Hi FMLers. I finally have some time to post, so I'll do it now, while the
gettin's good!
I believe the last time I posted was about Claudia's bladder stone surgery.
Well, she seems to be fine now. She had an enlarged spleen for a while, but
that's gone down. I plan on having Dr. Weiss (of FML fame) take a look at
her for a second opinion.
The very same week that Claudia had her surgery, we were supposed to go to
a wedding in Somerset, PA. I had already called that Thursday to let the
bride (my friend) know we weren't going to be able to make it. I just
didn't feel comfortable leaving her, even though she was doing fine.
It must have been fate, is all I can say. When Dave came home from work
that Friday, and opened Elektra's (our 8 y.o.) cage, he noticed that she
was laying in kind of a weird position, so he tried to help her out. Then
he saw why she was in a weird position -- she had somehow gotten caught in
her bedding. I had an old diaper or something in there which had become
frayed. I had actually made a mental note some time ago that I should throw
it away. Why I didn't I'll never know.
When I say caught, I mean she had a piece of the frayed edge twisted around
her right foreleg somewhere in the neighborhood of 10-15 times. Her little
arm was like a sausage, and her paw was immense -- apparently the blood had
gotten into her leg, but not out. She also had a piece of the bedding
twisted around her body. We're lucky she wasn't dead.
When I got home, Dave showed me her arm -- I couldn't believe it! It was
unreal looking. Immediately I began to try to massage the blood out of
it...soaked it in tepid water...but it was no use. She had no use of the
leg at all.
You ferret owners must have some idea how I felt. Like the WORST OWNER IN
THE WORLD! How could I have left it in? Why didn't I take it out before? I
shouldn't even have ferrets! ...you know, the whole shebang.
The next day, after a friend saw it, she recommended taking Elektra to the
vet in case the arm was broken. Elektra was dragging the entire leg behind
her from the shoulder down. The swelling was much reduced, but the
possibility of a fracture was there.
Out of all the vets in my area, Dr. Weiss (THANK YOU!) agreed to meet me
back in his clinic in Potomac MD on an emergency basis to do the Xray (he
had *just* gotten home from his Saturday hours). My worst fears were
confirmed -- the leg was fine, no fracture. Dr. Weiss did a "deep pain"
test (where they pinch the toes where the radial nerve runs) and Elektra
gave no response. Dr. Weiss told me she would probably never be able to use
the leg again, as radial nerve damage (which he suspected she had) was
irreversible.
So from then on, my concerns were watching the sore on the leg that she
opened by dragging her leg and trying to get it healed. Dr. Weiss wanted to
do a check up, and I was having trouble getting the sore healed, so I took
her back in the next Saturday. He gave me some bandaging for the sore, and
just to check did a deep pain test again...and she flinched! Neither Dave,
nor Dr. Weiss, nor myself could believe it! I began to bawl; this little
ferret is so special to me -- she's been through ECE, and almost died then
(when it first hit 3/93), it took her TWO YEARS to recover; she's been let
loose outside accidentally but stayed on our stoop; and to boot, she's a
shelter ferret. Got her from Pam Grant five years ago, when somebody said
she didn't get along with other ferrets. Tell that to Max, Sidney, Claudia
and the dear departed Ian.
I'm happy to report two months after the incident that Elektra has full
feeling and use of her leg, all the way down to the toes! In fact, she's
napping on me now as I write this.
The moral(s) of the story: If you live in the greater DC area, go to Dr.
Weiss. He's terrific! (He didn't even charge me full price for the
emergency service!) And, CHECK YOUR FERRET'S BEDDING! Learn from my
horrible error!
And give all your fuzzies an extra hug and kiss today. They deserve it!
Amy & Dave (and their gaggle of giggling ferrets)
[Posted in FML issue 1315]
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