so what caused this?
it is possible, but less probable that this was something that Padre was born with as many of these structures tend to have a common embryonic ancestor, and as they divide, split and mature, something may have gone wrong in the process. and it could have begun as something minute that grew over time or when aggravated by something else. however, that is probably unlikely as he was such a healthy boy with no history (that i know of) of chronic coughing or illnesses that would have been the hallmark of this kind of genetic flaw.
what is more likely, and it grieves me to say it, but it was probably from an insect bite or trauma from something he ate, which can include a spiky leg, a pointy twig or thorn that came in with a meal, or even some kind of burr (the type that catches on your clothes/pet hair and has the built-in Velcro fuzzies).
a Parsons is generally going to eat larger meals, so the bite or thigh spur of a feeder going down would also be correspondingly large. a few weeks ago someone posted on the Forums about some sort of feeder (a superworm/hornworm,?) that was actually seen alive in the back of the throat grasping the tongue. certainly if some of these critters bit down, they could have caused enough damage to the mucosa of the oropharynx to eventually erode through the wall, if not perhaps immediately. having the trachea exposed just underneath is basically just terrible luck. a few cm's one way or the other and the trachea would not have been directly underneath the lesion. it would still not have been good, as food and water would still be falling into the mediastinal space and causing the same problem as the second tear.
since we're playing medical forensics, the odds of a small scrape leading to an ulcer exactly over the trachea seem a bit small to me. i would rather guess that when the insect bit down it was strong enough that he was able to feel the firm, cartilaginous trachea through the soft and thin mucosa of the oropharynx, and that bite went through-and-through. what started small became worse with bacteria and repeated swallowing; it looks like the initial tear up top is 1-2 cm in length. if it was not a bite, a very similar argument could be made for a sharp leg point or plant thorn/etc.
as for the deeper tear it could have been more of the above, related bacteria, possibly the tear coming from the outside-->in rather than inside--->out. but i would have had to be there in surgery or see surgical notes to fully understand what was going on there.
all in all, it was a terrible set of situations/timing/coincidences that led to this. and it was accidental. no one will ever question jann's husbandry or devotion to her pets. in terms of euthanizing on the table under anesthesia; imo it was the best choice in a terrible situation. Padre would have gotten VERY sick very quickly soon after, abscesses in his throat and around his heart and lungs, septic from all of this getting into his bloodstream. i for one say that if he had to go, i am glad that he went with his pride and dignity intact, and was gently let go while already unconscious. the other scenario would have been terrible to even consider, and not fair to him. no one wanted to see him wasting away, mortally wounded, and die in pain. thank you jann for making the best choice all along for his care from the moment you got him to the moment that he had to leave us. you were the best mom he could have ever had, and there was nothing that you could have done to prevent this.
. Thoughts and prayers for your family are on their way from OKC.
