It is with heavy heart that I have to say that our sweet buddy Ben has
crossed the Rainbow Bridge.  Skeeter, watch the ferretone and Fruit Loops,
Ben loves them and has a great mooch face!
 
Ben went in for a second adrenal surgery (right side, left side was done
last October) on Monday.  He appeared to have come out of surgery OK and
was able to go home that night.  I was able to get him to eat a couple
hours after we got home, but later he threw it back up.  The vet assured me
that this was most likely just left over nausea from the anathesia (sp?).
He seemed very uncomfortable throut the evening, never really sleeping, and
when let out of his cage for short periods, seem to want to try to quickly
trot to another favorite sleeping spot.  Halfway there he was get tired and
lay on his side.  I figured he was in a lot of pain from the surgery, and
tried to make him comfortable.  His body temperature seemed a bit low, so
we tried to keep him covered, but he always seemed to uncover himself!
After a couple small feedings of baby food and water, I got him to lie on
the couch with me and sleep for about half an hour.  Then he got restless
again.  So I put him in his cage to calm him, and finally (2 am) went to
bed myself.  At 5 am I checked on him, he seemed a little more alert, ate
some baby food, and kept wanting out of the cage.  I told him he had to
stay in the cage and behave himself and get better.  He still seemed a bit
agitated, temperature still low, and his feet pads were a bright red.  As I
left for work, he whimpered and laid his head on my hand, so I spent 15
more minutes sitting and talking to him as he seemed to relax.  During my
lunch hour I raced him to check on him, only to find him comatose and
unresponsive.  I chased his brotheres and sisters out of his carrier and
drove to the vet only 10 minutes away.  Unfortunately when we got there,
Ben had left us.
 
The vet was stumped as to why what appeared to be an otherwise healthy
ferret would die like this?  She suspected heart problems previously
undetected.  I allowed her to do a post mortem.  She said the surgery site
looked fine, but when she opened the chest cavity, she found a mysterious
mass, which has been sent to a specialist to be identified.  More than
likely it is a lymph node.  His heart was also in poor shape, she said the
muscles were very hard.  She said both the lymphoma and the heart problems
would have been hard to detect presurgery.  (X-rays had been done 2 weeks
before, and bloodwork as well).  It appears Ben was probably living on
borrowed time.
 
Ben was known as our "kissy" boy.  Always willing to give kisses, no matter
what you did to him.  He was always kind and gentle to new ferrets.  The
week before his surgery seemed to be the healthiest and happiest I had seem
him in a long time.  It seemed to be the best time, and best chance for
surgery.
 
Give all your buddies a hug for me in memory of Ben,and be sure to keep up
those vet visits.  You'd be amazed how quickly things develop on these guys.
 
Chris
[Posted in FML issue 2785]