I would like to share with you a story about my ferret named Willow.  She
was born on June 14, 1990.
I bought her from a breeder at 8 weeks of age.  She was a bit nippy, but I
didn't mind.  She was still a baby.  A few weeks later, I took her to the vet
for her second distemper shot and her first check up.  Willow was frightened.
Everytime the vet would put her down, she would run to me, climb my shirt,
and hide in my hair.  The vet would then have to pry her off me and examine
her some more.  I was then told that my little Willow had a bad heart murmer.
She might grow out of it, but there was no guarantees.  The breeder I bought
her from happened to be a vet tech.  there.  She gave me a chance to give
Willow back and get one of her sisters.  Of course, I refused.  To me, she
wasn't radio or something similar that you could simply give back and get
another because it was defective.  She was a living creature with feelings.
I chose her and she chose me.  Besides, I loved her.
 
The vet told me the warning signs in case Willow's heart gave out.  The big
sign was simply passing out.
It was out of the question for me to even try to lessen her activities so as
to put less strain on her heart.  She always was one of the most spastic of
my ferrets.  She just never wanted to be still.
 
When she turned 6 mo. old, it was time to spay her.  She still had her heart
murmer so we knew she wasn't going to outgrow it.  They monitored her heart
carefully while she was being spayed.  Of course, I was the worried mother,
who kept calling the vets to make sure she was OK.  Well, she made it
through with no problem.  I was soooo relieved that that was over with.
 
Now, for the present.  A couple of weeks ago, I found that Willow's vulva
had swollen up.  (Yes, I know; adrenal gland tumor.)  I took her to see Dr.
Kawasaki last Friday.  Of course, he looked at me and said, "You know what
this is."  I knew, but I was worried about her health.  She is now 5 years
old and hadn't been anesthetized since she was spayed at 6 mo.  Dr. K
listened to her heart and did not seem happy.  The murmer sounded pretty
bad.  He was surprised to find out she was as active now as she was when she
was a kit.  (I guess no one told her that she was old and frail.)  She was
anesthetized in order for him to get a blood sample and an x-ray to view her
heart.  (She came out of it fine.)  It seemed slightly larger than normal
but not terribly.  Since her vulva had been swollen for only a couple of
weeks, Dr. K suggested we wait 2 mo. before the operation.  It was probably
to soon to be able to tell which adrenal gland was infected.  (Dr. Williams,
I know that you said that it seems one adrenal gland is more prone to be the
tumor than the other.  But Dr. K assured me that 2 mo. would not hurt since
these tumors are rarely malignant.)  He also was worried about the operation
itself.  He didn't guarantee she would survive it.
 
Dr. Williams:
 
I was wondering about other options, lately.  To me, they would also be
stressful on her heart.  Also, as hard as it is for me to ask this question,
IF she doesn't make it, would giving her heart to you help other ferrets in
the future?  I would be willing to do that.  I would also like to know for
myself.  But I hope it won't be for another 5 years, if you know what I mean.
 
Ellen & Willow(I don't know what all the fuss is about.  I feel fit as a fiddle)
[Posted in FML issue 1164]