So last night I noticed Gerald's left eye was pretty swollen. It wasn't like that the night before. I called a couple e-clinics and all agreed that it could probably wait until morning to be looked at. He was bouncing around the cage and eating well so I was OK with that.

This morning I took him to 2 different vets. The first was a doctor at my own clinic that I work at. We found out he's "skinny" at 70g, according to a book she had open, even though I handle the gliders on a daily basis and I myself hadn't noticed any weight loss (he eats like a pig too). Of course I felt terrible, I figured that it can be hard to catch things like weight loss and maybe it had just slipped past me. So we decided it could very likely be a tumor (we did Gerald's tonometry and it came back normal, ruling out glaucoma).

I wanted to take him to a different specialist just to be sure. This particular doctor first of all said he is fine with Gerald being 70g. That is normal to him and he sees gliders very frequently. So that made me feel better... I'm like, "Well I really didn't think I felt a difference!" and being as picky about details as I am, I really would have noticed. But the doctor also said it looks like it could be a tumor, but he's seen these things clear up before with trial treatment for eye infections, and since the cornea itself does have an ulcer he'd be willing to try antibiotics and pain meds.

The first doctor decided that the ulcer could be secondary to the eye buldging out if there is a tumor behind it. However all 3 of us agreed that it's hard to tell and it's worth a shot to trial treat.

So in about 4-5 days if I don't see an improvement, or if he gets far worse, we may be looking at enucleation (removal of the eye). However, I'm stuck, because I am not very sure what Gerald's quality of life would be if it is in fact a tumor. With enucleation solve his problems or would it make it worse?

I'm just hoping the meds help. I've got him on meloxicam once a day for the pain, Baytril twice a day for an antibiotic, Trithalmic topical antibiotic, and some eye drops to help keep his eye moist since it's so large, he can't even blink it.

Has anyone else experienced this before?

I just went downstairs to give Gerald an eye drop... he's being such a good boy. It almost seems like he can feel the relief when I medicate his eye.

I'm sorry that this has happened to Gerald. I really can't give you an answer about quality of life because I would think it would depend on the extent of the surgery. There are certainly gliders that have lost their eyes and do just fine.

I hope that things clear up for him with the medication and this isn't even something you will have to worry about.

I suppose my question is, if it's a tumor would it even be worth it? What if it's already spread too far? I agree... hopefully I won't even have to worry about it.

I'll have to ask for a lot of prayers over the next couple days.

That would be something to talk to your vet about. Surgery like that is very serious and you will likely receive very strong opinions from both sides. Some people want to do absolutely everything possible to prolong life, some people question the quality of life versus time after a procedure like that.

It is a very personal decision to make and you are the only one that can make it for your boy. You know him best. Talk everything out with your veterinarian(s), make sure they are very honest about ALL of the treatment options they are aware of and possible outcomes of each.

My prayers are with you and your boy.

Mine are too.....thinking of you!

Thank you for the support... I will just cross that bridge when I come to it. I agree, it is a very personal decision, and I loathe that I may have to make it very soon. But I will keep hoping that he shows improvement.

Sending prayers and good thoughts your way. It is a hard decision to make. A lot of animals do well with an eye removed some do not.

There are gliders on this board that are living with blindness and doing well. It is a personal and difficult decision to make. It is also one that is best made with as much information as you can get.

Perhaps an x-ray would help determine if it is a tumor or just the eye.

Best Wishes, please keep us updated.

Good thoughts and prayers for you!

Definitely praying for you!

You are both in our thoughts and prayers.

Thank you everyone. I have considered getting an x-ray done since I do have that capability available to me at work.

This morning Gerald's eye seems to look better. I believe the swelling has gone down a bit. He ate a lot as usual and willingly took a couple mealies from me this morning. But his whole cornea still looks grey and he still can't see out of it.

I know I'm just getting a little bit anxious, he's only been on meds for not even 24 hours now. But at least he's comfortable.

Just hang in there! We are all here for you. You are doing a fantastic job caring for Gerald.

