3.08.2009
One By One
Lexi came in at 2:30 yesterday morning crying. She laid on Allen for about 30 minutes. She was burning up so I got up to get her some Tylenol. When I got back, Allen goes, "Is she going to throw up?" and at the same time throws Lexi over the side of the bed as she gets sick. I think that was a yes.Unfortunately, it got on our bed so we had to wash everything. She then got sick in the toilet and was so upset. This is the first time she really knew what was happening and could tell when she was about to get sick. She kept saying, "I spit up? I got sick?" She laid on the bathroom floor for a while and then laid on our carpet and watched some TV. About 5 a.m., she asked to go back to her room. Since she hadn't been sick again, we put her back.
So, now we wait. It's like waiting for the guillotine to fall. We're all going to get it. Our family is here visiting from CA and they will all get it.
One.
By.
One.
3.06.2009
It Just Never Stops!
Well, it wasn't food poisoning. How do I know? Because I got it.
This is how it went for us yesterday:
1 a.m. Thursday morning (I still consider it Wed. since I haven't gone to sleep yet) - I finally get to bed after feeding Addie, getting bottles ready, cleaning up around the house, etc.
5:45 a.m. - Allen comes in and says Addie hasn't woken up yet (a great thing, really) but she's starting to. He says he's not feeling well. He manages to feed Addie, puts her in the swing, and heads in to see the john.
6:00 a.m. - I'm pretty tired so I'm trying to catch some zzzzz's. I hear Addie retching and gagging and barfing in the swing. I run out and she is drenched. Allen is now out of the shower and runs out to pull the swing cover off while I get Addie in the bath.
6:15 a.m. - Addie is starving so I feed her while Allen shuts himself in our room. Lexi gets up (this is about an hour early for her).
6:45 a.m. - Addie goes down.
The morning goes pretty well. Allen doesn't come out of our room. Lexi and I have a regular day. A friend stops by to visit since I'm feeling fine at this point. The weather is awful with 50 mile an hour winds so Lexi and I try to make the best of it inside all day.
3:30 p.m. - Lexi is napping (thank goodness!) and I'm feeding Addie. She does her business and it goes out of the diaper and all up her back. Her outfit is ruined. It also goes all over the front of me. I ask Allen to hold her while I fill the tub. He helps for about 5 minutes and runs to the bathroom. I get Addie bathed.
5:30 p.m. - I'm on about 4.5 hours of sleep and pretty exhausted at this point. I'm caring for a 3 year old, bathed the baby twice, cleaned the house, and trying to help Allen. Lexi and I made him a get-well card. He was laying on the floor when we gave it to him. He was feeling so bad, sick and tired that when he saw it, he almost cried. I decide to take Lexi to McDonalds to play since Addie was napping.
6:30 pm. - I get home with Lexi to find Addie awake. She woke up the minute we left. I feed her while Allen goes back into our room.
9 p.m. - Put Lexi to bed. As I shut the door, my stomach cramps up. I know I'm in for a long night. I get the bottles ready, go to the bathroom, clean the kitchen, go to the bathroom, give Addie her medicine, go the bathroom, and finally at 10:15 feed Addie. Because Allen had been so sick, I'm on for the night time too. Even though I'm now sick and he's feeling a little better but tired, it's still going to be me.
I'm in and out of the bathroom and my gut is cramping terribly.
3 a.m. Friday - Lexi is up. She needs milk. Allen gets her settled.
4:45 a.m. - Addie is up. I feed her and put her back down. She won't go to bed so I put her in the swing.
7 a.m. - Addie is up and Allen comes out. He's feeling lots better so he takes her while I go into our room.
My gut is cramping (think Dinky Creek), but I'm not too, too sick right now. Allen is home from work so together we should be able to pull it together. It has been a roller coaster of a ride these last couple of weeks, though.
This is how it went for us yesterday:
1 a.m. Thursday morning (I still consider it Wed. since I haven't gone to sleep yet) - I finally get to bed after feeding Addie, getting bottles ready, cleaning up around the house, etc.
5:45 a.m. - Allen comes in and says Addie hasn't woken up yet (a great thing, really) but she's starting to. He says he's not feeling well. He manages to feed Addie, puts her in the swing, and heads in to see the john.
6:00 a.m. - I'm pretty tired so I'm trying to catch some zzzzz's. I hear Addie retching and gagging and barfing in the swing. I run out and she is drenched. Allen is now out of the shower and runs out to pull the swing cover off while I get Addie in the bath.
6:15 a.m. - Addie is starving so I feed her while Allen shuts himself in our room. Lexi gets up (this is about an hour early for her).
6:45 a.m. - Addie goes down.
The morning goes pretty well. Allen doesn't come out of our room. Lexi and I have a regular day. A friend stops by to visit since I'm feeling fine at this point. The weather is awful with 50 mile an hour winds so Lexi and I try to make the best of it inside all day.
3:30 p.m. - Lexi is napping (thank goodness!) and I'm feeding Addie. She does her business and it goes out of the diaper and all up her back. Her outfit is ruined. It also goes all over the front of me. I ask Allen to hold her while I fill the tub. He helps for about 5 minutes and runs to the bathroom. I get Addie bathed.
