When I went to feed my little 9 week old joey tonight, I was horrified...... His left arm is fractured, bone sticking way out, and his little hand is severely red and swollen to three times the normal size. His thumb is also missing, just a raw bone where there used to be flesh.
He was fine the previous night when I fed and played with him, and I have no clue what happened. I have a Stealth wheel and all my cage toys are safe. I don't think his parents would have injured him, but I guess you never know.
Anyway, I put in a tearful call to Suz who calmed me down (thanks so much!) and I took little Ben into the emergency vet. They were not too helpful... just shook their head at me and said "We don't do exotics here". I pleaded with them to at least give him some pain medication and the lovely little vet tech replied, "We don't do that here". Huh????? I began to cry and finally they agreed to look at him and the vet ended up giving him an injection of Butorphanol (Stadol) for pain and Baytril for infection. I took him home and I am staying up with him tonight... My regular vet opens up at 7:30 am and I will have him there bright and early tomorrow.
It is so hard to see my little boy going through this! He is such a sweetheart, barely crabbing at all and just staring at me in such a loving way... almost as if he is trying to comfort me instead of me comforting him. I love him dearly and I want him to make it through this!!
I suppose they will amputate his arm tomorrow. I am concerned because the fracture is up high and I don't know how it will affect his patagium. I don't know how much of a quality life he can have with only three limbs, but hopefully he will adjust and make the best of it.
One good thing is his appetite is very good and he is at least trying to move around his cage, although he is stumbling a lot. I am trying to keep him still, but he wants to move! Also, he is showing no signs of self-mutilation yet.
Has anyone else dealt with amputation before? What can I expect and what can I do to help my little boy get through this?
I am a homeschool mom to four girls and seven sugar gliders; an annoying ponderer of deep thoughts; a purposeful meanderer on walks and strolls; a prayerful wonderer and marveler; a friend to many small creatures, and an Undercover Agent for the Kingdom which cannot be shaken...Nice to meet you!
Re: Horrible compound fracture... may need amputation!
[Re: WholeheartMom]
#544365 05/06/0805:29 AM05/06/0805:29 AM
OH hun, I'm so sorry you are both having to go through this. Thankfully tho your baby has you to comfort him. I haven't had a glider who's had a limb amputated, but I did have a little girl who came to me missing a hand. She got along just fine and never missed her foot. Your boy will do just fine. He is young to have surgery, but being young will help him adjust to the missing limb more easily. As far as cage setups, you will initially want to have a smaller cage with everything pretty much on ground leval. That way he won't have to climb as much. You will also want plenty of hammocks in case he does try to climb and would happen to fall. If you go to the Amputee Gliders thread in Special Needs you will get more details on setting things up. Please keep us updated on your baby and how he is doing.
Chris Illusion, Malcom, Isabell, Annabelle, Zach, Isis, Aly & Indy AND Miss Emmy & Miss Chloe kitties
My Angels: You are always in my heart.
You've flown to the rainbow and wait there for me Someday I will join you together to be
Re: Horrible compound fracture... may need amputation!
[Re: glidrz5]
#544368 05/06/0805:40 AM05/06/0805:40 AM
I am so sorry you had such a hassle at the E-vet's Thankfully they finally relented and at least gave your little guy some pain meds and a dose of antibiotics. Please call me again today if you need me for anything. I'll have my cell phone with me all day; although, I'll be in and out of appointments, so leave a message if you get the machine
I can just imagine the devastation you felt when you seen the poor little guy! I will keep you both in my prayers, please keep us posted.
Cindy Mom to Jae, Ashton, Briannah, Nevaeh & Addy & all my fuzzies! Breeder of Leu's, Mosaics, wfb, and standard grey's. Owner of www.MySugarAddiction.com
Re: Horrible compound fracture... may need amputat
[Re: ValkyrieMome]
#544412 05/06/0808:06 AM05/06/0808:06 AM
Oh My Goodness. So sorry you both are having to go through this.
It is times like these it is good to be prepared with a card in your wallet that lists all the glider knowledgable vets that will take calls from other vets. This way you can say I have a vet you can call to help you. Most will at that point.
So glad they were willing to do something. Will be watching this thread for an update.
I have known several members with three legged gliders. Although it will take him time to learn to live with his disability, I am sure it wont slow him down any.
I have two tri-pods that live here with me. One of them, Toffee had his front arm amputated at the shoulder and Camelot who came oop missing half his back leg.
Both gliders are energetic, playful and doing just great. There have been, over the years, many many tri-pods and most if not all live wonderful lives.
I'm sorry your little one is going through this as well as you. I know how much it hurts us to see them hurt like this.
620-704-9109 Judge not until you have walked in their shoes and lived their lives. What you see online is only part of the story.
I could have missed the pain But I'd of had to miss the dance
The soul would have no rainbow if the eyes had no tears.
Re: Horrible compound fracture... may need amputat
[Re: Dancing]
#544688 05/06/0801:31 PM05/06/0801:31 PM
I am exhausted mentally, physically and spiritually, but when I came to my thread, my heart was so uplifted by all the good thoughts and prayers that were sent my way! I am truly moved to tears.
This is how my day went today:
Drive 30 mins to suggie vet #1: They refused to see my little boy. Why? Because the vet has surgery and patients scheduled all day. I plead with them, explaining that this is an emergency, and can't they adjust their schedule to work him in? NO, they can't. Go see another vet, they tell me. I leave with tears in my eyes and a suffering glider in my pouch.
