This past weekend was our previously scheduled trip home. We (I come up from NC and Bran comes over from VA Beach) go "home" every 4-6 weeks for a visit and for me to meet with my farrier and have my horse's feet trimmed and just spend quality time with him. When I moved to NC 6 years ago, I made the very difficult decision to leave Jess in Virginia. Jess is 26 years old and has been at the MacEwen's farm for more than 15 years, where he's been loved and cared for and has made lifelong friends. I felt like a move would be life threatening to him. The arrangement has really worked out well. While I don't get to see him every week, our time together has been priceless and memorable and it's afforded me time with my family as well.
That's a little history...
Beginning this past Thursday, our animal-filled lives started spiraling downward. My Crunchie Munchie was urgently taken to Cole Park Vet for what we initially thought was a urinary blockage (can be life threantening). After many tests, Munch has been diagnosed with Megacolon. My daughter, who has worked in veterinary medicine since she was 12, has been a ray of hope and inspiration to me and helped me to understand this condition and simply said I need to relax and be patient. Everything that can be done for this little guy is being done, aside from surgery, which is a last resort. He's still in the hospital as of this morning and I plan on seeing him later today.
This is Munch when he was healthy...
Later that same evening, Bran noticed her littlest feline "walking funny". Her front half was walking forward but her back half was walking sideways. Brandi quickly scooped up Bebe and took her back to work with her where blood tests were done and observations were made. By Friday night, it looked as if Bebe were not going to make it (needless to say, Bran did not make the trip home but stayed by Bebe's side). But Dr. Mar was not deterred and pumped little Bebe full of antibiotics, forced fed her and put her on a warming blanket. Ultimately, Bebe was diagnosed with having cysts on her brain that had swelled and were causing pressure and neurological-like symptoms (sorry, cannot recall the medical term). So, as a family we worried and fretted about these cats and comforted each other as only real animal lovers can do. We were happy to learn that by yesterday afternoon, Bebe was almost back to her normal self. Amazing! I love those vets that refuse to give up when they believe there's reason enough to fight but not at the expense of the pet's overall well-being. Good bless Bran's Dr. Mar and our Dr. Pagel. They really understand where we're coming from and how much these sometimes nasty, stinky creatures mean to us!
This is Bran's Bebe not feeling so well at all...
But then, there was this...
About 4 years ago Jess suffered a rather nasty injury to his coronet band - a very deep tissue cut. He was doctored and nurtured but despite the effort, he subsequently began to suffer from "ring bone". Think of the "jelly-like" stuff between the vertebrae in our back. There is similar "stuff" in where the hoof wall meets the horse's leg (where it "bends"). Ring bone is where the jelly-like stuff starts to deterioate and the bones then fuse together. The fusing is a long, extremely painful process. But once it's complete, the prognosis is fair for most horses in that they can resume activity and can still be ridden, albeit LIGHTLY - usually never like before. I watched Jess go through this process for an entire year. I have never felt so helpless or useless in my life. Everytime I was with him, I just cried. I can remember during this time when my farrier was trying to continue to care for Jess' feet. Eric (my farrier) would be carefully and cautiously trimming the hoof, with his back to me of course, and I'd be holding Jess crying my eyes out trying not to let Eric hear me! He'd be talking away and then stand up and turn to find me a blubbering idiot! He'd hang his head and awkwardly pat my shoulder and tell me it WOULD get better!! We can laugh about it now but back then... I NEVER thought I'd get on my horse again - despite the constant fussing from Eric and the encouragement from Dave & Sherry, the farm owners. They all said it would be good for us both, that Jess needed the work out (and, well, so did I). But my fear of a relapse was too strong. I would not be able to live with myself if I knew I was the cause that Jess went lame.
But this weekend I thought, these people are knowledgable and love me and love my horse and they would never give me poor advice. And my equine vet said all along that once the bones fused in Jess' foot he would be rideable again. It was a beautiful day and I had time on my side and a persistant niece with me. And I decided that Saturday afternoon how sorry I would be if I never got on my horse again... I will NEVER have to worry about that regret. And God willing, we'll have many more quiet, memorable rides together...
Even Christa took a spin on the old guy...
And to top the day off, we spent the evening with my grandparents. There are so many of us with birthdays in the fourth quarter of the year that we decided to host a little gift exchange (it had to be under $5.00). I'm afraid I was lax with the photos because I was coordinating the game and the dinner and the dessert but I did snap this one.That's my grandfather in the burgandy sweatshirt, my dad on the sofa and that's my niece Christa with little Natalie, my mom's cousin's daughter. Natalie kept us all quite entertained. Look for her in Hollywood people.
Again, a bittersweet weekend and one I won't soon forget. I'm convinced often that both trials and triumphs are put before us so that we will have a closer walk with God - a time to tell Him thank you and a time to ask Him for support.
How was your weekend?
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