching and I am just
so thankful that my little Chico pulled through o.k.
 
Tracy N.
[Posted in FML issue 2379]