TO:     Marsha Stanek
 
Dear Marsha,
I appreciate a little support.  I know I have to deal with the veterinary
INDUSTRY, but they will not discourage me.  I think we can use all the help
we can get.
 
I just sent a tiny female ferret home that recovered here from pneumonia.
Realistically, it would have died at the average vet hospital.  A ferret
with pneumonia has about 6-12 hours to live without intensive oxygen therapy
coupled with anitibiotics.  Without oxygen, the animal suffocates before the
drugs have a chance to work.  Typical treatment by the local vet is
antibiotics and fluids.  IV fluids are turned off overnight, or cease to
flow when unattended.  Vets rarely have intensive oxygen therapy set-ups.
So the little ferret dies alone, in the dark, in a strange place.  I hope to
inject realism into the lives of FML ferret owners.  Ferrets do not die "of
nothing".  But what causes me to despair, is that people trust their vets
too much, or perhaps just expect too much of them.  I also see ferrets die
of starvation and dehydration while their owners wait for the ''official'
diagnosis.  Their basic functions need to be maintained while they wait for
the proper drug therapy.  So often hospitalized ferrets quickly drop those
precious ounces, which may mean the difference between recovery and death.
 
So I will be the practical one on the FML, but most of my responses will go
private unless I feel that they will be of general interest or use.  There
is a lot to be said for experience when it comes to ferrets.  Other
subscribers have shown that with their helpful responses.  My contributions
are a little more controversial because I deal with medical questions and
I'm not a vet.  However, there is no law against my participation.  I am not
treating animals on the FML.  I am not practicing medicine.  I'm only
saying, 'I've tried this, and have gotten these results'.  Dr. Williams is
more helpful on the FML, long distance, than most vets are when we visit the
office.  I'm discouraged, too, that vet care is so expensive that we are
either forced to seek medical advice elsewhere or refinance our homes to
treat a sick animal.  Even at that, more often then not we do not get the
right answers.
 
Thanks for listening!
      Carolyn Kinsey, Vet Tech/Shelter Operator
(Unable to access you directly for some unexplained technical glitch)
[Posted in FML issue 1446]