Hazel's Surgery

Good News Everybody,

Hazel had her surgery a few weeks ago. We were going to wait to until after the "Help for Hazel" drawing; however, the night after I posted details about the drawing we decided we better not wait. Poor little Hazel started hopping acting like she was in pain. For all of you that don't know much about rabbits, they are prey animals and as such never show symptoms of being injured or illness. That is why it took us finding a lump on her body to know that something was wrong.

Hazel the night before her surgery.

Right: Swollen nipple/tumorous area. Left: Normal nipple

On Monday the 12th, I dropped Hazel off for surgery. When I went to pick Hazel up that evening they had good and bad news. Hazel was doing exceptionally well. She handled the surgery and was awake. However, they had bad news, when they went in to spay her they found cancerous tumors on her uterus. They were able to remove all of the tumors and we can only hope that Dr. Harris was able to remove all of the cancerous cells. During the surgery, they photographed the tumors with a phone camera to be able to show me what they looked like. I didn't post those images because I thought some people might find them gross: however, if you want to leave a comment on this post and I will.

The night after surgery.

The next two days were rough on everyone. First of all, we barely could get Hazel to eat anything, and she wouldn't drink. When I called and talked to the vet about these problems they suggested trying sweet veggie baby food. However, the only way to get it down her was with a syringe. She had an orange for a few days. And the second problem was trying to give her medication twice a day, also with a syringe. She didn't mind the taste of the anti-inflammatory/pain medication, but she hated the antibiotics. Of course, those are the ones that we had to give to her for over two weeks.

After the first few days Hazel was doing better and her check-up at the vet went well. It has been a slow healing process, but now Hazel is now better than her old self. Although I am wondering how long she will hold a grudge against me for the medications. :)

Hazel recovering on her bed (which I made).

Hazel investigating .

The last few days have been wonderful. Hazel's hair is almost grown back and the incisions are healing nice. And she is even standing up again. This week I have been able to work on several paintings and little Hazel-Ra has been right there with me either on or under my feet. Thank you again for everyone's help, we couldn't have done it without your support!