Recovery

Virga and Cirrus had their follow-up appointment with the vet on Monday afternoon. The incisions were healing well and the ladies were freed of their e-collars before we left.  They both have lost weight the last ten days, about 8 grams each. Cirrus immediately started 30 minutes of cleaning every part of her body she could not reach while wearing the collar.  It was sort of comical in a way. You could just hear her thinking "Finally I can take a bath!"

We met the two surgeons who performed the surgery on Virga and Cirrus, and our vet  discussed the histopathology with us. Both gliders did have cancerous tumors, which wasn't surprising. However, the surprise was that Cirrus' cancer was more aggressive and there was evidence it had spread into the lymphatic system. As far as that is concerned all we can do at this point is wait and see. Both gliders have another follow-up appointment in a month.

Dr. W asked if we would mind if they published a case study of the ladies' diagnosis and treatment, and of course we immediately agreed. This would be published in one of the veterinary journals. Hopefully what Virga and Cirrus have gone through will benefit other gliders in the future. Dr. W and the staff at the University of Illinois VetMed Hospital were terrific throughout this whole ordeal.

We have two hurdles to jump before life is back to normal around here. Even though they were separated only 10 days, we will have to go through re-introducing Virga and Cirrus to CB and Foehn. A couple of nights ago night we brought Cirrus and Virga into the playroom in their small cage while Foehn and CB were running around. Foehn climbed up on the cage with Virga on the other side, and there was much crabbing and consternation. So, we have the pairs in separate cages and will begin the intro process again in earnest when the ladies have started eating normally again, Their appetite is the second hurdle.  They have been eating, but not very much, and that might be partly due to the antibiotic they were on. Tonight one of the vetmed students that works with Dr. W called to check on Virga and Cirrus. She suggested that we may want to move the cages apart on the chance that stress may be affecting their desire to eat. So, we will give that a try starting tonight.