Sam, I am so sorry to read about Sneezers.  We, too, had a ferret who could
not tolerate chemo.  Hjalmar was one of the two closest critters I've had
in my life.  He got through his response but then his lympho took off
rapidly without the chemo to hold it in check any longer.  Chemo often
doesn't work but without it (in BIOPSY PROVEN cases of lympho) there is no
chance.  When it does work there are ferrets like Katie's Bandit who went
on to have another 5 years.  Sometimes there's an "any port in a storm"
situation, and one just has to try hard to do what's best.  That's what you
did; you evaluated the situation and then you made what looked to be the
best choice.  Perhaps without that choice the lympho would have had a
growth spurt and causes Sneezers to die in great pain during the past
month.  Lympho becomes very painful at the end.  maybe Sneezers would never
had enjoyed that one good feeling month.  You did your best after looking
at the options; that is the most anyone can do since we are each only
human.
 
I think people need a bit to laugh about because so many peoples' lives and
the FML have been so sad recently.  Here are a few Hjalmar stories:
 
Hjalmar's favorite game was to play hide and seek.  He would dash to hide
when I asked "Where's Hjalmar?" but never did catch on that if only his
head was covered that I could still see him.  There he'd be with his upper
body lost to view and his fat little bum hanging out, with his tail
swishing back and forth in happy wagging.  My job was to pretend that I
didn't see him and keep asking my line till he would pop his head out at
which point I'd happily exclaim "THERE'S Hjalmar!!!!!"  You can guess how
hard it was to not laugh.
 
When Hjalmie was a kit he hated car rides so we'd take him on short ones to
acclimate him.  One of those was to Wagner's Dairy Store which used to be a
little ways away in Warren, N.J.  Steve went in to buy our supplies while
Hjalmar cuddled in my arms showing off how to "make cute" for an elegant
elderly gent.  Now, this was a hot day, and I had on a short blouse which
stopped a little shy of my waist and a strapless bra underneath.  When a
cow mooed Hjalmar found it necessary to dive into the closest safe place --
the front of my blouse.  I don't know if the gent or I had the redder face
when my bra wound up dangling from my waist -- empty except for a startled
kit sitting in one cup!
 
I hope that a little laughter helps.  Keep your lost ones in your heart
forever with the happy memories and let the sad ones dissipate when they
can.  Steve and I send our sympathies.
 
Sukie
[Posted in FML issue 2544]