From:
"Lin"
Date: 2003-06-27 17:02:28 UTC
Subject: Echocardiogram
To: <ferrethealth@smartgroups.com>
Message-ID: <003701c33ccd$e44b2cc0$2602a8c0@woh.rr.com>
Hi All:
My 3 yr old spayed female, Ariel, has an enlarged heart. 2 mos ago it was n=
ormal (xrays done at that time), & as of this past Mon, xrays showed that i=
t's since enlarged to 2.5 intercostal spaces. Some of her liver readings ar=
e a bit off, & she has a mild anemia (due to her heart not working efficien=
tly, we're assuming right now). No fluid detected in her lungs or around he=
r heart. Fasting BG is completely normal. Breathing is normal.
The problem: I live in north central Ohio, & my vet & I cannot find ANYONE =
who can do an echocardiogram on Ariel!! We need this desperately, to see wh=
y the enlargment has happened (muscle, chambers, valves), & get her on the =
proper meds to help her.
Our first choice was Ohio State, but after today, they will have *nobody* o=
n staff who knows anything about ferrets (last resident who does them finis=
hes up today; only prof who did them quit), & my vet, a grad of OSU, is enr=
aged about this. We checked a couple vets in Cleveland (Cathy Palomar, & Ga=
ry Riggs) - no dice, either. There's a vet in Columbus (no longer w/ OSU) w=
ho doesn't do ferrets, but *was* my vet's cardio prof when he was at OSU, &=
we should hear at the beginning on the wk if she can do it or not. If not,=
the only place we know for almost-sure is Dr Rosenthal at Penn State.
Where can I find a *complete* & updated list of Ohio ferret vets? I've trie=
d various sites on the net, & they've only listed a very few, & I *know* th=
ere's more than that. My vet is a very good ferret vet, but he's only been =
in practice for about 4 yrs or so, just doesn't work at a facility that has=
this capability, & I've never seen him listed anywhere, either.
WE ARE DESPERATE!!!! Ariel is just too special to me, to let this go w/out =
treatment, esp if we've got a chance to catch it early. My vet says she's n=
ot in any pain or discomfort at this point, & it would kill me to see her g=
et that way, just cos we can't find someone to do this one test & find the =
cause of her problem. We don't want to experiment w/ meds on her - we want =
to know that we've got the correct dx, & treat it properly right away.
If anyone knows of a vet in Ohio/southern Michigan/western Pennsylvania/eas=
tern Indiana who can do this test, please let me know; or if someone can di=
rect me to a current list of vets I can call & ask, please do, either on th=
e list or via private email. I have to find someone to do this test ASAP.
Thank you,
Lin, Ariel, Oberon, & Max
End of ferrethealth Digest
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