Saying Goodbye -- How Do I Know When It's The Right Time?

[Courtney]

I took her to work with me again today, because she has an appointment with the vet right after work. As you can probably imagine, she is not being very helpful at work. When I snapped this photo, she was about 2 seconds from attempting to jump off my lap to make her grand escape.

(And yes, the side of her face that is most visible is her 'bad' side.. it's looking pretty darn good.)

 

[Courtney]

Nova had a follow up appointment today, with another to follow on March 12. Since Saturday, she has gained 12 grams. The inside of her mouth looks good, with the tiniest bit of dead tissue where the mass was (and detached), so we're going to watch that. We will be continuing antibiotics and Metacam until her next appointment, and will re-evaluate our course of action at that point. So far, the medication hasn't upset Nova's system too terribly and her appetite is withstanding. There is a risk of compromised kidney function with continued use of Metacam, so we're trying to find the perfect balance of pain management without kidney failure. She's on a very miniscule dose of Metacam twice daily, so the risk of kidney problems is lower, but still present. We're going to take this one day at a time and adjust as necessary, because no one planned for this. Every day that Nova is still with me is one extra day I never expected, and every day is a bit of a miracle.

For those that are interested, the link below will take you to a photo of the mass that came from Nova's mouth. It's a bit hard on the stomach, so I didn't just want to post it.

http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hpho...0667691316_684391315_9380974_1905802451_n.jpg

 

[AlbertaGirl]

Well, that is the last thing I expected to read! I'm so pleased to hear that Nova's mass is gone and that she is doing better. Just when you think you've experienced all the surprises a hedgie can throw at you... Pop! Self removing tumour!

 

[Courtney]

LOL! I'm pretty sure my eyes nearly fell out of my head when the tumor hit the table. The vet practically had to pick her jaw up off the floor while Nova was wiggling around and glaring at me. I was hoping for some sort of a sudden change in plans, but I never expected something quite so dramatic.

I wonder if the vet has a Frequent Flyers card for pets like Nova, who will be visiting every week or so... Heh.

 

[shetland]

You already got my good wishes on FB, but I love that second picture of the Come Back Kid!

 

[Courtney]

Nova has discovered one of the perks of being sick -- breakfast in bed! Here she is, enjoying her mushy kibble in the comfort of her hedgie bag, sprawled out over a heating pad. She's so hard done by.

 

[Kalandra]

Well who wouldn't enjoy breakfast in bed. And that is such a relaxed position too.

 

[smhufflepuff]

What a beautiful girl. I hope she has many more breakfasts in bed

 

[Courtney]

Thanks! She's a pretty relaxed hog... I can't recall the last time I saw her in a ball; it was probably when she first came home and was in a new environment. I'm hard pressed to get a real hiss out of her. She's just completely secure and apparently doesn't feel any need to ball up, raise quills or hiss. When she's sleeping, she's in one of two positions:

1 -- Stretched out on her side with her paws all over the place.
2 -- Flat on her belly with her front paws stretched in front of her and her back paws stretched out behind her.

When I brought her to work on Monday, a couple people asked if I could get her to ball up so they could see what it looked like. I would have had better luck squeezing water from a rock. Even with all the sudden, loud noises from the warehouse, she was more inclined to wiggle her ears and look around. The closest I can get her to a ball is her on her back with her front feet tucked under her chin and her hind legs sticking straight up. Heh.

 

[Kalandra]

Nothing wrong with that. Completely comfortable and happy hedgehogs are wonderful, and make excellent patients.

I get that, I want to see them curled up thing, from new people too. I try to explain to them that curling up is part of their defensive side and my hedgehogs have nothing to be defensive about, so I try to not encourage them to curl up. I'd rather that they be uncurled and showing me their legs to make those daily leg checks easier

 

[AlbertaGirl]

How is the miracle hog doing?

 

[Courtney]

Nova was humanely euthanized on March 7. She lost all mobility in her back legs and began bleeding heavily when peeing or pooping. I was out of the country at the time, and my mom made the difficult decision to have her put to sleep rather than prolonging her suffering. She died the day after my grandfather, so now he has a special pet.

 

[Kalandra]

This sucks. At least she had a little extra time with you. What a wonderful and amazing little girl she was.

Did they ever determine what the tumor was?

 

[momenteller]

So sorry for your loss. But what a blessing it was to have those unexpected extra days with her. RIP Nova.

 

[AlbertaGirl]

Aw, I'm so sorry to hear that Courtney. RIP Nova.

 

[Raindog]

I am so sorry to hear this. You are in my thoughts.