As you will know from reading this blog, three years ago Whisky had a difficult surgery to remove a cork-screw shaped tooth root that was growing through his head. The growth had left a lot of damage in its wake leaving him prone to infections in his tear duct and nose, so periodically he has had courses of antibiotics to clear them up. With so many doses, the vet always said that there may come a day when he stops responding to the antibiotics and there will be nothing more we can do for him. I would have been very sad if that had happened soon after putting him through such a traumatic surgery, but happily he has done pretty well since considering. Although he has had a catalogue of other issues (bonding injuries, fur mites, ear abscesses, snapped tendon, thorn stuck up his nose...) he has always been a little fighter and pushed through with a bounce in his step. I have been blessed to have such a special little boy who despite having more challenges thrown at him than most bunnies get has somehow out-lived all my other rabbits.
So here we are, three years on, and poor Whisky has had a bit of a miserable week. On Wednesday he went in for x-rays to see if there were any new tooth-root-related issues causing his latest eye and nose emissions. This involved staying at the vets for the day and being put under anaesthetic, neither of which Whisky was very happy about. He came home still slightly groggy and didn't really recover for several days, choosing to spend all his time upstairs looking miserable. How much is the after-effects of the anaesthetic, how much is the daily antibiotics, how much is the grumpiness at me for inflicting it all on him and trying to avoid me I am not sure. Towards the end of the week I carried him downstairs to the garden and he seemed to have fun outside, yesterday he came down and demanded to be let out in the morning, but all of his daily routines of adventuring around the house have stopped.
The results of the x-rays showed that there are no serious issues with his tooth roots. This is not the good news it might appear since all that leaves us to treat him is his current antibiotics, the last antibiotic to be shown in his cultures to have any effect on the bacteria in his nose and tear duct. But despite several weeks of it, this time it is not clearing the infections.
Since he moved in to my house, I don't think there has been a single one of his birthdays when I have thought he would live to see the next. But then he is constantly surprising me with how resilient he is, so who knows what the coming weeks and months will bring. As always, I will just try to enjoy and treasure every single day I get to share with him, even the grumpy ones.
This is so hard to hear. I have heard that for humans it takes a long time to get the anesthetic out of one's system. I wonder if bunny saliva has something in it that keeps bacteria at bay. If he only had a bunny to lick his face. I am kind of mechanically oriented and really think that more washing with soap could help. A friend of mind once told me you don't need antibiotic soap because "real" soap will always break the bacteria's membranes. Could Whiskey have some allergies. Everybody here is suffering with some variety of our many pollens/pollutants. Could he have some kind of food reflux issue that causes bacteria to breed in these passages? Would he be better off without the other bunnies around for a while? I have a "sanitary" cycle on my washer and dryer. What about keeping him in a play area with a blanket washed that way? In people, I think tear duct and ear problems can be related to which side they sleep on. Tell your little guy to get well. Ask him what he thinks will boost his immune system. I am sure those suggestions will keep you busy. Pet his head like you do for those other bunnies. Maybe that will help keep yucky stuff draining. Please know how much we care about you and your Rascal.
ReplyDeletepoor baby,give him an extra snuggle from me,xx Rachel
ReplyDeleteHe is a lucky boy to have such an amazing "Dad".
ReplyDeleteI've become such a Whisky fan... Us dumb humans could seriously learn something from buns like him.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, my Jamili suffered from a naso-lacrimal infection that was causing horrid abscesses. The last one left a scar that is still visible. Our vet had to do some serious digging to try and find the culprit. After consulting with some other vets she decided to treat for bacteria that are difficult to grow in culture. In other words, treat her for a bacteria we didn't know she had because it hadn't grown in a lab. That did it... You're right though, antibiotic resistance is an awful thing. One thing I learned from this eerience is that sometimes vets have to work in a team. Do you know if Whisky's vet has consulted with others?
Anyway, give Whisky some extra treats for me. Lil' dude deserves them! :)