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July 1, 2008
Looking After Each Other
I've been in a bit of a funk lately, feeling that too much of our recent chapter news has been largely negative. So tonight I would like to tell a story that demonstrates the lengths our members will go to help each other and our beloved lagomorphs.
The star of my story is Quincy, beloved partner to Lucy and cherished member of the Cook family. A very spry and happy 10-year-old, he has suffered with an unrelenting series of problems in both eyes, which has left him almost completely blind. The loss of his eyesight doesn't appear to bother him, and his otherwise good health made surgery a viable option to finally end all the eye problems. So after much consideration the decision was made to remove both eyes.
Not surprisingly, Terri spent a nervous day waiting by the phone for news. Ellen Eder sent her a link to a Flickr site that documented another rabbit's recovery from eye removal. For many of us, one of the most difficult aspects of major surgery is not knowing what to expect. Terri found the site to be very informative and appreciated Ellen's sending her the link.
The surgery started late, I believe sometime around noon. Dr. Borders did the surgery and Dr. Herrli handled the anesthesia. They were the dynamic dual who removed my Molly's leg so I have a tremendous amount of confidence in them.
The surgery itself went well. However, Quincy tends to be slow to come out of anesthesia and he did so this time as well. Of greater concern, though, was the bleeding and erratic blood pressure. The severed blood vessels were slow to clot and a blood transfusion was required. Thankfully, another CHRS volunteer was there to help. Karen Winstead's Jenny was the donor. We owe Karen and Jenny a tremendous debt of gratitude.
Thanks to the tremendous efforts of Dr. Borders and Dr. Herrli, the bleeding stopped, his blood pressure stabilized, and Quincy was released to spend the night at an emergency vet clinic "just in case." Terri and Jeremy took him over this evening. I just got a report from Terri that Quincy is eating Critical Care and lettuce, so things continue to progress.
I once described CHRS as a small but mighty group of people. We're not so small anymore but we are still mighty, doing our best to look after each other and "our" rabbits. Because today, Quincy belonged to us all.
Thank you to everyone who was there when Quincy needed you.
10:30 update from Terri: "His temperature is up and his red blood cells are up to 29% (pre-surgery was 30%). He is eating lettuce and hay. And we have POOP!!!"
Posted by Sue at July 1, 2008 6:07 PM