It's now Sunday morning, June 29th, and I don't think my beautiful little girl will make it to her surgery day.  The area ulcerated overnight and is about the size of a quarter.  Abbey doesn't seem to be in any pain, and her behaviour has not changed at all.  Still eating normally, and running in her wheel, but it makes me cry just to look at her.  My perfect little baby that I waited so long for is not well and it just breaks my heart.

Yesterday, I removed the lid from her sleeping area and placed it inside the Space Station.  Her food dish previously sat in the Palace, but I wanted to have everything within close reach for her, so I moved it next to her newly-positioned bed.  Her water bottle is close enough that all she will need to do is lift her head up to get a drink.  And, instead of the aspen bedding, I've replaced it with CareFresh.

Well, apparently none of this suits with her current needs.  Abbey spent the entire night awake, refusing to sleep in her relocated bed.  She stuffed all her food into her pouches and promptly moved it back into the Palace.  Such a stubborn little lady.  Will try again tonight, but I'm not holding out much hope.  It was my intention to have her totally moved into just the Space Station so as to minimize any possibility of her over-exerting or injuring herself upon her return from the hospital.  I believe she has other plans ...

At 9:45 am, we arrived at the veterinary hospital.  We were taken into one of the exam rooms, where her doctor explained all that was going to happen and answered my many, many questions on post-operative care.  As I had anticipated, he advised she be placed in an environment where she would not be able to do too much climbing.

The surgery went well, from a procedural point of view, and by 12:30, Abbey was back home - a very unhappy little girl, but alive and home, nonetheless.  Unfortunately, in the short 5-day span since her first examination, what had originally been only one tumour, now turned out to be three, once the operation was underway.  As Dr. Konarzewski was placing the protective collar around Abbey's neck, he found a fourth tumour.  And the long wait for the biopsy results begins.  It will be approximately 7 to 10 business days before they are available.  She is to have her stitches removed on the 17th, at which time, Dr. Konarzewski will advise the pathology of the three tumours removed this morning.  He is concerned that the disease has already metastasized.

Poor Abbey hates the cone-shaped collar, but there is no alternative.  She would chew the stitches out in a heartbeat.  The incision was closed with a special type of suture - Vicral - which Dr. Konarzewski feels will be less irritating than regular material.  This type of suture is generally used in ophthalmological surgeries.  Regardless, Abbey is having difficulty eating because she uses her hands to hold her food, but can't get her hands and arms around the collar.  She doesn't want me to hold the food for her, either.  So it's off to the pet store to try to find something that she will be able to manage for herself.

It's 3:15 pm, and she's only sleeping in fits and starts.  I imagine she's having extreme difficulty finding a comfortable position.  Not only does she have to contend with the pain associated with the surgery, she has this annoying collar around her neck that is preventing her from curling up in her usual ball position.  This is going very difficult for her and emotionally painful for me - it makes me cry to watch her suffer.  What's worse is that I am now worrying not only about her current situation, but the outcome of the biopsies.  If there's a malignancy, have I caused her unnecessary suffering by having the tumours removed?  Although at this point, the only other option would have been to put her to sleep because by last night, she was constantly chewing at the area.

My precious little friend - please recover quickly so that I can hold and cuddle you in my arms once again without fear of causing you pain.

Vance watched over her throughout the morning and afternoon and when I returned from work in the evening, he said that she had pretty much slept the whole day.  She has also managed to maneuver a large Critter Block into a position in which she can nibble at the end.  It's a lot of work, but at least she's getting some nutrition on her own.  A heating pad on the very lowest setting is in place underneath the end of her  house, covering about a fifth of the floor area, as the veterinarian explained rodents need to be kept quite warm after their surgery.  It was here that she curled up for most of the day.

This evening, it was time to come out and get a wee bit of exercise.  I removed the top enclosure of the house and allowed Abbey free run on the floor over which a clean sheet had been spread.  Finally, the little hamster could get some movement going and she scampered about, even while hindered by that darn collar.  I had to keep a close watch on her that she did not run too fast and bump into the towels I had set up as a perimeter.  With the collar, there is no way she can climb the fabric as the collar's edge won't slide over the towel material.  We played together very gently for about 30 to 40 minutes, with Abbey climbing on and off my hand and stretching her little muscles.  Snacks of broccoli and carrots and seeds, with sips of water in between, and then back into her house for a much needed nap.  I'm a bit worried about the collar and the rubbing of it on her neck.  So far, it doesn't show any visible signs of irritation, but I will reassess Saturday morning.  We may have to make another trip to the vet for his opinion.  13 days till it can be removed.

"An animal's eyes have the power to speak a great language." ~ Martin Buber