Last year, on midnight of Christmas eve, my rat Fiora died in a hospital from pneumonia. That kind of soured me on the idea of "Christmas Miracles".

But I don't know what else to call this one!
Shulk was given a month to live almost 3 months ago, and she's still here!

I think whatever is on her lung is still there, but the real danger is that it keeps leading to infections, so the stage we're at is "desperately keep Shulk from developing pneumonia".
It's been tough. She's on all kinds of vitamins, steroids, and antibiotics, TWO humidifiers are running non-stop, and I also have to clean the cage fully three times a week. The smell of ammonia can VERY EASILY make a rat sick, I'm learning now just how IMPORTANT it is to keep your rats AS CLEAN AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE! The poor bastards are already at high risk for lung infections thanks to a condition virtually all domesticated rats have inherited, and a dirty, smelly cage will get you to infection-town faster than pretty much anything else! I'm learning that if your rats stink, they're in danger of becoming sick, so I'm trying to make sure this cage never stinks, even for a second. xD

SO, it's hectic around here. I am still at this rat's beck and call. She woke up this morning with "sniffles" again, so I'm monitoring her very closely, although there's really not much more I can do for her at this point.

I'm thinking eventually, I won't be able to fight off the pneumonia and she will die from it. I'm not sure when that will be, but I'll be fighting to keep it off as long as I can.

In the meantime, I'm loving every extra day I get with this fuzzy little jerk, and I hope she lives through even MORE holidays no one expected her to (Halloween, Thanksgiving, and now Christmas!)

Good luck, Shulk!