On 1 Oct 00, at 23:22, Bruce Williams, DVM wrote:
>Questions like this beg for proper autopsies - when all the clinical
>symptoms fit the diagnosis, perhaps one isn't necessary - but in this
>case, a relatively young ferret dying unexpectedly in spite of apparently
>appropriate therapy - it would have been nice to have one.
>
>We live and learn, and try to do better for those who come afterward.
 
Thank you Dr. Williams.  It's funny.  After sending this post I realized I
was really clutching at straws.  I never was too rational when it came to
my Tarz.
 
I do wish I'd had the biopsies sent to you originally, though I think I'd
heard you were doing something else at the time and not available or as
available to receive samples.  There was a biopsy taken from the pancreas
at surgery, and examined.  Islet cell tumors were reported.  The vomiting
did stop after surgery (with the help of reglan-sp?), after the huge node
was removed, and Tarz did gain quite a bit of weight back and have good
energy, so it appears the tumor was a large part of the problem.  I saw the
removed node, or tumor, though no pictures were taken I know of.  It looked
hardish, larger than a grape.
 
I know I should have had an autopsy done on Tarz.... but after the
surgery/biopsies, and chemo, at the time it seemed obvious that the lympho
and/or chemo killed him, plus I was plain worn out and wanted to let his
little body be, a decision I regreted badly soon after.  His red count was
down to 25% right after the last intravenous chemo treatment.  It dropped
quickly afterward.  He woke up one morning dizzy and unsteady, a couple
days after the count and chemo treatment, and died early the next morning.
A transfusion didn't help.  I think the chemo killed him, though of course
it could have been other complications (and perhaps the compromised
pancreas had a part somewhere).  If monitoring CBC's were being done and
revealed the low red count perhaps that last treatment would have been
avoided with a different ending.  So many ifs... sure has been a hard one
to let go of.  Tarzee's vets did a great job trying to help him.  His loss
reminds me to appreciate the loving beings I have in my life.
 
Thank you again for your input, Dr. Williams.  I really appreciate it.
 
Lynn, still missing Tarz
[Posted in FML issue 3192]