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Subject:
From:
Lin Talbot-Koehl <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Sun, 30 Oct 2011 03:03:38 -0400
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Recap: My Minxie, a 4 yr old female, suffered a terrible allergic
reaction to her vacs back in April. After having had a melatonin
implant over a yr ago for her adrenal, she had another one about 3 wks
ago. From the time of the implant (about 11a) to about 7:30p, she bled
continuously from the injection site, becoming very weak. Skin glue
didn't work, as it didn't have a dry surface to adhere to; a couple
stitches around the injection, to pull the skin tight, didn't work.
It finally took 6 sticks of silver nitrate to stop the bleeding (I'd
reported 4 sticks in my original post -- my mistake). She was put on
pred, vitamin K, & a few days later, Pet-Tinic, to help her recover. By
about 1 1/2 wks later, she was well on her way to being back to her old
self. She wasn't playing as hard as the others, but she was active,
curious, & playing w/ her toys. Her color was almost back to normal, &
her appetite was almost totally back, as well.

This past Wed night, she began to show signs of backsliding -- her
color was going pale again. By Thur, she was again quite pale, & had
become more lethargic again. She was also grinding her teeth a bit.
A phone call to my vet that evening prompted him to get her started
on carafate the next morning, when he could get into the office to
compound it. She started on that Fri morning.

By Fri early afternoon, Minxie was showing signs of going downhill
even faster. She was substantially weaker, paler, & her appetite was
very bad. I arranged a visit to the vet's office at 4p for xrays, as I
suspected something going on in her digestive tract. We went in at 4p,
did the xrays, & as we waited for the films, it was obvious she was
declining at an alarming rate. I was afraid she wouldn't make it
through Fri night w/out some sort of major intervention. Given her
blood loss after the melatonin implant, & the paleness & weakness that
was increasing rapidly, we decided a transfusion from another of my
ferrets, Barret, was necessary. Barret was brought in, 6cc's of blood
was taken from him, & given to Minxie via her left rear greater
trochanter, to avoid excessive bleeding again by going into a vein.

W/in half an hr, Minxie had a seizure, & passed away w/in a few min,
much to the shock of all of us.

The following morning, my regular ferret vet did a necropsy. The
results were:

- NO abnormalities in any of her organs, except for a slightly enlarged
spleen.

- NO ulcerations anywhere in her mouth, throat, stomach, or intestines.
She did have a very dark red & slightly irritated butt -- we'd seen her
scooting on the floor a couple times the day before after using the
litterbox. It was not bleeding, however.

- NO evidence of any pooling of blood, bruising, etc, *anywhere* in her
body.

Our vet was very stunned, stumped, & heartbroken.

Rather than using the usual local path lab, Minxie's tissues were sent
to the State of Ohio Dept of Agriculture, for an extremely detailed
analysis. This may take a couple wks, but it will be much more thorough
than the local lab could possibly do in a few short days.

After all, for Minxie, there is no rush anymore.

The only guess our vet has is that, perhaps, she had an allergic
reaction to the transfusion, due to her messed up immune system as a
result of her allergic reaction to her vacs back in April.....which is
why, he believes, the bleeding happened at the time of the melatonin
implant -- her immune system was possibly attacking & killing off her
platelets. Perhaps it also attacked & killed off the platelets in the
transfusion from Barret; perhaps her immune system reacted to the
substances in Barret's blood, from *his* vacs. Perhaps it was simply
stress combined w/ her weakened condition. We can only speculate at
this point.

When we get the results from the OH Dept of Ag, I will be sure to share
them w/ the FML.

I only hope my baby didn't suffer.

I love you so very much, Minxie Baby. I cannot believe you're gone so
quickly. I'm so, so sorry. I would have done ANYTHING in this world to
save you. I hope I didn't make the wrong choice.

Lin

[Posted in FML 7229]


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