Nyssa's Latest Vet Visit

It seems to me sometimes that when you have an old ferret with medical issues you go to the vet a lot. If you have a ferrets' blog you write about it a lot. It probably gets boring to read, too, but... this visit was a good one and that IS worth sharing. I had written about Nyssa to a friend who has ferrets and I realized I should share this a bit further.

The big news is that Nyssa is maintaining her weight. Oh, she has a ton of stuff wrong and it's all getting worse, but it's all getting worse slowly and she's hanging in there, which is amazing. She got another depo medrol shot (it had been four months since the last one) to help her along.

Nyssa has enlarged abdominal lymph nodes, an unidentified mass in her abdomen (we've known about that since July but it hasn't grown much), and pretty much her whole GI tract is enlarged, probably due to invasion by lymphoma. She has two small growths on her underside, probably benign mast cell tumors.

With all that going on, more than a year after diagnosis with lymphoma, she still explores, still runs a little, still likes tunnels, and still watches after her beloved stuffed doggie she's had since she was a kit. Nyssa still thrashes Zephyr when she's challenged, though that takes every last ounce of her strength and it's bedtime right after. She's still dominant alpha and both Ella and Chin Soon defer to her.

To top it all off Nyssa is more affectionate than ever. She seems to really appreciate how much I love her and Summer, who's been ferret sitting, loves her. She's even started lying on a lap or chest for naps.

I know I'm going to lose Nyssa pretty soon. I'm just thrilled she's still here and still mostly happy.