This post is overdue, but it's been a very hectic week!  Last week, my
family had an opportunity to meet and spend a little time with Bob C.
Bob was kind enough to take part in Ferrets Across America and brought my
Charlie, one of Sam's kits (along with his sister, Dakota) to Charlie's
new home...my house!  Charlie is, of course, just as adorable as I'd been
told...but more of that later.
 
I didn't know what to expect meeting Bob.  I have to say that he completely
enthralled my entire family.  Bob is intelligent, caring, warm and
supremely entertaining!  He captivated my granddaughter, held my grown
children spellbound with his knowledge of things they were interested in
and, of course, talked endlessly with me about my ferrets, his ferrets and
ferrets in general.  I learned so very much that I hadn't realized before.
He was even able to converse with my husband about computers...which is
hubby's line of work.  We were, unfortunately for Bob, one of the families
that kept him up until the wee hours of the morning.  I can strongly
recommend, if the chance ever arises, to take the opportunity to meet him.
It's well worth it!  I'm very grateful to Bob for taking all the time he
did to help educate me about ferrets, to answer questions and to offer
helpful suggestions.  But, the truth is, I was very, very grateful to Bob
even before I met him.
 
There has been a lot of interest in his chicken gravy.  There have been
posts about what benefits people have seen in their ferrets after being on
the gravy.  The same is true for me.  I began making it over two months
ago.  When Bob arrived here, I told him what his gravy did for Shania, my
insulinomic ferret.  I'm not sure but I think he was even surprised...if
only a little.  He asked me to let others know.
 
Shania had surgery for insulinoma in July of 1998.  She became gravely ill
very quickly.  Shortly after noticing her being more tired and not eating
well, her glucose dropped from 49 to 32 in one week.  My vet recommended
immediate surgery, which was done within days.  The vet found 5
(noncancerous) tumors in the lining of Shania's stomach, which were
removed.  There was one (noncancerous) tumor in a lymph node, which was
also removed.  Two (cancerous) tumors were found on Shania's pancreas.
They were removed but none of the pancreas was taken.  My vet told me
that in less than a year, Shania would be seriously ill again.  Since the
surgery, Shania's glucose finally leveled out at about 70, however she
never ate on her own again, having to be fed duck soup twice a day, and
had to immediately be put on pediapred.  She never played like the other
ferrets.  I thought it was a good day if she walked around a bit after
being fed before finding a place to curl up and sleep.  A few months ago, I
was starting to have to wake her to feed her.  She only wanted to sleep.
She was up to .40 ccs of pediapred twice a day and had developed the pred
belly and dry skin and coarse fur.  I had decided not to put her through
surgery again as we almost lost her to a respiratory infection secondary to
the first surgery.  I resigned myself to simply making her last days as
comfortable as I could.
 
Then I read the chicken gravy recipe.  A friend tried it and seemed to
have good results with one of her insulinomic ferrets...an increase in
the glucose reading.  Naturally, I made the gravy and began feeding it to
Shania, as well as all my other ferrets.  You've all heard the improvements
seen in the healthy (and probably ill) ferrets before, so it isn't really
new.  But I think Shania's story is pretty much miraculous.  To try to keep
it short, within a few weeks, Shania was showing a great increase in her
energy level.  She began to spend time awake, running about the house,
interacting again with the other ferrets.  The first time I found her
wrestling on the couch with one of the others was one of the happiest times
of my life!  I began to gradually decrease the amount of pediapred she was
on, with no loss of energy.  She was down to .20 of pediapred twice a day
when I took her for a fasting glucose, which was 93.  My vet was amazed.
Since then, I've completely weaned her off the pred.  She has been off
medication for two weeks now.  She is losing the pred belly and her fur is
getting silky again.  She still has every bit as much energy as my other
ferrets.  She loves the chicken gravy, but also is eating kibble on her own
for the first time in almost a year.  I told Bob that there is no way I can
thank him enough.  I just wish this story could get to some of the vets who
are doing research on these cancers.  It certainly appears that diet may
play a part it.
 
Well, Charlie's post will have to wait.  He's absolutely adorable, but this
post is too long now!
 
Judy
[Posted in FML issue 2636]