update on hurt tail and the
vet that made it worse <BR>by: Tammy P<P>hi all, i just wanted to update you guys on my glider because you were all so helpful during the worst stimes. for those that dont remember, my grumpy had his tail amputated (the
vet was trying to fix the tail and said he couldnt so he amputated instead - without my express permission). i told this
vet before the surgery of known problems with gldier mutilation and need of painkillers. he said no he wouldnt give painkillers. i gave him numbers of experienced
vets out-of-state (none here in new mexico) and he said he called them and they knew about as much as him, and told him to do what he felt best. i found out that was a lie, because the out-of-state
vets told me personally he didnt call. when i picked up grumpy afterwards, he gave me some meds. i figured it was antibiotics. we had massive problems with glider mutilation but survived it. a week later the tail tip was black. i went to a new
vet. the new
vet told me the meds grumpy was on was a painkiller!!!!! <BR>grumpy had gotten necrosis (blood poisoning, like gangerene) which could have been prevented if he was given antibiotics. the new
vet had to re-amputate, and took off another 2 1/2 inches to get rid of all the infection. my new
vet spent 20 minutes on the phone with DR TODD WOLFE (thank you dr wolfe!!!) getting proper procedures. today, grumpy gets his stitches out, and is doing great (he has had 2 checkups a week since the re-amputation, no charge!). he is left with a 1 1/2 inch tail, and is lucky to be alive. if the necrosis had gone just a bit farther down his tail and into his body, he would be dead now. <BR>i am in the process of filing a formal complaint against the 1st
vet, with the new mexico
vet. medical association. he will be judged by his peers,
vets from across the state. it will take awhile, but he will learn and hopefully pay for what he did to me and my poor grumpy. thank every one of you that helped me. <BR>i can say only one thing more-dont just automatically trust a
vet. they arent always truthful. make sure you know what is going on and proper treatments for your problem. get 2nd opinions immediately from trusted
vets like dr todd wolfe if you think something might be wrong, or if your
vet is disagreeing with you. im happier with my new inexperienced
vet because she really cares about my glider and was willing to admit she didnt know it all and maybe i did know what i was talking about, and would work with an out of state
vet like dr wolfe. she and dr wolfe is who i credit with saving my glider.<P>