I haven't posted anything in awhile, but I thought that by posting Zeppelin's story, I might be able to help out others in the same situation. I was too upset to write last week and I am just now able to type this without breaking into tears. Our beloved little Zeppelin (a.k.a. Zeppy Keneppy, Little Baby Bear Face) passed over to the Rainbow Bridge last Thursday evening. I adopted Zeppelin from Kym Becker-Barone (PFRA) about two years ago (Kym, by the way, is one of the most caring, wonderful people that I know. Thank you for letting us bury Zeppy in your special place). I knew that he was sick when I got him. It was obvious that the people who had Zeppy before he was rescued by Kym didn't care too much about his health. He had visible mast cell tumors on his back and his foot. We estimated his age at about 4 years old at that time. I adopted Zeppelin and his cagemate Ozzy right on the spot. Zeppy was visibly ill and Ozzy was this poor, skinny, ragged-looking little thing that didn't like other ferrets (except for Zeppy) and really didn't know how to play. He kind of just walked around and looked scared when you let him out of the cage. We really chose each other that day... Both of them really warmed up to me instantly and I knew that there was no way I was leaving there without them. I immediately had Zeppy's mast cell tumors removed (they weren't cancerous) and fattened Ozzy up. Zeppy was really improving and Ozzy looked beautiful. Then, Zeppy started to exhibit classic signs of insulinoma. He would stare into space and after only about 10 minutes of play time, he would go to sleep under the couch or in a sleep-sack somewhere. He was diagnosed about a week later. For the next year and a half, he lived a great life. He was on PediaPred and he was stabilizing quite nicely. I never saw any other signs that his cancer was advancing. He would run, play, eat, poop, etc. He seemed like he was in perfect health. That's the scary part. Also, two months before he died I had a blood test taken and his blood sugar was normal--it didn't even register as being low (another classic sign of insulinoma). One day he was running, playing and dooking and the next day he was gone. I had noticed that he had diarrhea on Thursday morning, but I didn't think it was that serious. It was only a couple little spots and I had just seen him drinking water and eating that morning. Before then, his poop was perfectly normal. When I left for work, he was fine and he was curled up in a ball sleeping with his brothers. When my fiance got home from work (at 3:30 that afternoon) he found him on the bottom level of the cage having convulsions. I was in NYC on business and didn't know about it at the time. He rushed him to the vet where they gave him an IV and stabilized him. However, he never regained conciousness. The doc thought that he might make it though. But by the time I got home from NYC, Zeppy was gone. His little heart just stopped beating. I was in shock. I knew he had insulinoma, but I didn't know that he would be running around playing one day and then next day he would be rushed to the vet only to die a few hours later. I am grateful that he didn't suffer, though. He loved life and he knew that he was loved. We are lucky that we had him in our lives for as long as we did. We miss him terribly and he will always be in our hearts. He's in a better place now--a place where he'll never have to worry about cancer again. I wanted to tell Zeppy's story so that all of you out there who have babies with insulinoma will know that 1) After diagnosis it is possible that your baby could live another two years or more and have a happy, normal life; 2) He/she may seem fine one day and be gone the next...you never know. So, please hug your fuzzies extra tight today because you never know when they might be gone; 3) If you are thinking about adopting a ferret, don't let the fact that he/she might be sick or a bit older dissuade you from adding him/her to your family. Zeppy was the most loving, wonderful little guy and he brought a lot into our lives. Every day of our limited time with him was well worth it. As hard as it is to let go of him, we wouldn't change a thing if we had to do it all over again. Zeppy was a joy to have around and he needed us as much as we needed him. Now you can have all the raisins and Cheerios you want little guy! Mommy and daddy love you and we'll see you at the rainbow bridge one day. Jenni and Cliff Oso, Ozzy and Romeo (who are all missing their brother very, very much) [Posted in FML issue 2761]