>Sukie said: >It's often best to skip ultrasounds and [do] Surgery, [which] is >typically the best approach by a very, very wide margin Mark replies: Sandy is very sick - she crashed again today and I was sure she was going to pass on. She VOMITED the medicine back at me... and at that moment I realized that sometimes there is nothing we can do. Strangely enough, I put some caro syrup on her lips and let her alone for 3 hours, and she came back from the dead, and took her meds with pretty much no problem after... it is almost like she made a choice, and needed the time on her own to decide. You need to understand that I would do anything for my weasel and am simply listening to my vet's consultation that surgery is not an option yet for her. I would 3rd mortgage my house and do anything short of sacrificing another ferret for Sandy's health back. The doctor claims that they got an EXTREMELY clear image of her internal organs and found nothing to indicate a tumor yet... I almost wish he found something because then we would have a TARGET to attack. I realize we are treating symptoms and not the disease. I am going in next Tuesday for a consult, and will be discussing the surgical option again. We have discussed taking out a chunk of her pancreas to try to get lucky and get the bad part... but if the cause is truly microscopic, or spread throughout her little body, alas, it would be merely a waste of time and put the animal through undue stress. I also will ask the doctor to refer to an expert in these matters...but I feel this vet knows his stuff... All the medical technology might not put this little egg shell together again, I fear... in any event, she is 4 years 5 months old, and is in good spirits when she is feeling well, and that is all anybody can hope for. I had a heart procedure 2 years ago and can tell you that it gets VERY OLD VERY QUICK having people taking care of you, and I understand her purging the medicine back at me as if to say, "daddy, I've had enough and you should let me go now... " But I wouldn't give up the experience of having her in my life for anything...I still remember the day at the little pet store in West Virginia when she found me. Mark H [Posted in FML issue 3848]