Hey ya'll
I am writing this because I need to "talk" about it. Honey's condition has taken a turn for the worst. She was up all night, crying from pain and irritation and when I checked up on her, was quite astonished to find that the scab on her leg had fallen off. In its place: a gaping wound resembling nothing more than a black, sticky hole. I didn't have to be a veterinarian to know that this was bad news and so I snapped a picture, and sent an urgent email to our Doctor, Jenny. Within the next few hours I had gotten a reply. I had to come in with Honey and the news just gets worse.
From what I understand, based on my limited knowledge on veterinary terminology, Honey has a genetic condition which causes the muscles to deteriorate under the skin. The problem, when it starts, is often unnoticeable and may present itself in signs such as very minor looking wounds, redness, or loss of hair (symptoms which are, incidentally, more commonly recognized as that caused by overgrooming). Indeed, due to the sensation of discomfort under the skin, the glider would indeed exhibit signs of overgrooming or self mutilation such as excessive scratching and biting. Over time, contaminants such as bacteria from the glider's saliva get into the wound and accumulate there exacerbating the process, causing the surrounding tissue to become necrotic. By the time the scab falls off and the owner finds out how serious the condition actually is. Well... In Honey's case, the problem started on her left hip causing weakness in the attached limbs which may also explain how she came to dislocate her ankle in the first place.
According to Doctor Jenny, the problem probably resulted due to an illegal shipment of gliders from Indonesia that were carriers of the rogue gene. The problem itself is quite a recent development and the affected gliders are all likely to be progeny of interbreeding between the Indonesian glider stock, and the local gliders thus contaminating the DNA. I have given consent for Honey's tissue samples to be sent to a lab so that research can be done to prevent, and hopefully event cure the problem. As of this moment, the condition still looks grim and I am told to "be prepared". To be honest, I don't think I can ever "be prepared" for a moment like this.
From what I understand, based on my limited knowledge on veterinary terminology, Honey has a genetic condition which causes the muscles to deteriorate under the skin. The problem, when it starts, is often unnoticeable and may present itself in signs such as very minor looking wounds, redness, or loss of hair (symptoms which are, incidentally, more commonly recognized as that caused by overgrooming). Indeed, due to the sensation of discomfort under the skin, the glider would indeed exhibit signs of overgrooming or self mutilation such as excessive scratching and biting. Over time, contaminants such as bacteria from the glider's saliva get into the wound and accumulate there exacerbating the process, causing the surrounding tissue to become necrotic. By the time the scab falls off and the owner finds out how serious the condition actually is. Well... In Honey's case, the problem started on her left hip causing weakness in the attached limbs which may also explain how she came to dislocate her ankle in the first place.
According to Doctor Jenny, the problem probably resulted due to an illegal shipment of gliders from Indonesia that were carriers of the rogue gene. The problem itself is quite a recent development and the affected gliders are all likely to be progeny of interbreeding between the Indonesian glider stock, and the local gliders thus contaminating the DNA. I have given consent for Honey's tissue samples to be sent to a lab so that research can be done to prevent, and hopefully event cure the problem. As of this moment, the condition still looks grim and I am told to "be prepared". To be honest, I don't think I can ever "be prepared" for a moment like this.
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