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Post by bellatrix18 on May 18, 2011 15:07:19 GMT
I need major vibes for my little Tembo who is currently having a horrible tumor and her ear removed. She developed a head tilt and what looked like an ear infection with swelling around her ear, but as the week progressed the swelling got larger and larger and is actually a tumor that is giving off pus and seeping and bleeding. It also smells awful.
I have taken a gamble togay and took her to see a wonderful specialist vet. Her only hope was to attempt a removal of her entire ear and the lump along with it. I was given about an 80% chance that it wouldn't be removeable but she was willing to attempt it and have her pts if it wasn't possible after a closer look.
However I just rang them up and it has been successfully removed and she's being stitched up as I type! It is still touch and go as she's been under for so long and anaesthetics always carry a risk but hopefully she'll pull through.
She's 9 years old and a real fighter. I love her to pieces and can't imagine if she wasn't here... I'm really hoping that in a few hours she'll be back home with me where she belongs.
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Post by kovu07 on May 18, 2011 15:10:31 GMT
Oww I hope she gets better soon, and give her a cuddle from me, since she's been through alot and will most probably need loads of attention and cuddles int he next few days.
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Post by Kins on May 18, 2011 15:26:42 GMT
Wow, she sounds like a tough little degu!
Fingers crossed for her safe return home for some cuddles with Mummy!
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Post by hellsbells on May 18, 2011 17:20:35 GMT
Aww I hope she makes a full recovery! Sounds like she's a little fighter!
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Post by philbailey1806 on May 18, 2011 19:40:01 GMT
Aaaaaah, what a shame! I hope she pulls through, she sounds a tough old bird
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Post by deguconvert on May 18, 2011 23:52:31 GMT
WOW!!! That is very serious, and I'm sure it has been a nasty week for you, what with her continually getting worse. I'm so glad you took a risk for her, you have given her every chance she needs to get on top of this. But still . . . so hard to do. We had a cocker spaniel that was plagued with ear infections his whole life, and the scar tissue in one ear was so bad that the ear canal was actually as thick around as my husband's thumb. He finally got an infection that we just couldn't beat, and he had to have surgery to remove the entire ear canal. He was a new dog after that! He felt SO much better!! I hope you will see a return of youth, so to speak, in Tembo, and that she will enjoy several years yet with you!
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Post by bellatrix18 on May 19, 2011 2:56:37 GMT
Thanks everyone for all your kind words and posts. I've given her plenty of extra cuddles from you. I'm so relieved to update you all with good news!! Tembo is currently snuggled up at home with her cage mates! She barely looks phased by the operation and has already started eating a lot more than she was when she still had the tumor. She really is a fighter. She still has a head tilt but only time will tell if that will go and even if it doesn't, she can run around her cage with no problems. The only risk is that the tumor might have been malignant and spread to somewhere else but I'm really hoping that will never be an issue... I'm definitely going to use the operation as an excuse to spoil her... although I tend to spoil her all the same so not much of a change there I have never been happier to hold my little girl as I was when I picked her up form the vets. I really didn't think the operation would work. I convinced myself the worst would happen but against all the odds she's still here. I'm so glad my vet was willing to try for her as i know most vets wouldn't have even considered it. Now Temmy has the chance to live many more happy years with me and her furry family! I'll try to post a picture of her in a couple of days when she doesn't look as sore and wouldn't be as annoyed by me pointing a camera at her.
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Post by deguconvert on May 19, 2011 5:37:31 GMT
I am so relieved and thrilled for you!!! It must be almost beyond words for you to have her home and eating and looking so much better in herself! I'm so very glad. Keep on fighting, Tembo, and keep on giving her your love and strength, Bellatrix18. Happy hugs to you both!
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cazara
Burrowing Degu
Posts: 191
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Post by cazara on May 19, 2011 6:02:32 GMT
Great to hear of the happy outcome for you both. What a wee champ she is and good on the vet You should add the vet to list of Degu safe vet's list. Hope you have many more cuddles with your wee girl (Huggs) xx
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Post by kovu07 on May 19, 2011 7:00:42 GMT
I'm so glad to hear it is good news
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Post by bellatrix18 on May 25, 2011 13:07:26 GMT
I don't think she's going to make it Her ear has become infected again and that's caused her wound to also get infected. There is pus everywhere and it looks really awful. The ear infection has started to cause neurological problems and affected the nerve to her eye. She now can't produce the correct moisture for her eye and that has also become damaged. She doesn't seem too stressed or in pain and she's still eating and asking for cuddles but i don't think there's anything the vet can do for her as there is just so much going wrong and it would be unfair to put her through another painful procedure when I don't even think it will work. I'm absolutely heartbroken. I just lost my degu Angel two days ago to an unexpected heart problem and I lost one of my rats the day before that. I feel like I'm dying too.
