head trauma and death

Question
Hello Randy,

About 5 days ago I was holding my rabbit when he jumped out of my arms and landed on my hard wood floor.  By the time I turned around to see how he was, I saw that he was flipping to get back onto his feet, and then he scrambled under my bed and stayed there the rest of the day.  I figured he was okay, but just scared as he's fallen other times and has been fine.  

Later on I noticed him making a strange chattering sound with his teeth, and I also noticed some blood on his lip.  The left side of his upper lip appeared swollen so I took him to a vet hospital that night.  As it turned out, he had fractured his front left tooth horizontally.  The doctor pulled the broken part off and sent me home with my bunny and some Metacam for the pain.

Once he recovered from the anthesia, he was hopping around fine and eating hay.  The next day, he ate some of his food, drank water, and took the medicine without any resistance.  It seemed like a miracle.

The next day, he was under my bed most of the day.  Once evening rolled around, I was trying to get him out from under my bed to give him the medicine.  I noticed he was acting kind of strange and would not let me hold him to give the medicine nor would he take it without me holding him.  I managed to give him about half of it.  I was confused since he seemed to actually enjoy it the day before.  I noticed his breathing speed up so I put him in his cage to settle down.  He faced away from me and sat very still.  He wouldn't eat or drink anything.  Then I noticed his sides going in and out as if he was having stomach trouble, like spasming.  I was very upset and rushed him to the hospital again.  The doctor said she saw no signs of spinal injury or other neurological problems, nor did she find any intestinal problems.  They kept him overnight for observation to see if they could figure out what was wrong with him.

That night, the nurse said he was hopping around, eating, drinking, and pooping okay.  But then when she went to check on him one time, she saw him on his side seizuring.  She said he went into cardiac arrest, and they tried reviving him, but he died rather quickly.

I am so devasted and wondering if this was all my fault.  I can't help but blame myself.  He was only 8 months old and such a happy life ahead of him.  I took such great care of him making sure his diet and living conditions were just right.  The doctor said that he probably suffered head trauma from the fall and that we were just seeing the signs of that manifest a couple of days later.  Could this be true?  I'm just wondering what the real cause of death could be.  I would appreciate your insight.

Answer
Hi Allison,

First, please accept my condolences on the loss of your rabbit.  This is one of those tragic situations when it reminds us of just how fragile life is...all life.  But it is very difficult to deal with.

Without a necropsy, it is impossible to know exactly what happened.  But I work mainly wildlife and see a lot of head trauma.  The neuro markers you mentioned happening are all indicative of a swelling brain secondary to head trauma.  The loud tooth grinding is a sign of extreme pain.  It sometimes takes a couple of days for head injuries to present themselves.  I normally treat head trauma by administering anti-inflammatory drugs (Metacam is one of them and is generally safe when used correctly) and a sedative such as valium.  But honestly, with some head injuries there isn't much that can be done except treat with those drugs and keep them quiet to allow the brain time to recover from the shock...but we lose a lot of animals to head trauma.

Don't blame yourself.  These things happen and it's tragic.  But his falling was an accident and you responded by doing everything you could have possibly done.  Again, my condolences.