From:
Betty
Date: 2002-04-18 09:44:00 UTC
Subject: Re: Ferret died after surgery
Dear Holly,
I feel for you and your loss, but please do not rule out surgery in the
future for another ferret that has adrenal disease.
1. Each ferret reacts differently to surgery, and to Lupron. They are as
individual in their recovery times as humans are.
2. It is possible that your vet missed an opportunity by not taking the
left adrenal out when he had the chance. The only sure way to tell if
the adrenal gland was affected is to send it to pathology. Since that
was not done, there is really no way to say for sure that Buddy died for
nothing.
3. It is possible that something else was going on that your vet missed.
Although we put a great deal of faith in our vets, and believe me, they
deserve it, they are not infallible... they have been known to make
mistakes, and miss something.
4. A ferret who is as young as Buddy deserves the chance to live a
normal life. Surgery was the best option and still is.
5. The outcome of any surgery is the risk we all take when we put one of
our beloved ferrets under the knife, but it is a chance that has a very
high success rate and one that should not be given up because of an
isolated incident. I am truly sorry that you lost Buddy, but I am also
feeling saddened that a ferret that shows signs of adrenal in the
future, may not be given the same chance that they do so deserve.
6. It is procedure to evaluate the patient fully before going into
surgery. Full blood tests are essential although some owners feel they
are redundant. I always tend to lean on the side of caution unless there
is no reason to do one when a test had been done just weeks before. But
things can change quickly with our ferrets and to me it is worth the few
extra dollars to give not only me, but my vet peace of mind as well.
They deserve knowing what they are getting into as much as the ferret.
7. We as owners do the best we can, but we too are not infallible. We
try to make the best decisions we can for our furry friends, but
sometimes it does not always work out the way we wanted to. Having lost
my share of ferrets I have certain regrets with some of them only
because I continue to feel responsible for their death. But there has to
come a time when we have to move on and forgive ourselves. It is not
that we are condoning what we have done, but we have to forgive in order
to give the next ferret that crosses our path, the best we can give them
too. And that won't happen with a heart filled with regret.
Your pain is evident and I feel for you for I have been there myself.
Take some time to grieve for your Buddy and then take some time to
forgive yourself. Every surgery holds risks... even simple ones. Know
instead that you gave Buddy a chance at a normal life because of your
love of her and that is far more important in the long run. Buddy will
always be in your heart and from there she will never leave.
betty and her blur o'fur
for the love of ferrets