5:30 p.m. - I'm on about 4.5 hours of sleep and pretty exhausted at this point. I'm caring for a 3 year old, bathed the baby twice, cleaned the house, and trying to help Allen. Lexi and I made him a get-well card. He was laying on the floor when we gave it to him. He was feeling so bad, sick and tired that when he saw it, he almost cried. I decide to take Lexi to McDonalds to play since Addie was napping.
6:30 pm. - I get home with Lexi to find Addie awake. She woke up the minute we left. I feed her while Allen goes back into our room.
9 p.m. - Put Lexi to bed. As I shut the door, my stomach cramps up. I know I'm in for a long night. I get the bottles ready, go to the bathroom, clean the kitchen, go to the bathroom, give Addie her medicine, go the bathroom, and finally at 10:15 feed Addie. Because Allen had been so sick, I'm on for the night time too. Even though I'm now sick and he's feeling a little better but tired, it's still going to be me.
I'm in and out of the bathroom and my gut is cramping terribly.
3 a.m. Friday - Lexi is up. She needs milk. Allen gets her settled.
4:45 a.m. - Addie is up. I feed her and put her back down. She won't go to bed so I put her in the swing.
7 a.m. - Addie is up and Allen comes out. He's feeling lots better so he takes her while I go into our room.
My gut is cramping (think Dinky Creek), but I'm not too, too sick right now. Allen is home from work so together we should be able to pull it together. It has been a roller coaster of a ride these last couple of weeks, though.
3.05.2009
3.04.2009
The Story
I finally have a few minutes to tell the story behind the downfall of Mr. I Be Streakin'. It took about a week for everything to happen. Thank goodness LaNell was here for most of that time. I would have had a really hard time if I would have had to take the girls with me for all of the appointments I had for him. Each day that week presented something new or different so I'm going to break it down by the day.
Wednesday, Feb. 18th - Evening. I B is acting a little under the weather. After checking him out, I head to mutual. By the time I get back, he's acting pretty normal so I decide to wait out the night and see how he is in the morning.
Thursday, Feb. 19th - Allen wakes me and tells me the horse is doing really poorly. I run out to check and he hasn't eaten any dinner, hasn't pooped or had any water. After looking him over, I realize I cannot fix this with pain meds alone and decide to haul him in to the vet's office. I tried to get someone to look after the girls, but no one was available. Allen had to take the morning off from work.
At the vet's we tubed him with water and mineral oil to help move anything along that was stuck. His gut was working pretty slowly so we were trying to help it along. He was also dehydrated. We drew blood, but everything came back normal. We gave him some pain meds, too, to keep him comfy. His pulse, respiratory rate, and gum color/refill was normal. After the treatment, he seemed all right and was eager to eat and drink so we went home and kept an eye on him. He seemed to be improving so we figured it was a mild case of colic.
Friday, Feb. 20th - He's starting to look a little under the weather again in the evening. Again, I watch him and try to make it until morning.
Saturday, Feb. 21st - I call the vet again and he says we can put him on fluids, but the best thing would be to manage the pain since it seems mild. I get some Banamine so I'll make it through the weekend. With the drugs, he seems to perk up again.
Sunday, Feb. 22nd - Allen runs in after feeding that evening and says the horse can't even walk. He hasn't eaten anything in 2 feeds, either. He describes a stance typical of founder. I hustle out and see that he is moving, but seems like he's drunk. He can't organize his feet. I feel around and feel some heat in his feet. That indicates a potential founder. This is the night we put in him the kiddie pool. I gave him some Banamine and he eats his hay and drinks a lot of water that night so he seems to be ok with regard to his tummy.
I called my regular vet who told me his x-ray machine was down. So, I called another vet and then my farrier. The new vet (who I continued to see for the duration of the illness) tells me to meet him at the clinic at 8:30 a.m. My farrier meets tells me he'll meet me there.
Monday, Feb. 23rd. - I head out with the horse first thing in the morning. He's had a steady decline in hydration, gut activity, and overall condition overnight. The vet does an examination noticing his gut has ceased to function, he's really dehydrated, and seems uncomfortable. He draws blood, gives him some pain meds, and puts him on IV fluids. This is when the ulcer diagnoses is given. The horse is showing all of the classic signs of ulcers in horses. As a breeding stallion, he is susceptible to high levels of stress and we did move him last year from him home of 18 years. I can get a scope to make a definite determination if the ulcers are in the stomach. If they are in the colon, we have no way of being sure. He stays at the clinic for the day on fluids and we start him on the prevacid. That evening, he seems to be quite a bit better.
Tuesday, Feb. 22nd - He's not 100%, but I expect the medication to need a day or two to do it's magic. I start researching options for treatment as the recommended maximum course of medication is about $1400 for one month. We keep a close eye on him. He is still not eating, drinking or pooping.
Wednesday, Feb. 23rd - I run into the vet's office that afternoon to tidy up some business. The vet asks how my horse is doing. I told him we had seen no improvement and I would need to bring him in and put him on fluids to keep him alive. We agree I'll come in first thing in the morning. At dinner time, I clip I Be, braid his mane and give him a good brush. I have a sinking feeling this may be our last night together. I figure if I'm going to have to put him down, I will at least have him leave us looking good. He seems happy and starts eating for the first time in 2 days. I hope the meds are finally helping him.
