Hello, first off let me start by giving you some back round information on Petya. She came in to my life last september when she had the unfortunate luck of getting hit in the face by the side of a truck tire while trying to cross the road. I was in the opposing lane at the time so I witnessed her get hit then plop right on to her back in the road. I'm always seeing various animal innards and limbs scattered all across that road and knew she couldn't of immediately died from the angle she had gotten hit. I decided to turn my car around, wrap her up in my sweat shirt, and bring her home. That way if she died she would die safe and warm and not have to suffer through being run over who knows how many more times. Much to my surprise after about an hour of cuddling her close to me while she was in my sweatshirt she sprang back to life, although incredibly injured. To start she was the definition of skin and bones, her paw and front leg couldn't support any weight, her tongue had gone through her teeth, and her face was incredibly swollen and torn up. Knowing there was absolutely no way she could be released in that state I brought her inside and set her up a nice makeshift cage. I spent the next few hours calling every vet and rehabber within three hours, all of which refused to take her. Completely beside myself I decided to take matters in to my own hands, there was absolutely no way I'd let this little girl suffer. Using advice I had gotten from one of the rehabbers I spent the next few month nursing her back to health. At first, I had every intention of releasing her, but as more time passed the more she showed signs of things that made me hesitant. First of all she has some sort of constant sneeze (she'll sneeze a few times a day, but she has no signs of illness) no matter what her bedding is, judging by where she was hit her nose took most of the impact so I think it's very possible her carilidge and passages could be a bit funky. That being said she also has issues finding food unless it is less than two inches in front of her, her balance is not at all what it should be, and she has no fear of humans(I'm guilty of enabling this) or cats. She has been outside several times and every time she either freezes and stays on my shoulder or quickly burrows in to my hood or sleeve. For whatever reason she seems absolutely petrified of going outside now. I've tried several times(and in two different states) to get some sort of license to keep her and classify her as a "pet" so I could bring her to the vet.
All of that being said, about four days ago I noticed a bit of swelling on the side of her face. Thinking she may have just gotten stressed and bitten the cage bars I brushed it off. What started as a little bit of swelling has very quickly grown in to a lump about the size of a walnut on the side of her neck. The lump is firm and warm, but has no hair loss or red/black spots in it. She still seems to be eating normally and she's as lively as ever. She also has been experiencing some dry skin on her side that she's been itching constantly. I'm wondering if anyone know of any over the counter medicines I could give her to make the lump go away and any good remedies for dry skin. Not having a license for her has made everything a huge headache and I'm really scared she'll get taken away. I also doubt any Maine/New Hampshire rehabbers would be willing to work with me and help me get the vet attention she needs, although I'm not sure how to really go about asking. I'm more than willing to do whatever it takes to help this little girl out, I just want her to be better and not have to suffer.
I'm also going to attach a picture of a "boil" she's had since a few days after getting hit by the car. It's red and hairless and I always assumed that it was just a scar from getting injured, but at this point I don't want to over look anything.