From:
Debbie Utter
Date: 2002-01-15 18:52:00 UTC
Subject: Update on ferret with hind end paresis
I didn't get much of a response to my previous post, so I'm
hoping I'll get some answers with this update. Search the
archives for my previous posts (I think there are four or five
since 12/28) which go into detail on previous exams, xrays and
bloodwork results.
Klondike is still experiencing hind leg paresis, and seems to
be getting worse. His vet can't go further with diagnostics,
so has recommended we go to Cornell. I really want to help
Klondike, but I'm hoping to find a vet that can run more
extensive diagnostics, and treat, for less than Cornell will
charge. Cornell will probably run at least $400, just for
diagnostics.
In the last week, Klondike's condition has deteriorated. He
lost his appetite completely, refusing even water. I'm having
to syringe feed both food and water, and have been lucky the
last 24 hours to get 5cc's of food in him at a feeding, and
only 1-3 cc's of water. I'm now giving him a
middle-of-the-night feeding, in addition to feeding every 4-6
hours through the day. Last night, Klondike began heaving,
but he never got sick. He is now heaving at every feeding.
When I came home for lunch, he was heaving as soon as I picked
him up to feed him, and it had been 4 hours since he was fed.
Last night, it sounded like he was wheezing slightly, and his
nose is stuffy and crusty. I was afraid that he was getting
pneumonia, because Friday night's dropper of medicine went
down wrong (I thought it was going down his throat and he was
swallowing, but I think he got a big gulp of it down the wrong
way--I was afraid he had aspirated it into his lungs). He has
been extremely lethargic, and just "out of it." Last week, he
spent two or three days with very dark urine, almost orange,
but that is now back to normal.
I took Klondike to the vet this afternoon to see if he might
have pneumonia or something. Klondike's spleen has gotten
even larger since seen a week ago. On the 28th of December
when the vet first saw Klondike, he didn't notice anything
abnormal about the spleen during the physical exam. When he
saw him on the 8th of January, it was noticeably larger, and
xrays confirmed it. No idea why the spleen is growing so much
(it could be any number of things), but at this point, the
size of it is causing complications, including his loss of
appetite and dry heaves. It's so big now that it's wrapped
around his stomach, and it shifted by the time the vet
finished feeling around. So, although it won't fix the
problem of what's going on, removing the spleen will certainly
help him feel better. Vet will be performing surgery on
Thursday, but he's not calling it a "spleenectomy." He's
calling it an exploratory, because while he's in there, he's
going to look at everything else. Maybe something will be
visible that will be the answer (ie., a tumor, or something).
He'll remove the spleen, and let me know what else (if
anything) he finds. He'll look at the adrenal glands,
comparing right to left, but he doesn't do the adrenal surgery
if it's needed. I guess he's only done a couple of them, and
it sounded like there might have been complications, so he's
not comfortable doing it himself.
Klondike is pretty dehydrated, too, so he asked if I wanted to
do sub-Q fluids, and I said yes. I've never done it, so he
showed me. I have to inject two-three syringes (10cc's each)
twice a day into Klondike. The vet did one at the office to
show me, and I had to do the other two tonight. I was pretty
nervous, but got through it okay. :) I'm so afraid he's going
to squirm too much and the needle will go somewhere it
shouldn't!
Will post an update after Thursday's surgery, but I'm hopeful
again. I was prepared that I might have to put Klondike down
due to pneumonia or something, but vet said his lungs are
clear. I'm hoping the exploratory will provide some
explanation for the hind leg paresis, but that's probably a
stretch.
In closing, what could be causing the hind leg paresis,
besides a possible back or spinal injury? Xrays do not
indicate any neurological damage.