Thursday, Feb. 22nd - When I get there, we do an ultrasound and plan to do a liver biopsy. Because of his staggering walk, we figure there may be a problem with his toxin level even though the blood work shows nothing abnormal. While doing the ultrasound, the vet sees that his guts are where his diaphragm is. Definitely not normal. He thinks it's possible the horse has a diaphragmatic hernia - a hole was caused by some trauma to his diaphragm and his guts made their way inside and have proceeded to die in there. But, the guts do lie very close to the respiratory system in that location. Also, the only treatment is to put him down. He suggests a second opinion. After all, there are no second chances when the treatment is death.
He calls a clinic in ABQ that has a very high end ultrasound and x-ray set up. It's now just about noon. They can see me at 2 p.m. I decide to head up there, try to eat some lunch and go to the clinic.
When I pull him out of the trailer, the vet says, "He must have been a fine specimen in his day." At this point, I Be has lost about 150 lbs, his ribs are beginning to show, his eyes are sucked so far into his skull that when he chews, they move in and out with his jaw, and his hair is falling out. He quietly makes his way into the exam room. The x-ray shows nothing abnormal. So, his guts are not in his diaphragm. The ultrasound shows nothing abnormal in the front half. We check in one more spot near his flank. We are supposed to see some spleen and kidney. We see a small part of the spleen and a whole lot of colon. This is not a good thing. It seems as though the colon has gotten itself up and over the spleen and strangulated. There is nothing I can do for the horse at this point. He's 20 and in dire condition. Surgery would run us about $10,000 and he would probably die on the operating table.
I decide to bring him home and have him put down at the vet's here in town. I page him and let him know I'm coming home. The vet's dad is now in the hospital with heart problems, but he tells me he'll call me when they are done and meet me at the clinic. On the way home, I dropped I Be at the vet's and unhooked my rig at home. While at home, I cleaned up the barn, dumped the water troughs and emptied the feeder knowing I won't be going out to the barn for a long, long time.
Around 6:30 p.m., we get the call. Allen and I head over. Allen had never been around an animal being put to sleep. I warned him a bit about how it is for horses. When we get there, the doctor is waiting by the stall. I Be perks his head up and has a little shine in his eyes. He seems to be feeling better. But, we can see from the explosive diarrhea on the stall wall, that he is starting to crash and burn. The vet asks me if I'm sure. We can keep him alive on fluids, but he will eventually need to be euthanized. I know all of this and tell him to go ahead. We back him into the corner and the vet asks me to hold the lead rope while he administers the overdose of anesthesia.
I Be's head jerks up as the drugs hit his veins. He then falls like a tree to the ground. He curls up in the fetal position and starts to have some convulsions. His lips pull back in a grimace and his tongue falls out of his mouth. After about 30 seconds, his body relaxes and coughs a handful of times. I know this is just part of the process; that the body is reacting to death but my horse is long gone. After about 3 minutes, all goes quiet. His ears are perked up like he's just seen or heard something fantastic. It's just like him to be joyful in the face of death.
Wednesday, March 4th - I get the full autopsy report from the vet. A small piece of wire punctured his colon. I figure it is a piece of baling wire or fencing wire. No, smaller than that. The undoing of my horse was the size wire you find in a trash bag tie.
In an effort to heal itself, the colon had attached itself to the belly wall once it was punctured in an attempt to seal off the wound. The entire colon was adhered to the length of his belly wall. He also had severe inflammation of the lining of his gut.
Most horses with this severity of injury would have a very high white blood cell count indicating the infection. Additionally, they would show sings of distress such as kicking, thrashing, rolling violently, sweating profusely, and an elevated respiration and heart rate. I Be never had any of those symptoms. He quietly suffered an unbelievable amount of pain. The vet says in his 26 years of practice had never seen anything like it. I Be was the toughest horse he had ever seen.
I Be Streakin' was a gentleman to the end. He was pleasant, easy to handle, quiet and obedient. He was obviously uncomfortable, but he never let on just how sick he really was. I wept at the sudden loss of him. He really should have had 5 or 6 good years left with us. I expected my girls to learn to ride on him. He was a teddy bear with kids and an amazingly perceptive animal. He was a clown. I wept at the loss of a large part of my identity. Even though I haven't been riding much, the hope for a little piece of my life, of my talent, of my outlet remained as long as I Be was at that gate morning and night. With him gone, the prospects of having that part of me in my everyday life is very slim. We spent $2000 trying to save him. Add that to the cost of a new washer and dryer, hospital bills and Addie's formula and we're hurting on the money side of things right now. It will be a long time before I can justify buying another horse.
