Message Number: YG12014 | New FHL Archives Search
From: sneakers_be_me
Date: 2002-03-23 18:29:00 UTC
Subject: Congenital Heart disease in kit

Hello everyone. I was hoping to get some insight or advice into this
illness.

I have an 8 month old female kit named Sneakers. She was diagnosed
with CHD just before Christmas. She was put on 1 cc of lasix for the
first month, but had it increased to 1.5 as her coughing continued.
As of Feb. 2, she weighed 1020 grams and I was told she wasn't
overweight, but muscular and a bit stocky. Over the last week, her
coughing has started up again and she "flat ferrets" often.

I was hoping to find out about the following:

What her life span "can" be?
Should I be extremely cautious about diet/exercise?
Is there anything I can do to increase her chances of a normal
life/lifespan?
Any recommendations as to what I should do next (another ECG, etc. -
haven't done an ultrasound yet)
Any future complications we may be facing due to this illness?
Is this a birth defect?

Absolutely anything anyone can tell me would be eternally
appreciated. She's going back to her Dr. this Thursday, but I'm
hoping to get some input from this group to better deal and cope with
her future.

Many, many thanks,

Sneakers & Sue.

Oh yeah, she's deaf too.