Every so often, we treat a patient that awes and inspires us. Below you will find some of these remarkable animals...
Last year, a little ferret named "Dixie" came to see us because he couldn't walk on his left front leg. After close questioning of the owners, we discovered that he may have been hiding out in the living room recliner, and been "squeezed" when someone got in or out of the chair!!! After a couple of x-rays, we discovered that he had a fairly clean fracture of his left arm. Because he was a young ferret, and was so tiny, Dr. Kim struggled to find equipment small enough to fix his arm without damaging it further. Finally, after several attempts with very small orthopedic surgical pins, she finally reduced the fracture with some sterile 50lb test fishing line!!!! The post-operative x-rays showed a well-reduced fracture and "Dixie" went home for recuperation. At his 3 week check-up, he was walking well on the leg with just a support bandage. YEAH!!! Just goes to show you that you never know what some ol' fishing line might be good for!!
Here's a picture of a patient that isn't so sure she wants to get up on the exam table...."Nope, I think I'll just sit here in the sink for a while".....
One day as we went about seeing patients at our hospital, a school teacher arrived with a very, very, small hamster appropriately named "Tiny". This hamster had been kept in a class that catered to special needs students. Without supervision, these young adults had poked Tiny several times in the eyes and mouth. By the time Tiny came to us, the infection from the wounds and the lead that remained in her face, had caused her right eye to become compromised. We gently sedated Tiny, and began to clean her face and attempt to see what could be done about her eye. As we examined her closely, we foung that due to her injuries that she sustained by being stabbed with a pencil, her teeth had begun to grow abnormally upward and had penetrated her upper jaw and were lodged behind her right and left eyes (this was why her face was so swollen).
We trimmed and extracted the tooth fragments and put Tiny on some pretty intensive nursing care and antibiotics. To our amazement, as soon as Tiny had recovered from her sedation, she began to eat ravenously!!! Tiny went home to a safe place away from anyone that could hurt her again. However, the long term effects of the injury to her face makes her teeth permanently grow abnormally, and we have to trim them frequently. Unfortunately, because of the seriousness of Tiny's injuries, she has lost both her eyes (from her teeth becoming embedded in the tissues behind the eye). However, to this day, Tiny has remained a spunky, hungry, and feisty patient. She never ceases to amaze us with her fortitude and her strength of will to keep on going despite some of the cruelty and physical pain she has endured. We have become very attached to this little hamster and think that she is the next best thing since sliced bread. We hope Tiny is with us for a long time to come............
Nassau Veterinary Hospital works with a wildlife rehabilitation and rescue organization led by a wonderful woman named Jeanne Adams. One day, she called and had been delivered a small fawn that had been mauled by dogs in the woods somewhere near Hiliard. This fawn was in severe shock, and was very, very small. He was extremely dehydrated, and had multiple wounds from the attack by the dogs. We immediately started emergency care which consisted of IV fluids, a heating pad, antibiotics and injections that would help him fight the septic shock that was overwhelming his small body. Through all of our procedures, he remained calm and seemed to know that we were trying to help him. Several times he valiantly tried to stand and nurse, but he was too weak.
We discovered that all of his wounds had been infected with maggots, and a monumental task faced us as we tried to clear the parasites while he struggled to live. The only thing that will clear maggots from any type of wound, is lighter fluid or starter fluid. You hope that you can kill them without further compromising your patient. Unfortunately, our little fawn lost his struggle to survive. However, we were all so touched by his courage and his quiet communication with us that let us know he knew we were friends and that we were trying very hard to help him. We will always remember this little buddy for what a wonderful presence he left in our lives.........................
On April 21, 2004, a little cat named Deville was presented to us because the owner thought he had been bit by something...the something turned out to be about a 6-7 foot rattlesnake. Deville's face and neck were incredibly swollen and his chest and all of the inside of his front legs were almost black from the bruising. We gently sedated Deville to assess the extent of the damage. We counted no less than 6 full penetrating bite wounds with fang width about 1 ¼" apart.....BIG SNAKE!!!!!!!!!!! As far as we know, there has never been a cat that has survived a snake attack of this magnitude. What a tough cookie he was though. Not a word of complaint....he is without a doubt the best patient we have ever had.