For me, I need a horse like I need air. I've had a horse in my life since the age of 7. The only time I went without was at college and I always felt like a part of me was missing. It may sound ridiculous, but my body yearns for the feel of a horse yielding to my leg in the saddle, to the feel of a good stop and a soft face. The smell of the barn, shavings, horse hair and saddles is so comforting to me. As a mom, I've put my talents and potential aside to raise my kids. I've shelved my goals as I help my girls live out theirs. But, just having I Be in the pasture gave me a small outlet. A place to feel totally comfortable, totally confident, and at peace. I will miss that very much with his passing. I know it is only for a time. But, I will be at a loss during that time and I look forward to reclaiming that part of me in the future.
Wednesday, Feb. 18th - Evening. I B is acting a little under the weather. After checking him out, I head to mutual. By the time I get back, he's acting pretty normal so I decide to wait out the night and see how he is in the morning.
Thursday, Feb. 19th - Allen wakes me and tells me the horse is doing really poorly. I run out to check and he hasn't eaten any dinner, hasn't pooped or had any water. After looking him over, I realize I cannot fix this with pain meds alone and decide to haul him in to the vet's office. I tried to get someone to look after the girls, but no one was available. Allen had to take the morning off from work.
At the vet's we tubed him with water and mineral oil to help move anything along that was stuck. His gut was working pretty slowly so we were trying to help it along. He was also dehydrated. We drew blood, but everything came back normal. We gave him some pain meds, too, to keep him comfy. His pulse, respiratory rate, and gum color/refill was normal. After the treatment, he seemed all right and was eager to eat and drink so we went home and kept an eye on him. He seemed to be improving so we figured it was a mild case of colic.
Friday, Feb. 20th - He's starting to look a little under the weather again in the evening. Again, I watch him and try to make it until morning.
Saturday, Feb. 21st - I call the vet again and he says we can put him on fluids, but the best thing would be to manage the pain since it seems mild. I get some Banamine so I'll make it through the weekend. With the drugs, he seems to perk up again.
Sunday, Feb. 22nd - Allen runs in after feeding that evening and says the horse can't even walk. He hasn't eaten anything in 2 feeds, either. He describes a stance typical of founder. I hustle out and see that he is moving, but seems like he's drunk. He can't organize his feet. I feel around and feel some heat in his feet. That indicates a potential founder. This is the night we put in him the kiddie pool. I gave him some Banamine and he eats his hay and drinks a lot of water that night so he seems to be ok with regard to his tummy.
I called my regular vet who told me his x-ray machine was down. So, I called another vet and then my farrier. The new vet (who I continued to see for the duration of the illness) tells me to meet him at the clinic at 8:30 a.m. My farrier meets tells me he'll meet me there.
Monday, Feb. 23rd. - I head out with the horse first thing in the morning. He's had a steady decline in hydration, gut activity, and overall condition overnight. The vet does an examination noticing his gut has ceased to function, he's really dehydrated, and seems uncomfortable. He draws blood, gives him some pain meds, and puts him on IV fluids. This is when the ulcer diagnoses is given. The horse is showing all of the classic signs of ulcers in horses. As a breeding stallion, he is susceptible to high levels of stress and we did move him last year from him home of 18 years. I can get a scope to make a definite determination if the ulcers are in the stomach. If they are in the colon, we have no way of being sure. He stays at the clinic for the day on fluids and we start him on the prevacid. That evening, he seems to be quite a bit better.
Tuesday, Feb. 22nd - He's not 100%, but I expect the medication to need a day or two to do it's magic. I start researching options for treatment as the recommended maximum course of medication is about $1400 for one month. We keep a close eye on him. He is still not eating, drinking or pooping.
Wednesday, Feb. 23rd - I run into the vet's office that afternoon to tidy up some business. The vet asks how my horse is doing. I told him we had seen no improvement and I would need to bring him in and put him on fluids to keep him alive. We agree I'll come in first thing in the morning. At dinner time, I clip I Be, braid his mane and give him a good brush. I have a sinking feeling this may be our last night together. I figure if I'm going to have to put him down, I will at least have him leave us looking good. He seems happy and starts eating for the first time in 2 days. I hope the meds are finally helping him.
Thursday, Feb. 22nd - When I get there, we do an ultrasound and plan to do a liver biopsy. Because of his staggering walk, we figure there may be a problem with his toxin level even though the blood work shows nothing abnormal. While doing the ultrasound, the vet sees that his guts are where his diaphragm is. Definitely not normal. He thinks it's possible the horse has a diaphragmatic hernia - a hole was caused by some trauma to his diaphragm and his guts made their way inside and have proceeded to die in there. But, the guts do lie very close to the respiratory system in that location. Also, the only treatment is to put him down. He suggests a second opinion. After all, there are no second chances when the treatment is death.
He calls a clinic in ABQ that has a very high end ultrasound and x-ray set up. It's now just about noon. They can see me at 2 p.m. I decide to head up there, try to eat some lunch and go to the clinic.
When I pull him out of the trailer, the vet says, "He must have been a fine specimen in his day." At this point, I Be has lost about 150 lbs, his ribs are beginning to show, his eyes are sucked so far into his skull that when he chews, they move in and out with his jaw, and his hair is falling out. He quietly makes his way into the exam room. The x-ray shows nothing abnormal. So, his guts are not in his diaphragm. The ultrasound shows nothing abnormal in the front half. We check in one more spot near his flank. We are supposed to see some spleen and kidney. We see a small part of the spleen and a whole lot of colon. This is not a good thing. It seems as though the colon has gotten itself up and over the spleen and strangulated. There is nothing I can do for the horse at this point. He's 20 and in dire condition. Surgery would run us about $10,000 and he would probably die on the operating table.
