I am still receiving soooo many messages about Patches: words of comfort,
sympathy, understanding, advice, experience....I can't possibly respond to
all of you personally, so I hope that this will serve as a big thank you to
you all.
Here's the latest. Since Saturday night, he hadn't been doing so well.
Dehydration concerned me, he seemed to be drinking at first but less and
less, and the dehydration got worse. He also kept getting paler and paler,
I mean I could just tell; the gums were white, and his nose, tongue, paw
pads, everything were this very light pink, almost white. He had a fever
and I didn't need a thermometer to tell me, just by touching him I could
feel how warm he was, especially the ears. I've been getting enough
messages from people saying that I should just put him to sleep, that he's
been through enough. We did bloodwork on Tuesday, I was supposed to get the
results back yesterday, telling me what the best course of action would be
in my vet's eyes, but she didn't call yesterday. I began to lose hope, I
began to see that as much as I love him, there's nothing I could do.
Well, last night it was so bad that I was pretty sure that today I was going
to put him to sleep. So I even put Patches back in his old cage, with
Slinky, his cage-mate (they had been separated so I could monitor
eating/pooping), so that if it was indeed going to be his last night, he
could spend it with his buddy. I said goodnight and told him I loved him.
This morning the vet called. She said that the results of the CBC were in,
and that they weren't as bad as she had feared. He would not need a blood
transfusion, as she had thought, and that although surgery (to remove the
huge spleen and to take a peek around) is a risk, she thought it was one
worth risking. YEA! So, tomorrow morning, first thing, he goes in for
surgery. So, I went upstairs to check on him, I wanted to tell him that I
could do something, after all, to try to help him. He was much better! By
no means was he healthy, but he ate a lot of Ensure, more than normal, I
gave him PediaPred (which he still hated) and then Ferrevite. He looked
more alert than he has, and his gums, tongue, and paw pads aren't nearly as
pale as they have been, meaning that I think the anemia is getting better.
I tented his skin--he was really dehydrated last night but today it's much
better. Then, when I moved the board away from the doorway (board is a
barrier to keep fuzzies in the ferret room) he tried to escape the ferret
room! That was his favorite passtime before he got sick, trying to find a
way out of that room. So I let him escape, and he even explored a bit!
He's walking a bit gingerly, I assume because the spleen is pressing into
various internal organs and making his belly uncomfy. But still, he looked
so much better. I hope I'm not getting my hopes up falsely. The surgery
tomorrow will tell us more. There is still the chance he won't survive the
surgery, but I won't think about that. I'm just glad that I can finally do
something to try to help! Before I just felt so helpless.
So that's where we are. Tomorrow at 8:30 a.m. I take him in...all I can do
is pray that he comes back home with me when it's all over. In any case,
after tomorrow his pain should be gone, whether it's because the spleen is
gone or because he's at the Rainbow Bridge. I'm hoping for the first
option, but either way, whatever the outcome it's got to be better than how
he feels now.
Thank you all again for your kind words. Keep up the good warm & fuzzy
feelings coming our way, I really believe that it will help to guide him
through this delicate surgery. Paws and fingers crossed for my precious
Patches! :-)
Kymberlie Becker
Director, Pennsylvania Ferret Rescue Association
"Forget Puppy Love...There's nothing Greater than Ferret Love!" TM
http://home.sprynet.com/sprynet/ferretlady
[Posted in FML issue 1999]
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