severe rat injury

Question
Hi.
I spoke to you yesterday about my rat possibly having a broken arm and no use of back legs. I stayed with her late last night and made her comfortable and gave her food and water and she ate and then seemed as if she ran out of energy. I had her on a pillow with a light cover over her body and i pet her and told her I loved her and that shw was the best rat and that I was sorry if I hurt her in any way. She was wimpering like a baby very softly. i was bawling my eyes out. I felt terrible that i couldnt do anything. I woke up this morning and I found her dead. Im so confused!! Can a rat die from an injury like that? broken arm and no use of legs all in 2 days? Or do you think its a coincidence that she died of a stroke?

Answer
I am very sorry for your loss. To help you understand what possibly occurred with your sweet girl, it was more than likely a stroke or brain aneurysm. I am leaning more toward a stroke since it was over a two day period where an aneurysm tends to be instant.  I do not think she had a broken arm unless she did and the break was so severe she formed a blood clot that could have broken off and traveled, but this is just educated guesses and I have no real right to even suggest anything since I did not see her and examine her.  What you should do next time such an emergency occurs is to take your rat to the emergency vet if it happens after hours or find a vet that is an exotic vet that will treat your rats.  Again I am really sorry for your loss.