I decide to bring him home and have him put down at the vet's here in town. I page him and let him know I'm coming home. The vet's dad is now in the hospital with heart problems, but he tells me he'll call me when they are done and meet me at the clinic. On the way home, I dropped I Be at the vet's and unhooked my rig at home. While at home, I cleaned up the barn, dumped the water troughs and emptied the feeder knowing I won't be going out to the barn for a long, long time.
Around 6:30 p.m., we get the call. Allen and I head over. Allen had never been around an animal being put to sleep. I warned him a bit about how it is for horses. When we get there, the doctor is waiting by the stall. I Be perks his head up and has a little shine in his eyes. He seems to be feeling better. But, we can see from the explosive diarrhea on the stall wall, that he is starting to crash and burn. The vet asks me if I'm sure. We can keep him alive on fluids, but he will eventually need to be euthanized. I know all of this and tell him to go ahead. We back him into the corner and the vet asks me to hold the lead rope while he administers the overdose of anesthesia.
I Be's head jerks up as the drugs hit his veins. He then falls like a tree to the ground. He curls up in the fetal position and starts to have some convulsions. His lips pull back in a grimace and his tongue falls out of his mouth. After about 30 seconds, his body relaxes and coughs a handful of times. I know this is just part of the process; that the body is reacting to death but my horse is long gone. After about 3 minutes, all goes quiet. His ears are perked up like he's just seen or heard something fantastic. It's just like him to be joyful in the face of death.
Wednesday, March 4th - I get the full autopsy report from the vet. A small piece of wire punctured his colon. I figure it is a piece of baling wire or fencing wire. No, smaller than that. The undoing of my horse was the size wire you find in a trash bag tie.
In an effort to heal itself, the colon had attached itself to the belly wall once it was punctured in an attempt to seal off the wound. The entire colon was adhered to the length of his belly wall. He also had severe inflammation of the lining of his gut.
Most horses with this severity of injury would have a very high white blood cell count indicating the infection. Additionally, they would show sings of distress such as kicking, thrashing, rolling violently, sweating profusely, and an elevated respiration and heart rate. I Be never had any of those symptoms. He quietly suffered an unbelievable amount of pain. The vet says in his 26 years of practice had never seen anything like it. I Be was the toughest horse he had ever seen.
I Be Streakin' was a gentleman to the end. He was pleasant, easy to handle, quiet and obedient. He was obviously uncomfortable, but he never let on just how sick he really was. I wept at the sudden loss of him. He really should have had 5 or 6 good years left with us. I expected my girls to learn to ride on him. He was a teddy bear with kids and an amazingly perceptive animal. He was a clown. I wept at the loss of a large part of my identity. Even though I haven't been riding much, the hope for a little piece of my life, of my talent, of my outlet remained as long as I Be was at that gate morning and night. With him gone, the prospects of having that part of me in my everyday life is very slim. We spent $2000 trying to save him. Add that to the cost of a new washer and dryer, hospital bills and Addie's formula and we're hurting on the money side of things right now. It will be a long time before I can justify buying another horse.
For me, I need a horse like I need air. I've had a horse in my life since the age of 7. The only time I went without was at college and I always felt like a part of me was missing. It may sound ridiculous, but my body yearns for the feel of a horse yielding to my leg in the saddle, to the feel of a good stop and a soft face. The smell of the barn, shavings, horse hair and saddles is so comforting to me. As a mom, I've put my talents and potential aside to raise my kids. I've shelved my goals as I help my girls live out theirs. But, just having I Be in the pasture gave me a small outlet. A place to feel totally comfortable, totally confident, and at peace. I will miss that very much with his passing. I know it is only for a time. But, I will be at a loss during that time and I look forward to reclaiming that part of me in the future.
2.26.2009
To know him was a privelage. He will be sorely missed.2.25.2009
I'm It
Laura tagged me. Here's the rules:
1. Document/pictures
2. Sixth file folder
3. Sixth picture
4. Blog about it.
5. Tag 6 others. (I'm going to have to tag everyone I know who blogs!)
1. Document/pictures
2. Sixth file folder
3. Sixth picture
4. Blog about it.
5. Tag 6 others. (I'm going to have to tag everyone I know who blogs!)
Addie's first bath. Looks thrilled doesn't she?
I tag:
The Riddle Family
Rogers' Blog
Lewis Times
Silcox Stories (if you have been double tagged, you can ignore me if you want)
Colyarland
Williams Family Paradise
2.24.2009
All In The Family
Remember me saying the horse had coliced. Well, we now know why. He has ulcers. He's on prevacid. No, I'm not kidding. Unfortunately, the prevacid regimen is $1400 for ONE month. Zantac has proven to help gastric ulcers in horses and is only $30 a month. There is another product called Miracle Clay that also heals ulcers and is quite a bit less expensive. We're still weighing our options.
