Hi all,
 
Before I begin, Alexander is doing quite well now.
 
Yesterday, I took my Alexander and Roxana in for their distemper shots.
They got there shots and I paid my vet bill and was talking to my vet, Dr.
Kayne, about possible vets in the area I am moving to.
 
Ten minutes later, I started to leave.  I put the carrier in the front
passenger seat and noticed that one of them had thrown up.  I ran back in
and the assistant got Dr. Kayne.  She looked at Alexander because it was
obvious he was the one who was sick since he was just laying there limp and
Roxana was bouncing off the ceiling trying to find out what was wrong with
him.  She took him to the back of the clinic, and about every 10 minutes an
assistant would walk in and tell me that he was doing much better.
 
As I paced the floor, fighting an all out breakdown, Roxana laid very still
in my arms and occasionally gave me kisses (strange for Roxana, who NEVER
gives kisses, only bites everyone except me).
 
Finally, after about 30 minutes, I was taken back to see Alexander in an
oxygen tank.  She had given him an ?ephedrine?  shot.  She said his heart
rate had continued to slow down and she gave him another shot to counter
that.  He had gone into total anaphalactic(sp?) shock.  She said he was
doing much better now, and she was going to keep him and that I could pick
him up in about two hours, right before they closed.
 
She was very kind and considerate and she probably knew I was about to
totally breakdown.  I called my husband and picked him up.  A couple hours
later we picked up Alexander, who was looking much better.  He slept a lot
last night with Roxana right by his side.  I knew if anything went wrong,
she would let me know.  This morning, he was perkier than I've seen him in a
long time.  And my eyes were red and bloodshot from lack of sleep and tears.
 
I knew immediately when I saw the vomit that it was an allergic reaction to
the shot, mainly because of this mailing list.  She had said that it was
because of the possible allergic reactions to shots that the staff does not
rush to check you out.  I always figured they were just being casual.  Now I
know it was on purpose.
 
Now I am really regretting, not my moving to Chicago, but my leaving this
wonderful, caring dream vet and the wonderful staff at Striegal Animal
Hospital.  If anyone ever moves to the southern Illinois area, this is the
ONLY ferret vet in the area.  And I don't just mean the only good one, I
mean the only one.
 
Alexander is well now, though he will no longer be getting the distemper
shot.  Only now do I have even the merest hint of what it is like for
someone to lose there much loved fuzzy friend.  Dr. Kayne said he almost
died.  And I knew when I was pacing the floor that it could happen.  And it
scared me to death.
 
To everyone out there, hug the fuzzy closest to you now.  Personally, I had
a group hug this morning.
 
Dee, with Alexander, Roxana, Snoopy and two cats --> Purrkins and Shadow
[Posted in FML issue 1897]