We hoped that Deville would make it through the night. Not only do animals that suffer from venomous snake bites go into shock, but essential clotting factors are used up trying to combat the toxins spreading through his system. The very next morning we ordered 3 units of feline plasma from a company in California, which would provide the necessary plasma factors to help fight the snake toxin. In the meantime, Deville was unable to eat due to the severe swelling and bruising that involved 60% of his face and extended into his mouth. On the fifth day of hospitalization, Deville was able to eat for the very first time on his own. This would be the first baby step to a long road to recovery for him. He would have to undergo several surgeries to remove the massive amounts of dead tissue created by the snake toxin. After his second surgery, he was placed in a full chest wrap and was sent home for the first time in almost 2 weeks. We severely missed his presence in the hospital...he was such an inspiration. This little cat had such patience and an incredible will to survive. At this time, Deville has made almost a complete recovery. He has a few stitches left in his face, and his chest is almost entirely healed. His doctors and nurses who cared for him are so proud! WAY TO GO DEVILLE!!!!!!!!!!
On November 11, 2002, the Ehmke family ran into our hospital very upset and scared carrying their little dog, Curly, wrapped in a blood-soaked towel. Mrs. Eleanor Ehmke was clutching tightly to her small Bichon, whose skin was filleted from neck to pelvis, covered in dirt and plant material, as well as the saliva of a much larger dog. We gently yet quickly pried the pale, limp dog from Eleanor's shaking hands, placed an IV catheter in Curly's forelimb and started treating him for shock. We also gave poor little Curly a much needed pain shot. As soon as Curly had recovered from the shock, we took him into surgery.
Carefully and patiently, we debrided, cleaned, and flushed the very dirty and very large wound. Curly was an extremely lucky dog, the laceration did not include any vital organs. But we did have to remove a large portion of skin that was no longer savable. In order to use the remaining skin to cover the wound, we removied a large portion of subcutaneous fat, and use multiple drains, and over a hundred stitches. Curly was bandaged for 24 hours, placed initially on injectable antibiotics, and good pain killers. After his first day of hospitalization and we removed the bandages, both owner and doctors were very pleased with the outcome. The little limp dog was now up and walking with very little problems.
The Ehmke family was just visiting our little town and staying at a local campground when a large mixed-breed dog attacked Curly with no warning. In one near-fatal bite, Curly was almost no more. With the quick moves of both the owners to bring him to the hospital and of the hospital staff once they ran in the door, he now and will hopefully be for a long time a healthy, sweet little guy. Curly's normal veterinarian in Port St. Lucie removed the drains and sutures in a timely manner and all healed well. The Ehmke's still call and visit when up this way. Curly is doing wonderful a year and a half later.
Here is a portion of the Ehmke's thank-you letter:
"We would again like to thank you and your staff for the professional and dedicated care you gave to Curly and us on Monday, November 11. Our Vets, Dr. Eger and Dr. Coy, here in Port St. Lucie, said you did a remarkable job.
He is coming along quite well now. We certainly had our concerns, but today, for the first time, he had a bowel movement and was able to eat something by himself. Up till now, we had to force feed him. He is still on the antibiotics that you gave him, and tomorrow we will take off the five-day pain patch that was put on last Friday. He was also running a fever on Friday and was given another antibiotic to counteract that. Yesterday, Dr. Eger (our vet), removed the stitches that held the skin to the muscle tissue. The drain tubes were taken out last Friday and he is still draining quite a bit.
We have not had much sleep in the past week. Too many memories are relived in our minds. With the initial care that you provided and now the concerned care that Dr. Eger has given to Curly, we do feel he will have a complete recovery..."