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Post by kovu07 on May 25, 2011 13:10:38 GMT
Oh no I feel so sorry for you, and I wish there was something I could do to help. Hugs
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cazara
Burrowing Degu
Posts: 191
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Post by cazara on May 25, 2011 15:19:38 GMT
I'm so sorry to hear this my thought's are with you x
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Post by deguconvert on May 25, 2011 16:02:02 GMT
Oh honey!! I am so very, VERY sorry! I'm crying with you . . . this is such devastating news. Wish I could hug you. I'll be thinking of you.
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Post by blossombrooks on May 26, 2011 17:45:38 GMT
That's awful :-( so so sorry for you. X
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Post by michele23 on May 27, 2011 15:42:06 GMT
Just read through your posts, and I'm so so sorry for you and little Tembo. I'm going through something similar (different issue, but basically a problem that doesn't seem fixable despite surgeries) with my 6 year old degu boy, and it's heartbreaking, so I can definitely sympathize with you. It's so hard to know what to do and when to make that final call. hugs
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Post by michele23 on May 31, 2011 19:43:48 GMT
Hi Bellatrix,
I've had your situation with Tembo on my mind, and just wondering how things are? xx
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Post by bellatrix18 on Jun 1, 2011 13:35:24 GMT
Sorry for not updating for a while. It's hard to think about sometimes... Thanks to everyone's kind words. Michelle23 I'm sorry to hear about your boy and I hope he pulls through. Things are still really bad with Tem. I haven't made the decision to have her pts yet because, despite her injuries she seems so happy in herself. She is putting on a lot of weight (She lost a lot with the tumor) and is still happy running around her cage and chatting away to her sister Tiki. But I think it's only a matter of time before it's too much for her. Her wound is so infected and her whole side of her face is scabbed. I can't clean the pus and discharge properly because it's dried on and it looks pretty dreadful. Smells awful too. One bit of goodish news is that some of her scab came off yesterday and it looks like the skin is healing underneath... but it's still touch and go. If her operation wound can somehow heal she may be able to have another operation to remove her damaged eye and flush out her ear again... but I can't think like that because it's giving hope to a hopeless situation. I don't know what to do any more. I feel so ill with worry all the time and I just can't cope. Loosing Angel last week was such a shock and now Tembo's so ill. I feel guilty for not having her pts but at the same time she doesn't seem in pain... and I feel so awful for my little Tiki who will almost certainly be a lonely degu very soon.
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Post by kovu07 on Jun 1, 2011 13:42:09 GMT
I feel for you, so mnay bad things happening and all at once. It sounds like you understand that she may not recover which in some way is a good thing, as you're prepared to let her go rather than let her suffer which shows you truely care about her. It looks promising that the skin is healing underneath the scab but what with all her other problems it's not much consulation. Also i'm not sure if her wound heals that having another operation to remove her eye is a good idea, as degus like many small animals don't do well under anesthetic, so I think the only thing you can do now would be to make her comfortable and spoil her with love. I'm so sorry, and can't imagine what you're going through. (hugs)
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Post by deguconvert on Jun 1, 2011 15:38:31 GMT
OK . . . lets see if we can't find a way to help her do better! As I recall, chamomile tea has strong antibiotic/antibacterial properties to it. Also, we know that Epsom salts are excellent at drawing out inflammation and infections. SO! What if you were to make a daily schedule for flushing her wounded area at home. It will probably feel tedious, and I expect that she will not like it much, but I can't help but think that IF she is putting on weight (excellent sign) and is happy and communicating and playing, then she is fighting this thing, so lets help her fight. My suggestions are as follows: Boil water.
Have two sterile glass containers (washed and flushed with water that boiled hard), two clean towels, and two clean medical syringes that you can use to squirt solutions through.
Pour boiling water into each container, and to one add 5 ml of Epsom salts, to the other a bag of chamomile tea. I am assuming, btw, that each container will have about 250 ml of water in it. Don't worry about the tea growing too strong, I think you need it to be. Let them cool to tepid.
Place one towel on a flat surface, have the second towel beside, fill one syringe with tepid Epsom salt solution, fill the other with the chamomile tea.
Now you are ready for Tem. Place Tem on the towel and gently restrain her so that you have access to her wounds, but she cannot get away on you. Now using the salt solution, gently and slowing squirt this over the wounds. You may need to refill your syringe and do this again. Once you are done (so that you feel satisfied) dab the fluid away, and then flush again but this time using the Chamomile tea solution. Once you are done, again dry her gently, dabbing with the towel. Getting her dry is important, but you don't want to open up her wounds so do your gentle best, and let "good enough" be OK. Put your towels in the laundry to be washed, as you will not want to use them again. Then repeat this later in the day.
I think you will need to do this at least twice daily for a bit and see how she does. Also, try to keep their cage area warm so that she doesn't suffer any chills while you are doing this. You will want to be sure there are no drafts about them or in the room. If you have a heating pad she can lay on afterward, it would probably be a good thing for her. Also . . . sunlight will be good for her as well, as it has natural antibacterial/purifying properties. So if she can do some sun bathing, it will be a good thing.
These are really only suggestions, but they are ones that I hope will tip the scales in her favour. Let us know how you and she continue to do.
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