Rabbit sick and dead within 2 days

Question
On Wednesday, i noticed my rabbit had not been eating and had not used the bathroom.Wednesday morning, he was laying in his case, which he never really does, and refused to get up.
Wednesday evening, when i returned home, he looked a little better. i forced him to drink water and take a couple of nibbles of greens.Although lethargic, he was sitting up on his own and running around the room.
Thursday morning, he still wasn't eating very much or using the restroom. He still had the capability of running around the room on his own. Thursday afternoon, my brother went to check on the rabbit since he was under the weather. My brother found him unable to sit up on his own, although attempting to. He had his arms in one side and his legs on the other.
I took him to the pet hospital. the doctor diagnosed him with a neurological problem. Gave him a shot of cortisone and an antibiotic shot with directions to mix 3ccs of gatorade and 3ccs of yogurt and feed him 3x daily.
I returned home from the hospital. I fed the rabbit as instructed. I wrapped him up in a blanket and held him. He twitched a couple of times and then ceased to breathe.

What is your take on what happened to my rabbit? It seems to quick of a onset of symptoms for a neurological disorder to have occurred . Did the doctor misdiagnose my rabbit, therefore possibly giving him unneeded injections, and cause him to die? i'd love to hear your opinion

Answer
Dear Tiffany,

I am sorry about the loss of your bunny.

Sadly, there is absolutely no way to confidently ascertain a cause of death without a post-mortem exam, preferably including histopathology of major organ tissues.  The signs you describe are very vague, and could have been due to any of dozens of different things.

Please read:

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/sickbun.html

which might give some clues.  It is vital to take a bunny's temperature when he shows signs of illness like what you describe, and also to get him to a rabbit-experienced veterinarian right away.  It does not sound as if the vet you saw knew very much about rabbits.  I doubt this was something "neurological" when a very simple explanation could be an untreated infection.

If the body has been kept very cold (not frozen), and it has been less than 24 hours since death, a necropsy may still be possible, if you feel that would give you closure and peace of mind.  You can find an experienced rabbit vet here:

http://www.rabbit.org/vet

to call and find out what your options might be.

I am very sorry for your loss.

Sincerely,

Dana