First off, thanks to all who took the time to write and send e-cards.
It's nice to have a well-meaning community like this to fall back on when
times are rough.  Right now, things are kinda rough for me.  Aside from
Sprinkles' issues, I'm also taking care of my mother's four ferrets --
including one (Snowy) who requires regular feeding and medication, just
like Sprinkles, although Snowy is otherwise quite healthy.  And I'm
taking care of mom's ferrets because my mother fell victim to a stroke a
couple of weeks ago, so she's busy recovering and starting her physical
therapy.  So times are not exactly happy right now, and your well-wishes
are appreciated.
 
An update on Sprinkles... I put Sprinkles in the cage last night, tucked
in and warm.  Sometime around 8am this morning (4/13) she pooped on
herself pretty badly; her back leg was covered in it.  I woke up shortly
thereafter and cleaned her up (which was pretty easy, considering), dried
her off, and gave her morning medicine and duck soup.  I put her back
in her bed and then left, returning at 3pm to find that she'd pooped
again -- and had moved out of the bed, all the way across the room (~12
feet), and fallen asleep in another bed (a tent, actually).  I gave her
afternoon medicine and duck soup though she was VERY tired; she was
practically falling asleep with her nose in the soup.  She ate about
half the bowl, then I tucked her in and put her (and the tent) on the
windowsill so she could watch the day.  (One bowl of duck soup, by the
way, is a glass ashtray -- yes, it's clean!  -- with one melted ice
cube's worth of duck soup plus a couple tablespoons of Lactaid to thin
it out, served warm.)
 
She is still painfully weak, which is disheartening, but her bowel
movements have significantly improved.  Previously she was releasing a
few drops of diarrhea and would bleed from her anus from the strain of
pushing it out; now she has some fairly solid movements and no bleeding.
I'm trusting that this is the Kaopectate doing its job.  (And before
anyone asks, yes, we had an ultrasound done awhile back and there are no
foreign objects in her intestinal tract.)
 
So, she's still with us, and I'll be making fairly regular updates on her
progress for those interested.  Again, thanks for all of the kind words
and well-wishes.
 
PS: For those interested, she's medicated three times per day.  In the
morning she gets prednisolone (.5cc), flagyl (.1cc), and Kaopectate
(1cc), then about five minutes later she gets duck soup thinned out with
Lactaid.  Early afternoon (about 2pm) she gets Kaopectate (1cc) and more
duck soup.  Late afternoon -- if she wants it -- she gets more duck soup.
In the evening (typically around 9pm) she gets a repeat of the morning
routine.  A few people have suggested melatonin (one person emphatically
so).  I intend on calling my vet tomorrow to ask her opinion and may add
that to her regimen if the doctor thinks it won't conflict with anything.
[Posted in FML issue 4117]