Drive another 30 mins to suggie vet #2: Well, she is also busy but if I leave my suggie there, she will try to take a look at him in between her surgeries and patients. Well, gee, all right....but haven't these people ever heard of the word "emergency" before? I guess not, so I leave my baby and pray that the vet checks him out soon. One hour later, the phone rings... the vet informs me that the case is too complicated for her to handle and that I will have to travel out of town to a specialist. I drive another 30 mins to pick my baby boy up, wiping away tears the whole way.
Drive another one and a half hours to specialist suggie vet #3: He is wonderful! This time I am shedding tears of relief, for I have finally found someone who can help! Very knowledgeable and confident and he agrees with me that the arm needs amputating. He tells me that he will be performing the surgery within the hour and he will need to keep Ben overnight to watch him. I can drive back tomorrow afternoon to pick him up. He calls me up twice with updates, and he is happy to report that all is going well so far.
Throughout all this, I have learned a hard, hard lesson, and I hope EVERYONE also learns from my experience. Don't assume that your emergency 24 hour vet will treat your glider.... you may be sadly mistaken. Don't assume that your "glider vet" will see your suggie in case of an emergency... you may also be sadly surprised. I HIGHLY recommend that everyone discuss this with their suggie vets and emergency clinics. Better get it settled now instead of when the emergency really happens.
In the midst of all the morning chaos, I snapped a few pictures of his arm that I may post later. They sure aren't pretty, but I am hoping they can be used for educational purposes at some point in time.
I will keep everyone updated and thanks for so much for all the support! It truly is heartfelt and genuine and I appreciate it more than you will ever know!!!!
I am a homeschool mom to four girls and seven sugar gliders; an annoying ponderer of deep thoughts; a purposeful meanderer on walks and strolls; a prayerful wonderer and marveler; a friend to many small creatures, and an Undercover Agent for the Kingdom which cannot be shaken...Nice to meet you!
Re: Horrible compound fracture... may need amputat
[Re: WholeheartMom]
#544809 05/06/0803:58 PM05/06/0803:58 PM
I am trully so very sorry it has taken so long for your baby to get the help it needed. I can not even imagin what you have been thru waiting like that knowing your baby is in trouble. Sending you lots of love and hugs.
Re: Horrible compound fracture... may need amputat
[Re: WholeheartMom]
#544811 05/06/0803:59 PM05/06/0803:59 PM
OMG! I am so sorry you are having to go through all of this! Please keep us updated on your little guy, Ben.
I hope all will be good and well. I know it will take some time adjusting but in the end it sounds like it will be alright! Lots of prayers sent to you and your little one!
Re: Horrible compound fracture... may need amputat
[Re: ]
#544827 05/06/0804:12 PM05/06/0804:12 PM
I am glad your baby is getting the help he needs. I can not imagine someone being too busy to see an injured animal it is so sad they just turn them away. I just keep telling myself maybe it was for a reason and that you now have him in what seems to be wonderful hands. God Luck Ben and hugs to you Momma. Get some rest as he will need you fresh and ready to hold him lots when he gets home. Thank you for the update.
Last edited by BCChins; 05/06/0804:12 PM.
Have a Good Day Brenda & Mr. Magoo
Friendly Reminder please have an e-collar ready before you need it......
Re: Horrible compound fracture... may need amputat
[Re: ]
#544828 05/06/0804:13 PM05/06/0804:13 PM
You all are sooo great!!! I can't imagine where me and my little boy would be without all the wonderful people here at Glider Central!
My mind is swimming with questions right now, and I guess I will have to just take it one day at a time. One of my most pressing concerns is that he won't be accepted back by his mother and father again. I am having him neutered (the vet agreed he could tolerate the neutering and amputation together) so that he can stay with his parents forever. However, will they reject him now because of his deformity?
I know he will have to be separated from them for quite a while as well. I just worry that he will end up being a solitary glider and I don't want that for him.
Any experience with these issues? Do gliders reject their own once they have have a major deformity or issue going on?
I am a homeschool mom to four girls and seven sugar gliders; an annoying ponderer of deep thoughts; a purposeful meanderer on walks and strolls; a prayerful wonderer and marveler; a friend to many small creatures, and an Undercover Agent for the Kingdom which cannot be shaken...Nice to meet you!
Re: Horrible compound fracture... may need amputat
[Re: WholeheartMom]
#544859 05/06/0804:41 PM05/06/0804:41 PM
Here are some pictures of his injury. The swelling had subsided quite a bit... probably due to the Baytril injection.
Warning: Photos are a bit graphic.
Great.... photos won't load! I will try again....
Last edited by WholeheartMom; 05/06/0804:42 PM.
I am a homeschool mom to four girls and seven sugar gliders; an annoying ponderer of deep thoughts; a purposeful meanderer on walks and strolls; a prayerful wonderer and marveler; a friend to many small creatures, and an Undercover Agent for the Kingdom which cannot be shaken...Nice to meet you!
Re: Horrible compound fracture... may need amputat
[Re: WholeheartMom]
#544868 05/06/0804:48 PM05/06/0804:48 PM
Trying again to add photos.... Looks like they took, but they are quite small. Anyway, you can see the bone protruding from the skin... so painful looking!
Last edited by WholeheartMom; 05/06/0804:57 PM.
I am a homeschool mom to four girls and seven sugar gliders; an annoying ponderer of deep thoughts; a purposeful meanderer on walks and strolls; a prayerful wonderer and marveler; a friend to many small creatures, and an Undercover Agent for the Kingdom which cannot be shaken...Nice to meet you!
Re: Horrible compound fracture... may need amputat
[Re: WholeheartMom]
#544869 05/06/0804:50 PM05/06/0804:50 PM
wow... sorry you guys have to go through all of that.... you should see if they(gc) can add that vet to its data base if not already there... where in fl are you...