It has been a long while since I came around, and last time it was bad news of insulinoma. A lot has happened since then and I wanted to share his story.
If you are interested, the hospital wrote a story about him with my permission after! It's the short version of what I am about to say.
http://www.guardianvetcentre.com/html/about-us/Guardian-patient-stories/Loki/index.cfm Loki is my precious ferret who is actually about to turn 5 this December 31st. I have had him here with me since he was 3 weeks old. It has been the most rewarding time in owning a pet. So much joy!
I am really proud to say that after a lot of painful times, Loki is completely cured of his insulinoma, at least for now! I came here around March this year, distraught and feeling so sick. He was diagnosed with it and got very bad very fast. On Canada Day, I found him almost completely unresponsive, had vomited what seemed to be all night and I am sure he was just about gone. I shoved some honey in his cheeks and then I rushed him to the emergency hospital and they took him immediately.
It wasn't looking good for him. He wouldn't eat or drink and they decided to do an emergency surgery on him. Now, Loki never bites. Never chews on anything. He is an angel of a ferret who has been in absolute perfect health since I had him except for his diagnosis in March. My vet has always told me he is the healthiest ferret she had ever seen. But that ferret- my silly ferret- apparently had a giant piece of carpet lodged in his stomach. Which was why he was struggling so much and despite my vet telling me that she hadn't seen a insulinoma case in such an early stage since I caught his behavior changes really fast. The dosage increases hadn't helped and he still never ate and was losing weight like crazy. It was because he didn't have room in his poor tummy! I was so shocked. I still have no idea how it got there- but as soon as I knew, I took the carpet out of his bedroom. (Yes, he has his own bedroom.) We haven't had any troubles since, but I am still so baffled. And this thing was huge. The size of a quarter in diameter! They also removed the node that was causing the insulinoma successfully and when I had him tested later- it has been proven he is currently insulinoma-free!
His recovery was a bit rough. He had to stay admitted for 3 days. Everyone over there fell in love with him and both the surgeon and the nurse said that he was the nicest- never even looked at them in a cranky way even when they had to take blood and do all of the IVs and casting. One receptionist even wanted to keep him! Hahah. We have a very strong bond and the nurse who was looking after him told me that he wouldn't eat. But the moment that I got there for my three times per day visit, I got him to eat. He recovered almost fully within a couple weeks. I basically lived with him 24-7 as he slept on my bed. Made him take medicine and eat. It was very difficult. But he eventually got his sutures out. Didn't even squirm when he did like the good boy that he is!
Anyway, enough gushing about that. I am so proud of him for recovering like he did. This all happened in July and I am happy to report that Loki is not only fully recovered, but is even more healthy than he was in the past year! He acts like he is a bloody energetic baby again. Flipping out and being so stupidly silly! It brings me even more appreciation every single day that he is okay now. It was torture watching him waste away.
All of this has admittedly caused me to become a little paranoid and I am always going to be watching for a stumble or signs of insulinoma returning or even another incident with him swallowing something crazy- but for the majority of my time, I just am so super thankful that everything turned out well. Better than well. Better than I could have ever hoped. I would have done anything to make him healthy again and that became a reality. As horrible as that whole experience was, it turned out that it was for the better. It was grim and upsetting and probably one of the worst days of my whole life to find him so motionless and gone as he was. And then one of the best days when I found out he was cured and going to be better than fine.
Lastly, and I know this message is long, but I have always wondered something! And it is completely unrelated. I've read quite a bit on poofing tails or bottle-brush tails, but Loki does something seemingly unique and I just find it really cute. And I am wondering if other owners have the same experience. Loki will always lay beside me on a blanket and I reach over to scratch on the back of his neck and pet him there and usually he will flip upside down and demand that I do that as long as possible, trapping my hand under him so I won't pull it away. During this, his tail always poofs up to like three times it's regular size. I've always read that this happens when ferrets are frightened, startled, excited, or playful. But it seems like he is just being super affectionate. I've just not read about anyone else having that experience. He really loves being pet on his neck and has always done this, but only with me. And if I take my hand away, he will nudge and snuggle it until I keep petting. :)
Thanks for reading. I hope that the story will put a smile on someone's face and maybe reassure them that even in a grim situation, there is a lot of good that could possibly come out of it. I know I will have to watch for insulinoma in the future, but I cannot stress how happy I am to not have to worry about it right now. I am just SO GRATEFUL!
Here is a picture of my little goober that I took about 30 seconds ago!
<message edited by Arohk on Thursday, December 17, 2015 7:58 PM>