Hello FMLers;
 
 
It's with a heavy heart that we report that we've lost another of our
children.  It was extremely sudden.
 
Missy had recently undergone surgery for removal of an enlarged spleen in
February, and was recovering nicely from the operation.  Her weight was
still a bit low but her spirits seemed to be improving and she was beginning
to play with the other kids.
 
Around March 5th or 6th Colleen and I noticed that all of our children had
suddenly become lethargic and had diarrhea of varying severity.  There were
sneezes all around and general mucous discharges, so we believed that they
simply caught one of the bugs floating around.  By Friday the 8th, however,
it became apparent that they weren't shaking the bug well and, since Missy
was due for her post-operative checkup anyway, we took her and two of the
others to the vet.  Dr.  Roeder confirmed that they all did indeed have a
bug and prescribed a sulfa antibiotic.  We thought at the time that Missy's
weight was a touch low, but since she was still recovering from surgery and
had diarrhea we thought this normal and expected.
 
By Saturday night Missy had begun discharging bloody diarrhea, and we
promptly got her to Dr. Roeder who began fluid treatments (she was
dehydrated) and injected antibiotics.  Missy seemed to rally slightly and by
Sunday evening had stopped her bloody discharges.  By Sunday night, however,
she took a severe turn for the worse and slipped into a coma.  She began to
lose all control of her ability to regulate her body temperature (a typical
condition when severely ill) and Dr.  Roeder placed her in an incubator.
 
Missy awoke briefly on Monday, made a fairly normal ferret deposit, fought
vigorously treatment with oral antibiotics and Nutrical from Dr.\Roeder,
then went back to sleep.  Colleen visited her shortly after that, cuddled
her, and hoped for the best but feared the worst.  Her fears were well
founded, as Missy again slipped into a coma shortly afterward from which she
never awoke.  She passed at 4:00 PM Monday, March 11th, 1996.
 
We believe that Missy's reaction to the bug (whatever it was) was more
severe due to her weakened condition (she was still recovering from the
surgery) and her lack of a spleen to help her fight the infection.  The
spleen is used by the body to ward off and fight disease; in a normal,
healthy ferret, the individual can usually manage without the organ.  In
Missy's case, however, she was already immune- suppressed, and the stress
and dehydration brought on by the bug was just too much for her.
 
Missy was our very first ferret.  We bought her shortly after we got
married, when she somehow managed to steal Colleen's heart right there at
the pet store.  Missy was easily the smallest of all our kids at 1.5 pounds.
She was a classic sable in coloration and was, until recently, the
undisputed boss ferret of "The Gang".  Missy was probably our best
"Ambassador Ferret"; in her lifetime she charmed literally hundreds of
people over the years ("What is that?" "Does she bite?" "Is that a
mongoose?" "Mom, can I have a ferret too?").  She's the only one of our
children to have received a college education, since she often attended
classes hiding in Colleen's hair.
 
Missy was First Ferret in Wyrdhaven; it was her grace and charm that brought
all of the others into our lives and our hearts.  She and Colleen shared a
bond few could ever understand or believe.
 
She will be missed.
 
Steve and Colleen
Continually Matching Wits with Newone, Zebulon Pike, Minx, Slinky, and Puck
Waiting on the Other Side:  Ripple and Missy
 
We love you Missy.   We'll see you again soon.  Don't fight with Ripple
too much, okay?
+==========================================================================+
|                                                        _                 |
| Steven Woodcock                                  _____C .._.             |
| Senior Software Engineer, Gameware          ____/     \___/              |
| Lockheed Martin Information Systems Group  <____/\_---\_\    "Ferretman" |
| Phone:   719-597-5413                                                    |
| E-mail:  [log in to unmask] (Work), [log in to unmask] (Home)   |
| Web:     http://www.cris.com/~swoodcoc/wyrdhaven.html   (Top level page) |
|             http://www.cris.com/~swoodcoc/ai.html       (Game AI page)   |
| Disclaimer: My opinions in NO way reflect the opinions of                |
|             the Lockheed Martin Information Systems Group                |
+==========================================================================+
[Posted in FML issue 1506]