I never wanted to write this post and was hoping beyond hope that I wouldn’t have to. *sighs* But I shall fill you in, my dear readers, on everything that has happened since I last posted here.
Dreamer struggled with constipation problems on and off for a year and a half. We took her to the vet, they would take Xrays and give meds and she would be okay for a little while and then the whole thing would happen over again. There was no reason that she should have had constipation – she had a good diet and she was extremely active. The bouts would come on without any change in diet or environment.
Towards the end of February, she once again started struggling. I didn’t think much of it because she was always a slow pooper and it had happened so many times before. I gave her the usual helps – puréed pumpkin, citrus and watermelon. In the past, that had helped clear her up temporarily.
However, this time it didn’t do anything. She continued to get worse and worse. We began looking for vets (since we had moved recently we didn’t have a vet yet) and tried to get her seen. Everyone was so booked. She got worse and worse. She became very bloated and bloody pussy stuff started coming from her cloaca. She was still eating and drinking really well and still fairly active, but she was in pain.
During nightly play time, she wouldn’t run around the room and explore as much as normal but started just staying close to me and curling up in my shirt with Ink. I hated seeing her like that.
We continued to try vets, but everyone was so booked that they couldn’t see her. We even drove 45 minutes to an ER vet only to realize that their exotics doctor wasn’t in that day. Thankfully, God opened a door and allowed her to be seen by the incredible vet team just five minutes away. It was so providential. She had the absolute best care and since it was so close we could run over on the spur of the moment if needed.
They took Xrays and such and found that she had a severe colon impaction. That put so much strain on her bladder that it had swelled nearly to the size of a quarter. I can’t imagine how much pain she must have been in. *cries* They thought that the pussy stuff could be from a bladder infection, but ended up figuring out that it was from her colon – it was so stretched from the amount of poop inside of her that it was bleeding.
They decided to keep her for a few days. They would give laxatives and see if the poop would move at all. If not, they would have to perform surgery. They gave her liquids and food and took such good care of her.
Mama and I got to go visit her on Saturday. She was so adorable. Pretty out of it because of the pain meds, but it was great to sit and hold her and stroke her soft little back. Her fur had become so beautiful and so clean and unstained. She was one of the prettiest gliders that I’ve ever seen – a silver mosaic with lovely cow ears and such soft, silvery fur.
By Sunday, the poop hadn’t moved at all and they said that we should do the surgery. Without it, the blockage would kill her. However, the surgery was really risky, too, because she was only 63 grams – small even by glider standards – and because it was such an invasive surgery. There was a very high chance that she would die while they were doing the surgery. We agreed to the procedure and waited anxiously for the call.
I asked God that if she was going to die from all of this, that it would just happen while she was under anesthesia so that she wouldn’t have to feel any pain and wouldn’t have to suffer for days longer.
But then the call came that she had survived the surgery!! We were all so thrilled. She had such a fighting spirit and so much energy despite her tiny size. She was always so determined and did everything with all of her strength.
They kept her overnight to watch her. The vet took her to her home so that she wouldn’t be alone and so that she could give her meds and keep an eye on her. That meant so much to me to know that she had someone who cared for her there with her all night long.
Monday afternoon we got a call that we could pick her up. She was doing so well! Eating and drinking and even pooping a bit. I was so thrilled – but also nervous about how to care for her in the next few days as well as the long run. The vet had said that she possibly had a condition known as megacolon and if that was the case, her problems would continue. I looked up some of the symptoms and it sounds exactly like what she had. It would explain why she struggled with constipation for so long without a known reason.
In any case, Mama and I picked her up. It was such a great day. She was in a “body bandage” to keep her from messing with the wound site. She hated it, but it made me happy to see that she still had her fighting spirit. I couldn’t believe how well she was doing. Her eyes were so bright and she looked like her old self.
She was on so many meds – two pain meds, three antibiotics and a laxative. I made a chart to keep it all straight because there was no way I’d remember when to give what otherwise!
We took her home and I carried her around for a while. We got a tote and lined it with fleece for a hospital cage. She was to be confined to that for the next two weeks until her wound site healed.
That night I couldn’t believe how active and alert she was. She ate and drank very well and thoroughly explored every bit of her tote. She kept trying to climb the walls! I was sure that she would make a full recovery.
I spent most of that night checking on her and making sure that she took her meds and got enough fluids. She was doing so amazingly well.
The next day she wasn’t as alert or awake, but still doing well. She wasn’t interested in food, but she drank very well. Hydration was the most important thing at the time, so I was more focused on getting her to drink rather than eat.
That night she wasn’t acting as bright or active as normal. She was cold and sat still instead of moving. So while I played with Ink, I just picked her up and tucked her inside of my shirt to keep her warm. She snuggled right in and was incredibly sweet.
That night, whenever I got up to check on her, she was cold and chilled. So I ended up picking her up and sticking her inside of my shirt to keep her warm. She stayed with me for most of the night. I am so glad that I did that. That I was able to keep her warm and to have her little sweet self so near me. ❤ I would have regretted it so much if I hadn’t checked on her as often as I did or kept her with me for so long.
The next morning she was really lethargic. I was hoping that it was just the meds, but I knew deep down that it wasn’t. I had her on me for most of the morning. I kept her right next to my skin so that she would be warm. She didn’t move around much and didn’t want to eat at all, but she drank quite a bit.
I put her down for forty minutes during lunch and when I went to get her again, she was really cold and weak. I had her tucked in my shirt for a long time after that while I talked to a friend on the phone. I’d finished my call and Dreamer licked me a couple times. ❤ I wrapped her up warm and put her back in her pouch for half an hour. When I returned to give her some pain meds, I found she was dead. *cries*
I wish I hadn’t put her down for that half hour, but I am so so glad that I was able to hold and warm her for so much of night and afternoon before she died. ❤ Like I said, I would have really regretted it if I hadn’t. I’m so thankful that I got to spend those last few hours with her and that she wasn’t alone. ❤
I’m also really thankful that God didn’t answer my prayer that if she was going to die that she die while in surgery. The last few days that I had her and was able to care for her were so special. I got to take a lot of photos, give a lot of love and spend a lot of time petting her sweet little head. God knew that I needed that time with her to say goodbye. ❤
I miss her a lot and I really wish that she had lived. However, I really believe that she would have continued to suffer from bad constipation and that it would have eventually killed her. I didn’t want her to be in so much pain. So as much horribly sad as this is, I know that it is for the best. She’s completely pain free now and never has to struggle again. ❤
I will be doing a post full of pictures and memories soon, so be on the lookout for that. ❤
~Hattush
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