[Gpdd] Re: Health: Snicker's surgery

Carla Martinez cmartinez36 at houston.rr.com
Tue Aug 2 18:24:55 EDT 2005



I really appreciate the note with good wishes for Snickers, Leah. Wow we
got some super news today and I have to tell you all. Seven days after
the surgery to remove lumps from his mammary and underarm my vet
received the lab analysis today. Results: the lumps removed were just
fatty tumors! And she got them out completely. I was crying when the vet
explained it. Crying from relief.

With the great news there is also some not so good news. I was glad I
elected to have blood work done for him before surgery. The results of
the blood tests show that he has liver disease. We don't know how or why
he got it. But the good news for that is that often, the vet says, that
liver disease is treatable with medication. So he will start his new
liver meds tonight. I can't wait.

I would like to ask you all a favor: to please say a quick little prayer
for this deserving guinea pig as he struggles to get out of the woods.
Snickers needs all the guinea pig prayers he can get today, so he can
say yes to life and pull through. Maybe tomorrow he will be feeling good
enough to eat a little something on his own. Or even tonight.

He contracted some kind of upper respiratory infection after surgery and
we have had a whole lot of difficulties in the past few days as he has
been unable to engage in two of his primary activities. I think you
might guess what those are, but let me spell it out. He has been unable
to eat or poo. Or pee for that matter, since he has been dehydrated. I
changed his pain meds at the vet on Friday and then he himself has been
to the vet Saturday, Monday and today and is going back again tomorrow.
Every day he has gotten subcutaneous fluids, nebulizer treatments,
weighed, temp taken, also antibiotic injections. Yesterday he got
x-rays. I may have left out something he's gotten, but most importantly
he's gotten TLC from the clinic staff and his vet and hopefully from me.
Gosh I love that clinic.

Snickers and I have been learning a lot more about hand-feeding with a
syringe. I'm so glad Susi and others mentioned the canned pumpkin
because that is about the only thing that allows him to tolerate his
Critical Care. 

Hope this post is not too long. God bless all our little piglets, that
they don't suffer, and they receive good care.

Carla, Snickers and Snowball





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