I posted early this month about a stroke like episode my little Cassie-girl
had had.  We think maybe she had a stomach bug which stopped her from
eating, and for some time we've known she's had insulinoma, though she
never showed serious signs so we were still watching and waiting.  She also
had some thinning of hair on her tail, so we suspected adrenal disease,
though again the signs weren't very adavanced so we were waiting.
 
We think that maybe when the stomach bug stopped her from eating her blood
sugar crashed.  After that she had trouble walking and tended to pull to
the left, and I was told at that point that prolonged low blood sugar can
cause neurological damage.
 
After several days she started to improve.  Her strength and coordination
were getting better, and we were trying to build her weight back up so
that we could operate once she was strong enough (she had lost almost 1/2
a pound).
 
I took Cassie to emergency Sunday evening because she had been breathing
rapidly all day, tended to start when touched, and at 8pm she was having
a hypoglycemic attack.  They stabilized her blood sugar and kept her
overnight, and brought her to her regular vet Monday morning.  She also had
blood in her poop in the morning.  My vet wanted to operate right away to
address her insulinoma, since continued attacks would only make her weaker
for surgery.  He also wanted to see if her bowels needed surgical
attention, plus address her adrenal disease.
 
The vet removed 1/2 her pancreas, most of her right adrenal gland which
was the largest he'd ever seen and which had attached to the vena cava and
liver (it's a testament to his skill that he was able to remove so much),
and removed a 6 inch section of her bowel that had turned black.
 
Such extensive surgery must have been too much for her in her weakened
state.  She passed away early this morning.  I've been through many
ferrets surgeries and this is the first one that didn't work out.
 
I wish we had operated sooner.  A month ago she was still strong and
healthy.  Three months ago we already suspected insulinoma and adrenal, but
she never showed any marked signs.  Sammy was having multiple attacks a
week when he got his insulinoma surgery in April, and now he's in the pink.
I don't know what happened to Cassie's bowel, or if earlier surgery would
have caught or prevented that or if she'd have gone anyway.  Oh well,
should haves aren't going to change anything now.
 
I don't know what to do now.  My first ferret passed away 5 years ago, and
the autopsy lab cremated him as policy.  I still have the ashes in a cup,
never having figured out what to do with them.  I'm thinking I'll bury
Cassie in the back yard, but I'm not sure.  What happens in 8 or 10 years
when I sell my house?  If anyone has advice on how to deal with a loved
one's remains, I will welcome them.  For now, I can't believe my little
girl is gone.  She would have been 8 next month, which is a fair stretch I
guess, but up till now she had never had a serious illness.  I hoped she
would be around for years to come.  As with my first, I feel we should have
been able to prevent this.  I guess it never gets any easier.
 
Please say a prayer for my precious little angel.
 
--
John Rosloot, Caregiver to only Sammy now
With loving memories of my dear departed Buddy,
and my precious little Cassie-angel
[Posted in FML issue 3124]