He had been colicing for about 5 days and then started walking like he was drunk. I thought he was foundering (the hoof wall separates and his bones can rotate) because of the continuous pain. I called the vet who told me to put him "on ice" all night. I asked Allen what we had that could be used as a tub for the horse and this is what we came up with:
Allen asked me how the heck I was going to get this horse into a wading pool. I said, "I'm going to ask him to." I picked up his feet and in he went. I tied him to the stall, stuck some hay in front of him, put a bucket of water up and left him there for the night. He stood there, too. He's such a good boy. Most horses would have freaked out just having the pool in the stall with them. I Be Streakin' took it all in stride and didn't give me any hassle.
The next morning we went to the vets. Thankfully, he hadn't foundered. They kept all day on fluids as he was pretty dehydrated and had minimal gut sounds. By the end of the day, he was a little better, but not much. I can get an endoscopy (another $350) so I think I'm going to do some of the treatments and see what we get before I haul him up to ABQ and get it done.
I'm sure the doctor couldn't figure out why I knew everything there was to know about Zantac, Carafate, and Prevacid. Why did I know so much about gastric emptying and PPI's? Well, I said, I have reflux babies and ulcers myself. This whole freakin' family has had some kind of stomach trauma!!!! I'm starting to wonder if I'm so stressful to live with that I make everyone sick. (If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all here people.) I can't believe it. Anyhow, I hope old I Be Streakin' starts to feeling better soon.
He had been colicing for about 5 days and then started walking like he was drunk. I thought he was foundering (the hoof wall separates and his bones can rotate) because of the continuous pain. I called the vet who told me to put him "on ice" all night. I asked Allen what we had that could be used as a tub for the horse and this is what we came up with:
Allen asked me how the heck I was going to get this horse into a wading pool. I said, "I'm going to ask him to." I picked up his feet and in he went. I tied him to the stall, stuck some hay in front of him, put a bucket of water up and left him there for the night. He stood there, too. He's such a good boy. Most horses would have freaked out just having the pool in the stall with them. I Be Streakin' took it all in stride and didn't give me any hassle.
The next morning we went to the vets. Thankfully, he hadn't foundered. They kept all day on fluids as he was pretty dehydrated and had minimal gut sounds. By the end of the day, he was a little better, but not much. I can get an endoscopy (another $350) so I think I'm going to do some of the treatments and see what we get before I haul him up to ABQ and get it done.
I'm sure the doctor couldn't figure out why I knew everything there was to know about Zantac, Carafate, and Prevacid. Why did I know so much about gastric emptying and PPI's? Well, I said, I have reflux babies and ulcers myself. This whole freakin' family has had some kind of stomach trauma!!!! I'm starting to wonder if I'm so stressful to live with that I make everyone sick. (If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all here people.) I can't believe it. Anyhow, I hope old I Be Streakin' starts to feeling better soon.
Fun Times
LaNell is here to help out with the kids and the weather has been beautiful. We've spent a lot of time outside. Grandma and the girls have gone on walks daily - giving me a welcome break! Addie is smiling all of the time and Lexi is constantly commanding LaNell's attention. I've enjoyed the help quite a bit.
2.23.2009
God's Own Truth
I was over visiting MMB and saw this quote on We're Glad!Are You? and I have to say it couldn't be a more true statement by one of the wisest men ever to grace our planet.
Wisdom from President Hinkley:
"Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he has been robbed. The fact is that most putts don’t drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to be just like people, most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration, and most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. Life is just like an old time rail journey ... delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride."
Wisdom from President Hinkley:
"Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he has been robbed. The fact is that most putts don’t drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to be just like people, most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration, and most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. Life is just like an old time rail journey ... delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride."
2.22.2009
Ponder This
When actors get all teary eyed, mushy-gushy, oh-so-overwhelmed by the recognition of their talents and over-exaggerate the "Thank you, thank you", are they just acting?
Holy Crap
Let me set the stage:
For the last week and a half, Addie has only been eating 1 or 2 teaspoons from her first bottle of the day. The other 4 bottles, she takes between 1 and 2 ounces. The last 2 bottles, she eats about 3 ounces. So, the most she eats in a day is 14 ounces and 2 teaspoons. Not very much. We had an appointment with our GI doctor on Friday and he said that she might have delayed gastric emptying because of the prevacid. It slows down the acid production and thus reduces motility in the gut. She doesn't eat because she always feels full, but if she continues this way for much longer things could get pretty bad. Plus, we're trying to feed her and she hates it and now has her feeding aversion which will only continue to get worse.
He suggests this drug called Reglan. When we were in the ER with Addie, the doctor said, "No matter what, do not let them put her on Reglan!!!!" I found a chat forum for reflux families and I kept seeing things like, "seizures, screaming, emergency room, permanent brain damage, worst 3 days of our lives, kept hitting himself in the face, he started drooling and stopped responding to us" regarding people's experiences with Reglan. I asked the doctor about this and he said that 1 in 100 people will have a fairly serious side effect with Reglan, but most do well. The most common side effect is fussiness. If that occurs, just stop and all will be set to rights within a few days.