You should take your concerns to the Sweet Spot Forum.....I know Anita has gone through a similar situation and the story is posted over there

I am so happy to hear that the swelling may be going down!!!

Blindness by itself will be something that he will quickly adjust to, particularly if it is only in one eye. My comment above was more about the possible extent of surgery than just the loss of the eye/eyesight.

Yes, Gretchen. I know I believe we can still make his life happy and comfortable if he ends up just being blind in one eye. That's no reason to lose him! If it's not a tumor he will most certainly heal and be back to his normal self soon. If it is, our trial treatment won't help improve his situation (which for the time being, I think it is definitely helping).

We just went downstairs again to give Gerald another eye drop. He's becoming more accustomed to being disturbed and doesn't struggle as much when we're messing with that eye lol. Makes it so much easier to make sure we're medicating him properly, all the more important for his recovery.

He'll be accompanying me to work for the next several days while I still have to administer meds/drops during the day. I'm sure the other techs will love playing with him and helping me care for him. They were very helpful yesterday when I had to bring him in He'll love the attention, too!

Tonight, Gerald is out and about eating the feast I've prepared for them... but his eye seems a little more pink around the lids. He kept spooking when I had my hand in the cage. Sigh. At least he is eating still.

Sending Prayers for Little Gerald.

I am hoping Gerald is doing better. My little gal has a swollen eye that we thought was from a little fight she got into with another glider but now I'm not so sure. The first day it was a little swollen and we saw the vet. Recommended watching it and the next day it was alot better. Since yesterday though it has reswollen and has some puss coming out. So I will be calling in the morning. I used some heat and a little water to clean the area up. She now can open it and seems to be doing things okay. I am hoping all goes well for both ours.

Oh- more prayers coming everyone's way. I hate seeing posts where health issues exist. I know it is a fact of life, but dangit!!!!

Here is the run-down on everything that has happened.

The swelling started to go down and soon the eye was back to normal size, but still cloudy with a visible ulcer and oozing pus. I continued treating with baytril, meloxicam, and the eye ointment and drops.

A week ago we decided that the eye was so badly abscessed it just had to come out. We performed the enucleation procedure at my place of work. It was a success... Turns out there was a more severe ulcer than I had expected, hidden under his upper eyelid. It was so severe, we could actually see his lens sticking up through it. BUT... it least it wasn't a hidden tumor!!

Within 5 minutes of coming off gas, Gerald was up and bouncing around like nothing had happened. It's almost been a week and he hasn't touched his sutures. I've seperated him from Stephanie because I don't want her to try and pick and them, but their cages are side-by-side so they can still see and smell each other.

Still eating well and being his normal active self. The stitches will either fall out soon or be removed in another week. He looks FABULOUS!

Thats great news Kara. I am so glad Gerald is on the mend. Sending healing prayers.

That is wonderful news! Keep on healing Gerald!

Hooray for Gerald. I couldn't ask for better news to start my day
Can't wait till he is back with his Stephanie

That is wonderful news glad he is healing!!

What wonderful news!!!! I'm so happy for you both of you!

I'm happy to hear that he is doing better!

Thanks everyone, for your well wishes.

I feel blessed to have been able to take a role in such a procedure... I learned a lot, and I am glad that Gerald seems to be feeling much better.

To be honest I feared the worst, and that's what I prepared myself for. However, he did so well throughout surgery and is continuing to do so well post surgery, I feel like all my burdens have been lifted.

I knew that I could just not let him go without trying to help him, without letting him know that I love him dearly and I will do everything in my power to allow him to live a comfortable life.

There was a complication -

The "not-eye" abscessed and we had to remove the stitches on Sunday to allow the open cavity to drain.

At least 0.5 mls of pus drained out... not good.

Couldn't find the source of infection; Rx'ed Baytril injectible now instead of oral, Trimethoprim Sulfa orally, and back on Meloxicam orally.

He's doing well, getting used to injections twice a day, being my good little boy

The pus has crusted and as of tonight there isn't any swelling so I think it has stopped.