Maximillion
 AKA :
I'm A Believer
BeBoo
(June 24th, 2004 - Sept 8th, 2004)

        Its been a long time since a ferret has stolen my heart as this one has.
Meet Maximillion---- a very frail and needy baby.

This is his Story

Maximillion was only 8 weeks old when I met him, he was in a lot of trouble!

Mary and I went to the Ohio Buck Eye Bash (in Columbus) where we were introduced to him.
 

His Story:

Max (for short), was borne June 24th, 2004 at a breeders home.  He was well taken care of
until the one day he was introduced to a litter from a different mom ;-(

Breeder Mom put him & his brother & sisters into a Playpen (see through), and was cleaning their
cage.  Once she finished with that one, she moved to another cage to clean.



Mary & I have been a shelter for over 7 years, and know how confusing it can be, getting out
multiple cages at a time.
Well in the meantime - she opted to put the other Litter into the playpen at the same time. 

That's when it all happened.

(Note:   This Breeder is a very knowledgeable, hard working, Loving and caring person.)

 She had gotten a Plexiglas playpen for 2 reasons.  One so her boys couldn't get out and 2.) so she could watch the
babies play. When she put the other litter into the playpen,  She heard some squabbling and returned to find 1 of the
older kits dragging Max by the scruff. She pulled him out and let the rest play. He was fine and this was late afternoon.          
  The next day she had to go to work and decided to feed everyone a little early.  When she got to Cindy's cage (the Mom), she was greeted with little faces and 1 dragging up the ladder.  As she took him out (he had his right side to the back of the cage)
She noticed his head pulled back and to the right. At first she thought it was a seizure, but when she set him on the floor it was
evident to her that that was not the case. 
        She called the vet, got ready for work and took him straight to her vet.  Doc said he didn't think it was an injury 
but something that he has had since birth that just now showed up.  She was open to the idea but found it hard to swallow as
she would have seen something from the lines before now.  For him to have a concussion, she thought he must have hit his head on
the wood trim. It's the only thing that doesn't give and hard enough to do damage to the still soft head of an 8 wk old.
She love's her kids and feel's that she has been contributing to making a better and stronger pet.
It is going to take her a long while to get over this one  ;-(
  


Once she found out he needed help and needed meds (but she had to work), Another person named
 Laura stepped up to the plate and took Maximillion in ;-)   She named him BeBoo'
She gave him his meds & hand fed him, 16cc every feeding. (he wouldn't eat on his own)

Next comes the Ohio Show

Mary and I went to the Ohio Show in Columbus. While we were at the show, Laura & the owner
approached us and stated that they didn't know what to do !! Time was running out & they needed help!!!
Mary and I talked and I told Mary that I have the time (since I'm retired) to take care of the baby .
SO throughout the show, a lot happened  --  first we had to get the boy here for examination,
to view what we were against!!   Thank God he sent us a friend (that was at the show)
that has adopted from us and works at a fantastic Veterinary  Hospital !
She examined Max and found he was in dire need of help ;-(

This is where true friendship pulls through:

Susan, Art (her Husband)  and Karen left the Ohio show (with Max), went home for a moment
then left there - and went to her place of employment in Auburn Hills Michigan. (a 5 Hour Drive).

Michigan Vet Specialists  -  AH

Normally they don't see ferrets , but since Susan works there, they made an exception!

Through thorough examination and x-rays, it was shown that Maximillion had a version of
Baby Shaken Syndrome .

Here they are:

After  -   He came home ( Aug. 30th), and I was given a schedule of a feeding & medication routine.
When he was there  --  he was also giving a feeding tube & c-Line (incase an emergency came up)

                       The thin line is the c-line

                                      The thick line is the feeding tube

                                           Then I was given a schedule of::
                                             9cc's  on the feeding tube every 4 Hrs
                                        and flushing the c-line every 4 Hrs,
                           giving Carafate every 6 hrs
                     Clavamox every 12 Hrs

These are pics of Max's first night at our home

Laura gave us a ball & Karen gave us an angel to stay with Max to keep him safe

He spent Two days in the hospital , then came home to his Mom & Dad

I decided to take care of him since Mary was going back to work and I was retired

He did fine the first night.  He ate all his food and took his meds just fine
Then the next day he really perked up and took everything I would give him! That's when
he decided to bite my finger :-)   That was OK (I thought), because he wanted more food & faster!!!

The next day I spoke with Susan, and she told me that was a good sign and to keep up
the good work.   The next day - he was himself, and began to eat & bite dad again (this time he drew blood!!)
I told Mary, she laughed and said that's a good sign.   So I figured that since two people told me that, I would
come up with an idea to give him something special.  Actually - I thought he was more hungry than I was feeding
him. So I decided to give him some extra food, (of course after I was told by my experts, and given their Ok).
    I started to give him ( after his normal feeding ), some chicken baby food.
GOD  he loved it (as you can tell by these pics)!!!!!!!!

After his meal - Max decided to take a 1/2 hour walk around our family room.
Mary & I watched him very carefully, but he seemed to tire quickly!

We put him to bed that night  --  When he woke up for his 2am feeding, he
wasn't doing well :-(   I've been the caregiver throughout the nights, but
haven't noticed anything like this before!!  After his 10am feeding , I tried to put him on the ground to walk, but
noticed that he only walked backwards???  I told myself that that's not good.
He went on the whole day that way.   The next day in the morning - he took his meals
very well and started to walk forward, but staggering.    Throughout these last few days
he hadn't taken to the chicken baby food, nor did he have any desire to walk anywhere!!

On Labor Day we went through our schedule of getting our kids out and feeding Max,
only difference was , as I was feeding Max, every time I squeezed his plunger he would gasp
for air & looked like he was having a seizure

Mary & I decided to get in contact with Susan and ask her what to do, she advised us to take him to MVS
So that we did, it only took us 20 min. to get there (normally 40).

They took x-rays - and through a thorough examination, found that he had
Aspirated Pneumonia.  ( God rip our Hearts out with a Fork!!!)

They put him in an incubator and inserted a intravenous line & gave him Oxygen!
They told us to go home, that there wasn't anything we could do that night ;-(

Next morning we called, he was doing fine but in the same shape.  Later the next morning
they called and said that they had to resuscitate him and wanted to know what I
wanted to do???   -----   I told them to keep him alive!!!

The next day they called at 6:45am  --  They had told me that he was doing fine,
but then, after the breeder had called, he passed 10 minutes later.
They wouldn't tell her anything - so she took Max's Mom (Cindy) to him.
By that time Max was gone ;-((((

She held Cindy to Max and his Mom tried to revive him  -  Breeder Mom gave him
a big Kiss and told him she was Sorry

Is there a moral to this tragedy ?   --  NO  --  Just Love Your Babies
You'll Never Know When Its Their Time

He Was Only 10 Weeks Old
 

Bless Them All

Love Ferret Dad :    Kris S. Mewton