Of course, I went over and talked with my NICU nurse neighbor. She has been a NICU nurse for over 20 years. She says she and her fellow nurses LOVE IT! But, they have taken it out of the NICU because it caused so many problems. Hmmm. She is pretty conservative, though, so I ponder her statement.
I then called my sister-in-law's dad who is a pharmacist. I asked him if he'd give it to his kids. "Oh yeah." Says the risks are really small and the good it does can work wonders. Definitely give it a try. He said that a baby's main job in life is to eat and grow and you gotta try to make that happen if they are struggling.
Armed with this information, we proceed forward with the Reglan. Addie ate her next bottle (but up until that point, she had had 1 ounce and 1 teaspoon all day and was starving). She didn't show any weird behaviors, so we gave her another dose. She ate her next bottle really well. But, she didn't nap at all between feeds. She ate the next bottle well and slept as usual until this morning when she woke up about 1/2 an hour early. But this morning she still only ate 1 teaspoon. Hmmm. At church, she was awful. She did eat her whole bottle though (well, of course, she had only had a teaspoon again). No sleeping though. Next bottle, she ate just over an ounce and still no sleeping.
So, we are totally on guard with Addie. Watching every move, tick, jerk, and blink to see if we're ruining our kid. We're a little preoccupied with her wondering if she's fussy because she's hungry 'cause things are finally moving or perhaps because the Reglan is causing her to be fussy or maybe now that things are going through her system, she has a little gas. It could be anything, but she's acting a whole lot different and we want to try and rule out some things before taking her off the meds. But then again, if she's not eating much better, why keep her on them and risk the side effects? We go back and forth, back and forth wondering what to do with this kid.
Now, it's after church and Lexi is in her room having "quiet time". She has been coming out of her room during this and night time so I had told her to stay in her room before we put her down. So, I'm feeding Addie (the bottle where she only ate an ounce) and I keep hearing Lexi moving stuff around and opening and closing and opening and closing the door. But, I'm trying so hard to get Addie to eat without puking on me and trying to keep the bottle in her mouth while she bats at my hands, gags and kicks trying to avoid the bottle that I decide to check on Lex when I'm done with this battle (everyone else was napping).
Before I can get back to her, she comes down the hall with her play kitchen sink in hand. I notice she is totally naked. Uh oh. I immediately think she must have peed on something as I have no idea how long she's been in her birthday suit. Then, in slow motion, I also notice a large green streak across her chest. Then, in even slower motion, I notice her sink is completely full of...POOP! She had pooped and, knowing she couldn't come out of her room, had taken matters into her own hands - literally.
Tossing Addie in the swing, I grab Lexi and head to the bath and yell at Allen to get up and help. As I fill the tub, Lexi, with her impeccable timing says she needs to use the big girl potty. She then proceeds to go potty like nothing out of the ordinary is going on. I really want to beat her, but I find myself telling her what a great job she is doing. I toss her in the tub where she proceeds to say, "I was supposed to stay in my room? I'm sorry mama". We wash twice.
There is poop on play fruit, in the utensils (yeah, she scooped the poop with the noodle spoon and the stainer thing), ground into the burners on the stove, on the handle to the oven, on the floor of her cottage, on the carpet in her room, on her pillow, on her babies, everywhere. I tell them to start bleaching everything.
LaNell sticks everything in the sink with bleach. Allen dismantles the cottage and we proceed to wash it on the antibacterial setting in the washer (that, by the way, Allen had put 3x the needed detergent in since he'd never used it before). Allen scrubs the carpet while I get Lexi dressed. Luckily, Addie has finally fallen asleep in the swing while we are frantically trying to get poop out of everything.
Needless to say, this was one of the crappiest days we've had.
For the last week and a half, Addie has only been eating 1 or 2 teaspoons from her first bottle of the day. The other 4 bottles, she takes between 1 and 2 ounces. The last 2 bottles, she eats about 3 ounces. So, the most she eats in a day is 14 ounces and 2 teaspoons. Not very much. We had an appointment with our GI doctor on Friday and he said that she might have delayed gastric emptying because of the prevacid. It slows down the acid production and thus reduces motility in the gut. She doesn't eat because she always feels full, but if she continues this way for much longer things could get pretty bad. Plus, we're trying to feed her and she hates it and now has her feeding aversion which will only continue to get worse.
He suggests this drug called Reglan. When we were in the ER with Addie, the doctor said, "No matter what, do not let them put her on Reglan!!!!" I found a chat forum for reflux families and I kept seeing things like, "seizures, screaming, emergency room, permanent brain damage, worst 3 days of our lives, kept hitting himself in the face, he started drooling and stopped responding to us" regarding people's experiences with Reglan. I asked the doctor about this and he said that 1 in 100 people will have a fairly serious side effect with Reglan, but most do well. The most common side effect is fussiness. If that occurs, just stop and all will be set to rights within a few days.
Of course, I went over and talked with my NICU nurse neighbor. She has been a NICU nurse for over 20 years. She says she and her fellow nurses LOVE IT! But, they have taken it out of the NICU because it caused so many problems. Hmmm. She is pretty conservative, though, so I ponder her statement.
