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 Scratched Cornea led to eyeball rupturing

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hipbchik




Posts : 2
Join date : 2010-03-09

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PostSubject: Scratched Cornea led to eyeball rupturing   Scratched Cornea led to eyeball rupturing Icon_minitimeTue Mar 23, 2010 3:32 pm

Hi all,
First I have to apologize for not having any "before" pictures, but I will post pics from today and all forthcoming visits to Doc Tristan as I get them.

Mods, this will likely be long, so edit as you see fit; I won't be offended I promise.

A little background~Cinnamon is one of 5 gliders surrendered to Barnyard Animal Sanctuary a few months ago in Corpus. Pat saw a post on Craigslist, & of course they had this HORRIBLE sob story, so we jumped in the car, picked up Peggy, and ran to get them. They were malnourished, had horrible staining, and were living in the most disgusting cage I had ever seen. The people that surrendered them thought they had 5, and that one had been killed/died of unnknown causes. Once they saw the damage done to that poor glider they gave them up. Unbeknownst to them, at the time the glider was killed, they actually had SIX gliders. As you can see, they were less than properly cared for. They went immediately to Doc Tristan for wellness checks, were brought home, paired up into separate cages, and all the males neutered.

Now to the present day. About nine days ago, as I was feeding our zoo (we have a total of 20 gliders, six colonies in six cages), I noticed that Cinnamon's face was swollen; after just fighting Root Tooth Abcess for almost three months with Nippy (another glider in an other cage) I thought that's what we had here. I tried Nippy's Antibiotic for a couple days (HINDSIGHT: do not self medicate!! Seek Vet care immediately!!), while waiting to get an appointment with Doc Tristan; by the time we got in, (again only a couple days later), the swelling had increased, and it appeared she was going "blind" as the eye was now cloudy. We found out she had a scratched cornea; apparently there are 9 layers to the eyeball's cornea, & her scratch went through 8 of them. No way to know how it even happened: could have been an accident, could have been a fight with her man...we'll never know. I can't even tell you how horrible I feel about this knowing how much pain she must have been in!! We were given a topical antibiotic to put on the eyeball as often as possible. It was advised every 4 - 6 hours, but Doc Tristan told us if we could put it on every 2 - 3 hours that would be better, so that's what we did. All week long. She was still eating, running in the wheel, playing with me, just like normal.

So we get up this morning @0530, getting ready for the ride to Corpus. As I approach the cage, I am overwhelmed by the most horrendous smell, & know immediately this can't be good. Sure enough, as I pull her out of the pouch, she turns to me with this wide open, red rimmed bright white "eyeball" staring at me. Pat & I knew it was bad. We rushed to our appointment and our worst fear was confirmed. Her eyeball had indeed ruptured. Doc Tristan and Tiffaney put her under, cleaned the eye, and it was decided that we will stitch it up until next Monday to give it time to heal up a bit, then depending on her recovery, we will either remove the entire eyeball and stitch the eyesocket shut, or remove the eyelids, hollow out the eyeball and stitch the eyesocket shut. She's on Metacam for pain & Baytril every 12 hours until our next vist. She's doing fine as of now~was treated to a piece of "Pirate's Booty" and some juice on the way home, couldn't wait to get in her wheel, & then snuggle up with Nutmeg.

I will NEVER be able to express my gratitude and respect for Doc Tristan & his staff at Oso Creek Animal Hospital...he alowed us to go back and take photos so that we could share them here. He always takes incredible care of us, and takes ridiculous amounts of time out of his day to explain everything to us, walk us through all our options, pros & cons, and make sure we are completely clear on everything going on before we leave.

Photos are graphic, feel free not to look:


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valkyriemome

valkyriemome


Posts : 169
Join date : 2010-03-08
Age : 60
Location : Between a rock and a hard place.

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PostSubject: Re: Scratched Cornea led to eyeball rupturing   Scratched Cornea led to eyeball rupturing Icon_minitimeTue Mar 23, 2010 6:34 pm

OMG! Poor sweet Baby!

You know - in considering my possible upcoming move, I have to say, I seriously have considered living closer to Dr. Tristan in the new location options! He sounds just wonderful!

So glad that your baby is getting the care she needs.
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Something_To_Believe_In
Associate
Something_To_Believe_In


Posts : 4565
Join date : 2009-12-10
Age : 50
Location : Texas

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PostSubject: Re: Scratched Cornea led to eyeball rupturing   Scratched Cornea led to eyeball rupturing Icon_minitimeTue Mar 23, 2010 7:13 pm

Thank you so much for sharing this with us and for documenting this with great photos. This will be informative long into the future.

Please let us know how the follow up visits go.
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PostSubject: Re: Scratched Cornea led to eyeball rupturing   Scratched Cornea led to eyeball rupturing Icon_minitime

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