I am so glad you were able to have the C&S done. Organisms used to have predictable MIC patterns and you could count on certain bacteria being sensitive to certain antibiotics. Because of the bacteria mutating, you really have to get the C&S-same goes for people wounds, too.

Peeperkeeper- yes, you spelled chocolate right! We also inoculate CNA and Maconkey -CNA for gram positives and MAC for gram negatives. We also set up a broth tube which almost anything will grow in. Thankfully, we rarely have to inoculate our MIC's on plates anymore. We put some of bacteria in a tube of saline, select the proper MIC panel,and put it into a machine. As early as 4 hours later, the sensitivy prints! So, if the bugs cooperate it is possible to get a preliminary report as early as 24 hours after the culture was planted! We have come a long way!

Hope Carina is feeling better soon!

Well our vet appointment had to be put off until tomorrow. Dr Kaiser is going to be at the humane society all day today & had forgotten about his prior commitments when he had me make the appointment. So today, we will just continue to muddle along.
Rena seems to be feeling alot better today. She got to spend some time with her boys.....kinda..... I brought them into my room to play & she was in her crate in there. They all spent alot of time on/around the crate checking on their girl. She seemed happier after seeing them & smelling them, even if she couldn't touch.
Her appetite seems a tad improved. I have been feeding her small amounts every 2-3 hours. Yesterday she ate @ 1-1 1/2 teaspoons of PML, about 1/2 a spoonful of grape juice, at least 1 1/2 spoonfuls of yogurt (she seemed to really want her yogurt) and more mealies than I can remember. She also ate a little bit of mango baby food. Other than that she didn't really seem interested in anything I was offering her. Even a piece of baked chicken wasn't appealing to her. I'm saying that I feel her appetite is coming back tho because when I weighed her this morning she was 3 grams heavier than yesterday morning. So that's an improvement. I know that her diet isn't as balanced as I'd like, but right now I'm just grateful to get anything into her & to have her take it willingly.
Her incision is looking better today. After 2 cleanings last night, I managed to get most of the sticky/spiky fur cleaned off. Her little eye is finally starting to open back up. As of last night, it was matted shut. I tried softening the crusties around it with some warm water & I it must have helped some because she now has it squinted. It's something I'll have to work on it more today when I clean her incision. Hopefully by tonight she'll have it totally open again.
I promised you pictures of her. These are "pre-surgery". As you can see her little eye is shut here due to the swelling above her eye. Below her eye you can see the shaved spot where she has her previous abscess.
Top view of Carina's swollen face
Side view
Side view
And this one is after she had the abscess lanced & drained.
After Surgery

Poor little Rena You're right that it's more important to get food into her than to worry about balanced diet right now. Keep giving her whatever she'll eat. The yogurt's good for her to keep pro-bacteria in her system since the antibiotics will kill it off as well as the bad.
Hopefully Dr. Kaiser will have good news for you when she goes back in tomorrow

I'm sorry you have to wait another day...My thoughts and prayer are with you and Carina, Bless her little heart

LOL, I definitely know how to spell choklut One of my favorite things in the world! I wasn't sure about agar.

Wow, I guess I just let on how long it's been since path lab. It was fun, though, "scribbling" on the media plates and seeing what grew.

Chris, I'm glad Rena's feeling better.

Well, I've got mixed emotions about our vet visit today. On the positive side, Carina's abscess has drained well & is continuing to heal well.
However, I had a chance to talk with Dr Kaiser a little bit more about her abscess. Apparently where it is located has him a bit concerned. The abscess is/was located between her eye & the eye socket. This is apparently more common in bunnies & Dr Kaiser said that the pus that drained out smelled similar to what would have come out of a rabbits ocular abscess. However he won't know for sure until the culture comes back on Monday. What has me concerned tho, is that Rena is still squinting her eye. He told me it was because there was some inflamation still around her eye. It doesn't seem to be pus which is good. It's more like it's bruised. However at this point, he is not sure if the abscess' have damaged her vision in that eye or not. We are just going to have to play the waiting game & see what happens. Her vision could be as perfect as it was before, or she could have limited vision or even be blind in that eye.
Poor Precious.....she's had a tough time of it. Keep your fingers crossed that her vision wasn't effected.

Prayers headed your way - She is in great hands whatever the outcome.

i do beleive in the power of prayer. our lord jesus is in the business to do miracles today just as he did when he walked the earth. he said in his word you shall lay hands on the sick and the shall be healed. his creatures included. lay hands on carinas eye and ask jesus to heal her. he does do miracles. and our pets are included. I know people miraculously healed of cancer and other severe illnesses. our pets are Gods creation too. they can also be healed. just ask. Our God is the greatest physican

I put Baxter in with Rena today. It was a big comfort to her to have "Daddy" to snuggle with & protect her. She is feeling better tonight & had enough energy & spunk that I moved her out of the hospital "crate" and into my small cage. I provided plenty of hammocks for her just in case her balance is off but so far she is doing well. She doesn't have a wheel, but she does have things to climb on & look at & seems content. I think having Bax staying with her is making the biggest difference in her recovery. Also, after putting the opthamalic ointment in her eye it looks like it has opened up more than before.

