fishy brain surgery

How far would you go to save your beloved fish? Had to share this article. I was unable to run the video but the article covers it with photos. Amazing stuff.

http://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/articles/george-the-goldfish-undergoes-brain-surgery/35938/

Wow! Just...wow!!

People made fun of hubby and I when we spent out thousands of dollars for multiple surgeries for our guinea pig. Let's just say we ate rice for a looooong time. I remember thinking, why wouldn't we? We took him in and, just like a human baby, he was depending on us to survive.

If we had a fish with a tumour and there was a vet around here that could save him, would we scrounge up the cash to have it done? Most likely, the answer is yes!  

What a lucky little fish - Pretty cool story, I can't wait to share it with hubby.

Interesting and George is one lucky fish. I do not think I would go that far to save a fish, at least not at this time although he has been with the family a long time. The procedure would have been very difficult.

Wow.
This is a very loving family that truly cares about their fish.
We have to get these guys initiated to the forums!

I'm always of two minds about these things. My neighbours' dog had an inherited cancer - totally incurable. They put him through chemo in the hopes of having him an extra six months. The dog looked miserable and sick, and was clearly suffering for the eight weeks it bought him. He never had a good day or (obviously) a clue about what was going on. He was just really sick for longer. Really, only the vet did well (very well) from the procedure, and the family is now short of cash to help their kid through university. It looked really rough on the dog. Now it looks rough on the family.
Hopefully, George the goldie gets through and the family gets what they wanted for their money.

cute story and I hope he does well.

With so many fish it's hard to get really attached to any of them. There is one however I would move heaven and earth to do what I could for. Tigger is a very special fish and I would be crushed if anything every happened to him. If it meant spending several hundred dollars to fix some issue he was having I would do it in a heart beat. If I was reasonable sure it would mean a better quality of life. If it was just a matter of prolonging his pain then no, I would be forced to call it.

Sbenson11 wrote:cute story and I hope he does well.

With so many fish it's hard to get really attached to any of them. There is one however I would move heaven and earth to do what I could for. Tigger is a very special fish and I would be crushed if anything every happened to him. If it meant spending several hundred dollars to fix some issue he was having I would do it in a heart beat. If I was reasonable sure it would mean a better quality of life. If it was just a matter of prolonging his pain then no, I would be forced to call it.

I agree...there is a difference between prolonging life and earning quality experience, and prolonging life, but only enduring pain. With our skinny pig, the surgery prolonged his life in a positive way. We, however, were told it could go either way, but we took the chance, and he lived a much longer life, was healthy, and playful for his remaining years.

Maybe I am a goof - but I feel life is worth fighting for, especially if there is a possible cure! When the cure or procedure does not work, Well, we can say we tried to sustain life - did our best. Whether dog, cat, fish, or human. We all breath and we rely on others for support, at least to a certain degree.....some more than others, of course!

I will admit that it is easy to get lost when you have several fish that look alike. We have names for most of our fish, some I cannot tell apart, especially the gold barbs and denison barbs (though a few of them have distinct markings or shapes, e.g. Blue the gold barb). When a fish, however, demonstrates difficulties, I generally notice almost right away. If it happens to be a fish I recognize well and have come to love deeply (yes, I am "that person"!), I feel completely torn. If it is a fish I do not recognize (e.g. One of the barbs), I immediately become familiar and an interesting thing happens.....I become completely dedicated, and that fish suddenly has a true name and meaning. Either way, hubby and I are wiling to eat rice if it means finding a way to make these guys comfortable and content while living in our glass box.

Oh my, I am a sap, aren't I?!

If you have a shot at a cure, go for it. I agree. If it's prolonging the inevitable for a fish, then maybe not. These are hard decisions, always calls we have to make.

GaryE wrote:If you have a shot at a cure, go for it. I agree. If it's prolonging the inevitable for a fish, then maybe not. These are hard decisions, always calls we have to make.

Well said, and very true.

Ps - amazing how you can sum something up with such meaning in just a few words, and yet, I ramble on, and perhaps never get my point across! Maybe it has something to do with my job - I have to be silent and listen for the most part, which I enjoy, but, perhaps this causes me to explode with thoughts on our forum!

Shell wrote:

Well said, and very true.

Ps - amazing how you can sum something up with such meaning in just a few words, and yet, I ramble on, and perhaps never get my point across! Maybe it has something to do with my job - I have to be silent and listen for the most part, which I enjoy, but, perhaps this causes me to explode with thoughts on our forum!  

That shows how good of an (anglophone) writer he is!