Hi, everyone.
 
Esperanza came home from the hospital last Sunday.  During the week, the
pathology report returned a formal diagnosis of lymphosarcoma.  This is
apparently a more aggressive cancer than lymphoma.  After her surgery,
Esperanza was oozing blood through her incisions and a couple of nghts
later, another vet put her back under anesthesia and sewed her up again.
The first vet to treat her said she had a lot of blood in her abdomen from
tumors in her lymph nodes.  He took a couple of biopsies and filled her
abdominal cavity with some saline solution (I presume to help shrink the
tumors).  He also began treating her with Pediapred to shrink the tumors as
well.  He wanted her to have more energy and to be able to eat on her own
before sending her home, which turned out to be a very good idea,
especially because of the bleeding.
 
Actually, I think he would have preferred to not have to wake her up at all
and he had suggested that to me beforehand, but I was not prepared to go
along with that.  I was told by a couple of other vets that he was fairly
upset about the whole experience because he could see how much I cared for
Esperanza.  That may explain why I've had trouble getting hold of him, and
now he's out of town for a couple of weeks.
 
Anyway, I was worried sick all weekend.  A couple of times, I felt terrible
when I visited Esperanza because she became more active instead of
staying still and resting.  I brought her some duck soup and some water
with Timmy's Tonic in it and some Ferretone.  The veterinarians and
veterinary assistants at the 24-hour hospital were wonderful about feeding
her these things, along with some Science Diet cat food, and keeping
her on intravenous electrolytes.  The primary vet also referred me to a
homeopathic vet, who recommended 4 to 5 drops of tincture of Essiac, mixed
with hot water to evaporate the alcohol, twice a day.  She seems to like
that stuff.  And she likes Timmy's Tonic.
 
Now she gets Pediapred and Clavamox twice a day.  Starting tomorrow, her
dose of Pediapred decreases to once a day.
 
My vet was very honest about the prognosis not being good.  Three months
perhaps, he told me, and that's not guaranteed.  Then again, she could
surprise everyone and live for six months.  I keep telling myself that
those figures are just statistics and that Esperanza, like every other
living being, is an individual.  My hope is to get her at the high end of
the life span from which the statistics are derived.
 
Thanks to those of you who sent us your love and support.
 
Linda, Esperanza, Lucky Charm, Angel, Chocolate Moose, and Zipper
 
P.S.  -- The last couple of mornings, Esperanza has gotten up in the
morning with the other ferrets and followed me into the kitchen to get a
raisin treat.  Today, she went outside and snooped around on the front
porch for a while.  I think she surprised everyone at the vet's when she
got up and started feeding herself and going to the bathroom by herself.
We are all very happy to have her back home again. :-)
[Posted in FML issue 2679]