I've had lots of CT's myself (not comparing myself to a glider, don't worry), and the best way I can describe it is as a fancier, slightly longer than usual x-ray....completely painless and over in 2-3 minutes...I'm interested to know though, how they are going to get an accurate result, seeing as though you need to lay/sit very still for a CT, much as you would do for an MRI...is someone going to be holding her still or will there be sedation involved? Please keep us updated, I really hope everything goes well for you and her....

Jess,

They will be sedating her. That's why our vet is involved. He will be performing the anesthesia himself since he is familiar with working on small animals.

Well, I hope everything goes smoothly and you get some valuable information out of the test...I'll be thinking of you, update us on how it went after it's over when you get a chance...

Samara had her CT today. It was quick and easy according to the vet and vet tech. We should hopefully have a diagnosis in a day or two and a plan of treatment. She was apparently a hit at the specialists though. They were taking pictures and she will be in their next newsletter!

Oh yea, our babies are a hit at the vet too. I use the UW vet College for my parrots and gliders and I have to take a book when I go because they steal the gliders to visiting to all the departments.

My gliders have a lot of god parents.

I just wanted to give an update on Samara. The results showed that she has a soft tissue mass behind her eye, in her cheek, and in her sinus cavity. She will have to go in to have a biopsy to determine if it is an abscess or a tumor. We are hoping it is an abscess. If so, her eye will have to be removed, everything cleaned, and a drain put in with lots and lots of antibiotics. If it’s a tumor, there really isn’t much that can be done since it’s gotten into her sinus cavity. I’m trying not to think about that scenario. I’m just praying and hoping it’s an abscess. I’ll update everyone when I know more.

Prayers coming your way!

I'm praying for you and your little one, I hope it's an abcess and nothing more....

Sending prayers your way.

Thanks for all the prayers everyone. It's really helping my husband and me through this. This is going to be a long post so I'll apologize now.

Samara had the biopsy last Thursday. During the procedure, she did stop breathing but was brought back very quickly. Anyway, we got the results back today and they were inconclusive. I'm so frustrated right now that I could scream! I just want to get my baby well! Our vet is currently consulting with several exotic vets at the University of Tennessee's vet department. Basically we have three options.

1) We send her to UT to have surgery to remove the eye and "try" to remove whatever is behind her eye and in her eye cavity. Our vet was very honest with me in that the possibility she won't survive this surgery is pretty high due to the sinus involvement.

2) We put her back on antibiotics long term hoping it's an infection. She could possibly have to be on them for the rest of her life.

3) I don't even want to discuss option number 3. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.

Right now we are currently waiting to see if UT can even do the surgery and if so how much it will cost. We might not even be able to afford it. Between Samara and my dog who had two surgeries six months ago we've almost maxed out our Care Credit card.

We have no idea what to do. We are so confused. I love my little girl so much and don't want to give her up. However, it's more important to me that we don't continue to put her through unnecessary pain. She's been through so much since we got her last September.

Never give up, it will all make sense in the end <3

I'd wait to see if any of the vets from UT that your vet is consulting with come up with any new insight....

You'll know what to do, your heart will tell you. I know you love her to pieces and only want the very best for her...

Don't give up quite yet, something may pull through yet! I'll be saying a prayer for your baby and you and your husband....

Thank you for the update Amanda. I'm so sorry that you are going through all of this. We will be keeping all of you in our thoughts and prayers.

We heard from UT today. They can do the surgery either next Tuesday or Thursday!!! And, best of all... the charge is only going to be between $400 and $600 which we can afford!!! She is going to have about 6 board certified vets working on her. The exotic vet department, the ophthalmology department, and the anesthesiology department will all have people there while her surgery is going on. They have been trained in microsurgery and have the equipment to blow up her tiny little anatomy to large proportions to make it easier to see.

Of course, there is still the risk that she won't survive the surgery. I'm trying very hard not to get my hopes to high. There are still just too many variables that could change things. But at least she has a chance.

Thank you everyone for all your support. It has definitely made the last few days of waiting easier.

Sending prayers that everything will go well.

Just a very quick update. Her surgery is scheduled for next Thursday. Since I absolutely cannot take off work next week, my husband is taking her. Also, our vet put her on antibiotics and pain meds to get her through until then.

Amanda, that's great news that at least they're giving her a fighting chance! Stay positive! With that big team of doctors working on her, she's going to receive the best care possible! I'll definitely be praying for her! By the way, Happy Birthday!

any updates on this baby?

I am so sorry I haven't updated lately! Samara still has not had her surgery yet. My husband took her up for it on March 23rd. When they got there, UT insisited on doing another (micro) CT which was free luckily. The did discover what caused the abscess originally. She has a tooth that broke off under the gums. Oddly, this didn't show up on either x-rays or the first CT. Anyway, to make a VERY long story short, we have scheduled the surgery for April 21st. She is to stay on amoxicillin until then. Since we put her on the amoxicillin about 2 and a half weeks ago, she has been like a different glider. She's still just as sweet as ever but she's MUCH more active. Once she has her surgery, I'll post another update! :-) Hopefully everything will go well.

Thank you so much for giving us an update! I'm so glad the Amoxicillin is helping, that's wonderful. I'm sure she will feel so much better to get that tooth outta there! Let us know how she does.

We are home again! YEA!!! Samara had her surgery yesterday and it went wonderfully. They removed the eye and any questionable tissue beneath it. She has had no problems so far which is wonderful! Dr. Jones said she was eating within minutes of waking up. He actually said she might want to come back because he's pretty sure she was seeing purple sugar gliders yesterday when she woke up. They had her on some heavy duty opiates afterwards. She's on pain meds right now and will continue the antibiotics for 6 more weeks. She'll have her sutures removed in two weeks. We are so happy she's home again and thankful for the vets at UT.

That is wonderful Amanda!

Well wishes for a speedy recovery.

Congrats on a successgful procedure and I hope her recovery is very quick!