susaneers
Fish Fanatic
z
betta get well gift
- Thread starter susaneers
- Start date
lizard
Married Lizard
- Joined
- Oct 8, 2003
- Messages
- 1,315
- Reaction score
- 0
Sorry to hear about your friend 
Good for her mom on insisting that a CAT scan be done though 
Severe headaches aren't something to ignore or just take some Tylenol for 
Your friend and her family and friends will be in my prayers. I hope the chemo is successful and that she doesn't get too many bad side effects from it. It's very hard to watch a friend or loved one go through something like this. A good family friend of ours had cancer a couple summers ago and had to go through chemo and radiation. She is doing well now, but it was a very difficult time.
I'm glad she enjoys her Bettas! I think that was a great gift idea
(Lest anyone get the impression that I think giving pets as presents is a great idea, I assure you, I don't. If you know the person can and will take care of it, then it's fine. Otherwise, it's not a good idea.) When you're going through something like that, I think finding a way to relax is necessary. Watching a fish is a great way to do that
Cute card that you made her - I like it
Keep us updated on your friend, if you remember (and if you want to). Like I said, she and her family and friends will be in my prayers 
Feel free to pass my message on to her.
Pamela
aka Married Lizard
Good for her mom on insisting that a CAT scan be done though Severe headaches aren't something to ignore or just take some Tylenol for Your friend and her family and friends will be in my prayers. I hope the chemo is successful and that she doesn't get too many bad side effects from it. It's very hard to watch a friend or loved one go through something like this. A good family friend of ours had cancer a couple summers ago and had to go through chemo and radiation. She is doing well now, but it was a very difficult time.I'm glad she enjoys her Bettas! I think that was a great gift idea
(Lest anyone get the impression that I think giving pets as presents is a great idea, I assure you, I don't. If you know the person can and will take care of it, then it's fine. Otherwise, it's not a good idea.) When you're going through something like that, I think finding a way to relax is necessary. Watching a fish is a great way to do that Cute card that you made her - I like it
Keep us updated on your friend, if you remember (and if you want to). Like I said, she and her family and friends will be in my prayers
Feel free to pass my message on to her.Pamela
aka Married Lizard
I find bettas extremely therapeutic too. A great deal of their therapeutic value resides in them just being there and making few demands. However, they do require a suitable living environment and the proper routine care.susaneers said:
Perhaps you could get your friend a book about bettas. Bettas: A Complete Pet Owner's Manual by Dr Robert Goldstein is one such book.
Hope the betta will bring her companionship, joy and make her feel heaps betta.
May the Good Lord keep your friend in good spirits and give her the strength to overcome her illness. Amen.
turbotiber
Fish Crazy
I"m glad to hear that your friend is getting better and that she's taken a liking to bettas I love the card!! Especially since a lot of my family call me dory for my bad short term memory, 
Think you could post a few pics of your friend with her bettas??
She wil also be in my prayers
I love the card!! Especially since a lot of my family call me dory for my bad short term memory, Think you could post a few pics of your friend with her bettas??She wil also be in my prayers
susaneers
Fish Fanatic
z
If your friend is on chemotherapy or has any issues with her immune system, she should not be caring for the bettas. She can get really sick. As an infectious disease physician, I have seen it happen and with bettas, but it could happen with any fish or reptiles.
Someone else should do water changes for her and she should not have direct contact.
LSmall
Someone else should do water changes for her and she should not have direct contact.
LSmall
turbotiber
Fish Crazy
How is it that she can get sick??lsmall said:
People who are on chemotherapy or radiation therapy often have suppressed immune systems and are more susceptible to many infections.
Fish tanks harbour a lot of bacteria, mostly unharmful to healthy people and fish. However, when immune systems are suppressed it doesn't take much for an unharmful bacterium to become harmful.
People on chemotherapy often have some sort of semipermanent IV device. Often a port on the chest, or a long IV line coming from the arm. These are easily contaminated by bacteria, which can then easily enter the blood stream. That compounded by the fact that chemo and radiation suppress the immune system leads to bad things. You don't necessarily have to have an IV line to get bacteria in the blood, though.
I have personally seen a person get a severe mycobacterium marinum infection, which is generally in the form of a very bad rash (see my post under "powder blue dwarf gourami" in this forum). I have also seen a cancer patient who's immune system was suppressed, develop aeromonas (a common bacteria in aquaria) in the blood. It is very rare for someone to get aeromonas in the blood, so an infection control investigation was done. It turned out he was given a betta and he had been taking care of it. Cultures confirmed that aeromonas in the betta's water, were the same as the culture isolates from his blood. He survived, but was quite ill for awhile requiring intensive care.
All this being said, you never want to tell someone they can't do something because of their illness and it would be detrimental to take someone's pets away. However, they do need to be educated to prevent bad things from happening. Your friend can check with her doctors. So bottom line, be careful!
LSmall
Fish tanks harbour a lot of bacteria, mostly unharmful to healthy people and fish. However, when immune systems are suppressed it doesn't take much for an unharmful bacterium to become harmful.
People on chemotherapy often have some sort of semipermanent IV device. Often a port on the chest, or a long IV line coming from the arm. These are easily contaminated by bacteria, which can then easily enter the blood stream. That compounded by the fact that chemo and radiation suppress the immune system leads to bad things. You don't necessarily have to have an IV line to get bacteria in the blood, though.
I have personally seen a person get a severe mycobacterium marinum infection, which is generally in the form of a very bad rash (see my post under "powder blue dwarf gourami" in this forum). I have also seen a cancer patient who's immune system was suppressed, develop aeromonas (a common bacteria in aquaria) in the blood. It is very rare for someone to get aeromonas in the blood, so an infection control investigation was done. It turned out he was given a betta and he had been taking care of it. Cultures confirmed that aeromonas in the betta's water, were the same as the culture isolates from his blood. He survived, but was quite ill for awhile requiring intensive care.
All this being said, you never want to tell someone they can't do something because of their illness and it would be detrimental to take someone's pets away. However, they do need to be educated to prevent bad things from happening. Your friend can check with her doctors. So bottom line, be careful!
LSmall
That was a very thoughtful idea,susan
I can see what lsmall is saying. Perhaps making sure that she has all of the accesories she would ever need to avoid coming in direct contact with the water or the fish are in order (or have already been covered
)
I can see what lsmall is saying. Perhaps making sure that she has all of the accesories she would ever need to avoid coming in direct contact with the water or the fish are in order (or have already been covered
)susaneers
Fish Fanatic
z
GuppyDude
Stephen
it doesn't surprise me that a betta would help somone recover from somthing like that, i come hom and watch my fish and just laugh my butt off, their so funny to watch, their almost human like in attitude.
Similar threads
Most reactions
-
474 -
294 -
269 -
235 -
233 -
182 -
170 -
151 -
148 -
128 -
97 -
77 -
70 -
70 -
68