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July
9, 2008
Once again, Abbey has proven
just how smart she really is ... she has figured out how to manipulate
the sheet at the edge of the barrier in order to make her "escape" from
her playpen. I can't imagine why she would want to get out of there
as it's quite a large area over which she can roam freely. But I
guess it's her way of keeping herself occupied. If she didn't have
the cumbersome cone around her neck, I'm pretty certain she would be acting
like her old self. Of course, that would include nibbling at the
surgical site - an activity that cannot be allowed.
I've taken a few photos of
the little animal, showing the incision, and how she's adapting to her
circumstances, but haven't had time to get them up here. Working
one full-time job and one part-time job leaves only a limited amount of
time in the evening, and most of that is devoted to playing with Abbey
right now.
I've been calling the house
in which she is currently set up her "surgical bed" as it's outfitted entirely
with CareFresh bedding, and all toys, blocks, wheels, litter box, climbing
logs (anything on which she could inadvertently run her incision against)
have been removed. She has only her food and water in there, which
is what makes getting her out into the playpen area daily even more critical.
Abbey could become bored very easily if she didn't get enough stimulation
to simulate her ball-rolling and wheel-running play times. So far,
I seem to be able to keep her amused by laying on the floor with her. |
July 10, 2008
I had to create a hamster
corral now that Abbey is getting more and more mobile. Plus, my knees
and back are really sore from crouching down on the floor with her for
extended periods. I took two cardboard boxes, each 12 inches in height,
and cut the bottoms out, sliced down one corner of each box, and spread
the now single layers out on the counter. I taped both parts together,
forming an enclosure. Obviously, she cannot be left unattended in
her new corral as she would chew through the boxes in no time at all.
But that's not the purpose anyhow. I built the corral to keep Abbey
safe while we play together. Spreading her sheet on the kitchen table,
I positioned the corral on top, bringing the sheet up each outer side of
the enclosure and securing it with clothes pins. Now Abbey was secure
and we were at eye level for the evening.
When she first came out into
the new play area, she was walking backwards in circles. It took
me about 20 minutes before I could get her to stop long enough to investigate
what might be causing this unusual behaviour. And it took another
20 minutes to get her to allow me to fix the problem. Abbey had managed
to wedge a piece of the CareFresh bedding between the collar and her neck,
and it was irritating her to no end. It was difficult to see though
because the collar fits so snugly. With a pair of tweezers used for handling
rare stamps (flat, and rounded) I was able to free the wayward piece of
bedding, whereupon Abbey immediately stopped walking backwards in circles.
Happy again, she resumed her nightly activity of scampering about the enclosure,
snacking on fresh vegetables, seeds, and popcorn, and generally making
the best of her situation.
Click on the thumbnails for
larger photos of a Abbey during her recovery period. WARNING:
photos show very clearly the incision and the stitches.
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July 11, 2008
I stayed home from work
today as I was not feeling well at all. Since Abbey was first diagnosed,
I've lost my appetite and haven't been sleeping very much either.
Guess it all just caught up with me. But that turned out to be a
blessing in disguise as the little hamster managed to wriggle out of her
protective collar during the night. My son, Vance Jr., came over
to try to help get it back on, but Abbey was having no part of that procedure.
She was ecstatic to be free of the collar, yet she's not sufficiently healed
to have it permanently off. She immediately set about working on
her stitches, which meant constant supervision and attempts to distract
her until she could be seen by her doctor.
Dr. Konarzewski explained
that the collar had been placed while under anaesthesia, and that it would
be no small feat to get the thing back on. He, and three technicians,
set about getting Abbey refitted with her cone. When he returned
the tiny girl to me, she was once again safe from gnawing. Unfortunately,
Dr. Konarzewski confirmed what I had suspected - two more tumours have
erupted since Monday. Poor little Abbey - my most fervent hope is
that she can survive long enough after the cone and stitches are removed
so that her last days can be free, unencumbered, and relatively comfortable,
with lots of love and cuddling. |
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Born May 4, 2007
“All that breathes is precious.
Who is to say that the suffering of an animal is less worthy of solace
than the pain of
man? The spark of
life is no dimmer simply because it is encased in fur or leather.” ~ Anonymous |
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