Post by Heather on Apr 24, 2012 23:50:48 GMT -5
Thor's passing has been very difficult for me. I've been meaning to write this but just haven't been able to. Thor was one of my healthy fuzzes. In a hospice situation healthy ferrets are rare and they're good health is cherished. Thor did not appear to be sick, he was still playing with his babies (stuffies) and dumping them in the litter box.
(video)
I was brushing him out when I discovered that his spleen was enlarged....not good, but not uncommon in a ferret of 6 yrs of age. Thor had been living here since coming here 5 yrs ago. His spleen wasn't hugely engorged, just a slight enlargement, a bit of a hardening that one could just feel. This was the Thurs of the Easter weekend. He was started on a regime of antibiotics to see if it was just a mild infection. Monday, he was having problems walking. Tues, when the office was open, I was able to get an appointment on Thurs. By the time Thurs came around, Thor couldn't walk, he was swimming with his back legs. Preferring to use his tubes to move around because they allowed his back legs to remain under him. His spleen had become that large....but even then something was wrong. For a spleen it wasn't quite right. He was sleeping on his back, appearing to be in respiratory distress, becoming upset and agitated when he tried to sleep in his favourite cube. When the vet examined him, friendly chatter ended. She quietly listened to his heart, his lungs....all the time saying nothing. She usually talks through the exam, explaining what she's doing and why. She then requested an xray. I was waiting for her to tell me he needed surgery. As soon as I saw the xray, I knew....so did she...unfortunately, now sure of her diagnosis. She had suspected it all along, I don't think I really wanted to believe that this was possible. The spleen was healthy, not the least bit engorged. The lungs were barely visible, covered in a fog, the oesophagus pushed up in an unnatural angle against his spine. The heart hanging entirely on it's own without any accompanying organs.
Lymphomas.
Huge doses of pred is prescribed....hoping to put him in remission. That night Thor has the first attack. The coughing, a wheezing asthmatic cough, leaving him exhausted and without breath. Early in the morning, he has another attack, this one longer. As soon as the office is open, I make the request. On the trip he has two more attacks. I walk in, the vet greets me at the door, there is no waiting and we go back. She can't believe how fast or aggressive this has been. It's all over in minutes.
Final diagnosis....immunoblastic polymorphous lymphomas. A really long name for a very horrible disease that can be found in ferrets of all ages. It is similar to juvenile or lymphoblastic lymphoma. Very, very aggressive with a very short survival rate. From the time that I first felt the swelling to death was exactly a week.
Thor was never an active boy, preferring to snuggle or hang out in his tubes.
He did play but he wasn't the most coordinated fuzz. Thor was a special wee one. He was a Waardenburg baby. When he war danced I always described him as Wiley coyote after an electrical shock. He would start bouncing...legs straight, head tilted back, mouth open. He would bounce himself into the wall....correct...and then bounce off the next wall and this would go on all the way down the hallway. Thor had been a BYB ferret. He was a bit slow, never learning how to use a litter box....his babies (his stuffies) knew how to but he never did use one. He was the only ferret I knew of that actually would back into the food dish and poop. Despite this, he was a sweetheart and stole people's hearts where ever he went. The vet and the techs thought he was the ultimate ferret when he came to stay for a bit of surgery to remove a small benign tumour on the back of his head a year ago.
Run free little one, you're once again with friends. Napoleon, Ghenghis...you very best friend in crime Loki Bears.
(Napoleon, Gheghis, Thor)
(Loki)
I will never see you old or ill, you will forever be young. You were a happy wee boy, right to the end. You were my special wee boy. I miss you, but you're never far away, I realize that now. Gentle journey my sweet wee boy, my little shooting star....goodbye...for now
ciao
He was such a handsome and very loved boy. He was lucky to have a mommy like you. 