Aw...good news, poor little girl! I hope having him there helps her heal faster!

We really do need a mealie "smiley"!!

Praying for her to get well Chris! Poor baby! She looks sooo sweet throughout this ordeal. She's in great hands with you, she'll get through this fine. Give her extra glider kisses and mealies for me!

Yesterday when I got home from work my poor Precious Carina's cheek had swollen up AGAIN! I called the vet & they got is in right away. Once more little Rena went into surgery to have her abscess lanced & drained. This time they opened up both above & below her eye.
Poor baby, she was crabbing even before she woke up from the anestetic. Then she started to bite. Again, thank you Teresa & Jen for warning me about this. I had her burrito wrapped, but boy, Rena is like an eel. She slithered out of the burrito wrapping before I could blink & bit the first thing she could reach. Luckily it was my finger rather than her foot.
So I brought her back home & she had to be away from her Baxter who was staying with her in the hospital cage. For the next few days, even the hospital cage is too big for her. She needs to stay in her travel crate until she gets her energy back.
She also went to work with me last night so I could keep an eye on her, make sure she ate some dinner & clean her wound during the night. I pulled her out @ 1:30 to clean her wound & as I was washing her face, PUS started coming out of her cheek! I think it all came out tho because her cheek isn't puffy any more & after wiping it down several times there wasn't any more pus. I called my vet back this morning & they said to keep an eye on her & if she starts to swell up again to get her in asap to have it drained again.

I am so sorry you both are going through this again...

Oh, this poor baby! Loads of prayers going out that this will be it for this little one! What a trooper. Keep us posted.

I am so sorry! Prayers your little one will heal fast and this won't happen again!

Chris, I'm so sorry that this is happening again! I'm here if you need to talk! Call anytime!!!! Sending Carina and you lots of "healing thoughts and prayers"

It's just sooooooooo frustrating! I want so much to make it all better for my little one, but I don't know what else I can do. She's on 2 kinds of antibiotics, gets her wounds flushed & has triple antibiotic ointment put on it.....I just feel helpless when it keeps coming back.

I wish I could make it better. We know you are doing everything possible and so does she. Keep giving her lots of love.

Oh Chris! I'm so sorry you and little Carina are going through this again!! I know it just breaks your heart to see her suffer that way. Sending lots of hugs and prayers your way!!!

I'm so sorry Chris.

Geez, Chris, so not fair for Carina or you! May this be the LAST episode for her .

Karin

aww...poor little baby!!
I hope she is ok!:)

Chris, like I said on the phone, MUCH better out than in...as long as it's draining it's not breeding and spreading on the inside. I hope it keeps coming out-abscesses are just not fun to deal with and I know she's uncomfortable. You're doing a great job caring for her, though! The wash & ointment will help to keep the wound clean and less friendly to the bugs still in there, while the oral meds are working from the inside. It's going to take time to heal, but she's in the best possible hands and I know you're on top of things. I'll call you tonight at work to check up on you two.

I'm so sorry Chris s to you and her!

Chris I'm so sorry to hear you are going through this.

to the the both of you!

Can I ask what has caused the abscess?

Ah Chris, I'm so sorry Any idea when the C&S results will come back in from the last abscess? I hope they come in soon for you

I'm so sorry Chris. Have you thought of having Dr. Sue look at her for a second opinion? It just seems like all your gliders have this plague of reoccuring sickness/injury/etc. I really hope she gets through this okay. Poor little girl!

Lynsie, if I thought that Dr Kaiser were not doing all that was possible for Carina I would definately get a second opinion. Absesses are tricky bugs to get rid of under the best of circumstances. With it being so near her eye it makes it that much more difficult to erradicate. It is difficult to flush due to the nearness of her eye and the type of abscess that it is. Apparently it is located between Rena's eyeball & the eye socket. A difficult place to reach under the best of circumstances. Until we know what medicine will work best on whatever is growing in there we don't know what will work best to kill it. We have sent the culture off, but it does take time to grow the bacteria & then more time to test it to see what kills it the most effectively. Until those results are back, we are going with a shotgun approach to the abscess. Rena is on 2 different antibiotics, one that is a good broad spectrum & a second that is good with anarobic bacteria. They may be what she needs or the bacteria may be something that those antibiotics don't touch, in which case we will need to switch her meds to something more effective.
Until we know for sure tho, the best that we can do is treat it shotgun & lance/drain the abscess if necessary.

I feel so sorry for you and Carina! It sounds like you are doing everything possible to help her to feel better!

Like you said, abscesses are a real pain! Especially in that area! I don't know about gliders, but bacteria cultured from that area of the body in people are difficult. You hardly every get a pure culture to work with. Also, anaerobes are frequently recovered from that area which may take 2 to 3 days to grow on the agar. Then they have to be isolated. I guess what I am trying to say is that it might take a little longer to get the results. It sounds like you and your vet are doing everything you can in the meantime.

I hope she feels better soon!