Hi all,
 
I waited until I knew the news was good.  Butter, my first and most
darling ferret, started to show signs of adrenal problems several months
ago.  Thanks to the good people on this list especially Dr. Williams I
felt very informed about the entire path that lay ahead.  Butter's Doctor
and I agreed to wait a couple of months and make sure this was real.  The
hair loss started around the neck area so I was a little worried that
might mean something else too.
 
Yesterday morning Butter went to his Doctor after a glorious weekend of
playing in the grass outside, going for car rides with his head sticking
out the window like the dogs, extra snuggles, and extra playtimes and
doses of ferretone.  I signed all the papers including the one that said,
yes I would pay $20 for after surgery pain medication.  I also signed a
part about a blood panel that the technician said they probably wouldn't
need in his case.  I said use your judgement but they were to give Butter
anything he needed.  There was a man next to me with a very sick dog who
had kept them up all weekend and about whom they were obviously very
worried.  My comment broke his tension and he chuckled at the thought
of the blank check I was announcing and then glanced nervously at his
crying wife.
 
The entire morning I worried.  Maybe we should have waited a little more
to be sure.  But I wanted him to have the surgery early on while he was
the strongest.  And everyone said the hair loss was so symptomatic we
didn't need any more tests.  Around noon, I decided that the whole thing
was probably a terrible mistake and they had opened up my darling for
nothing.  The Doctor probably couldn't find anything and that was why it
was taking so long.  I called and was told Butter was doing fine but was
still in surgery.
 
Several lifetimes later; OK about 30 minutes later, the doctor called.
Butter was fine.  There was a tumor in the left adrenal but not the
dangerous right one.  Yea!  The spleen was so large it filled his
abdominal cavity so she took it out in case it had mast cell tumors
which could be causing the atypical hair loss.  There were nodules in
the pancreas so she took one of the larger ones out.  All sent out for
biopsy.
 
Butter was too drowsy to come home at 4:00 but we got him at 6:00 pm.
Another decision: was it better to not move him right away or bring him
home to familiar surroundings?  There wouldn't be anyone there through
the night so that was an easy one.  I was sure he wouldn't eat for days
so I bought some AD and was prepared for the whole, shades of ECE, months
of force feedings.
 
Wrong.  He ate a lot around midnight.  And more at 2.  And more at 6.
And more all day long.  In fact we are wondering if he can eat too much -
never a problem with him before!  All is normal and he is getting better
by the hour.
 
We brought home some more of the pain medicine (two doses) and when
he groans we give him some.  I think the care he received from Dr.
Fredrickson was first class and that utter might have been seriously
uncomfortable before the surgery with the adrenal.  It just seems that
by comparison, the pain after surgery is nothing compared to how Butter
was feeling before.
 
Bandit, Foxy, and Huck are besides themselves wanting to check him out.
They have climbed on the kennel, tried to sneak in with him, and tried to
open the door.  We are keeping them out of the room for the most part but
we did let them see him around midnight.
 
I hope Butter's saga helps those who might travel this road in the
future.  Fast treatment is the best!  I also think pain management is
very important.  My deepest expressions of gratitude for the existance
of this list and all the stories you have all shared in the past.  And
special thanks to Dr. Williams for all the writings and explainations
through this forum and on the net.
 
Patti
Butter (snore)
Bandit (Why can't I sleep with him!)
Foxy (I was just going to clean his ear a little.  Sick ferrets like
that!)
Huck (How come he gets to have that kennel all to himself?  There's a
blanket in there I haven't seen yet.)
 
No trees were harmed in the production of this message.  However, a
rather large number of electrons were somewhat inconvenienced.
 
       Patti Higgins Realtor(r), GRI, eCertified(r)
       Prudential Vista
       Direct Line 907-273-7228
       Cell Phone 907-360-2561
       Home:  907-349-3628
       Fax: 907-562-5485
       [log in to unmask]
       www.keytoalaska.com
[Posted in FML issue 4204]