I then called my sister-in-law's dad who is a pharmacist. I asked him if he'd give it to his kids. "Oh yeah." Says the risks are really small and the good it does can work wonders. Definitely give it a try. He said that a baby's main job in life is to eat and grow and you gotta try to make that happen if they are struggling.
Armed with this information, we proceed forward with the Reglan. Addie ate her next bottle (but up until that point, she had had 1 ounce and 1 teaspoon all day and was starving). She didn't show any weird behaviors, so we gave her another dose. She ate her next bottle really well. But, she didn't nap at all between feeds. She ate the next bottle well and slept as usual until this morning when she woke up about 1/2 an hour early. But this morning she still only ate 1 teaspoon. Hmmm. At church, she was awful. She did eat her whole bottle though (well, of course, she had only had a teaspoon again). No sleeping though. Next bottle, she ate just over an ounce and still no sleeping.
So, we are totally on guard with Addie. Watching every move, tick, jerk, and blink to see if we're ruining our kid. We're a little preoccupied with her wondering if she's fussy because she's hungry 'cause things are finally moving or perhaps because the Reglan is causing her to be fussy or maybe now that things are going through her system, she has a little gas. It could be anything, but she's acting a whole lot different and we want to try and rule out some things before taking her off the meds. But then again, if she's not eating much better, why keep her on them and risk the side effects? We go back and forth, back and forth wondering what to do with this kid.
Now, it's after church and Lexi is in her room having "quiet time". She has been coming out of her room during this and night time so I had told her to stay in her room before we put her down. So, I'm feeding Addie (the bottle where she only ate an ounce) and I keep hearing Lexi moving stuff around and opening and closing and opening and closing the door. But, I'm trying so hard to get Addie to eat without puking on me and trying to keep the bottle in her mouth while she bats at my hands, gags and kicks trying to avoid the bottle that I decide to check on Lex when I'm done with this battle (everyone else was napping).
Before I can get back to her, she comes down the hall with her play kitchen sink in hand. I notice she is totally naked. Uh oh. I immediately think she must have peed on something as I have no idea how long she's been in her birthday suit. Then, in slow motion, I also notice a large green streak across her chest. Then, in even slower motion, I notice her sink is completely full of...POOP! She had pooped and, knowing she couldn't come out of her room, had taken matters into her own hands - literally.
Tossing Addie in the swing, I grab Lexi and head to the bath and yell at Allen to get up and help. As I fill the tub, Lexi, with her impeccable timing says she needs to use the big girl potty. She then proceeds to go potty like nothing out of the ordinary is going on. I really want to beat her, but I find myself telling her what a great job she is doing. I toss her in the tub where she proceeds to say, "I was supposed to stay in my room? I'm sorry mama". We wash twice.
There is poop on play fruit, in the utensils (yeah, she scooped the poop with the noodle spoon and the stainer thing), ground into the burners on the stove, on the handle to the oven, on the floor of her cottage, on the carpet in her room, on her pillow, on her babies, everywhere. I tell them to start bleaching everything.
LaNell sticks everything in the sink with bleach. Allen dismantles the cottage and we proceed to wash it on the antibacterial setting in the washer (that, by the way, Allen had put 3x the needed detergent in since he'd never used it before). Allen scrubs the carpet while I get Lexi dressed. Luckily, Addie has finally fallen asleep in the swing while we are frantically trying to get poop out of everything.
Needless to say, this was one of the crappiest days we've had.
2.19.2009
Whatta Load Of...
laundry!!!
That's right. Our new washer and dryer came today. I went straight for the tough stuff and shoved my king-sized down-alternative comforter (say that 5 times fast) into the washer and went for it.
I'd love to say it washed it with no problems, but alas, even the miracle of the front loader with ginormous capacity had a little bit of a struggle with the fake feathers. You see, these new fangled things are too smart for their own good. If the load is off balance, it re-sets the cycle every time - up to 15 times. The washer adds 3 minutes each time it does this, too. I kept going in the laundry room to check on the progress of things only to find the countdown at 29. It was there for, like, an hour. So, I made it drain & spin manually so we could just move on. I'm wondering if any washer can tackle that blasted bedding.
Otherwise, it has done a bang up job. Clean clothes. Less detergent. Much drier after the wash cycle. And, uber (yes, I'm stealing yet another word from a fellow blogger) quiet. The best part? The washing machine does not try to walk out while it's on the job. Yahoo!
That's right. Our new washer and dryer came today. I went straight for the tough stuff and shoved my king-sized down-alternative comforter (say that 5 times fast) into the washer and went for it.
I'd love to say it washed it with no problems, but alas, even the miracle of the front loader with ginormous capacity had a little bit of a struggle with the fake feathers. You see, these new fangled things are too smart for their own good. If the load is off balance, it re-sets the cycle every time - up to 15 times. The washer adds 3 minutes each time it does this, too. I kept going in the laundry room to check on the progress of things only to find the countdown at 29. It was there for, like, an hour. So, I made it drain & spin manually so we could just move on. I'm wondering if any washer can tackle that blasted bedding.
Otherwise, it has done a bang up job. Clean clothes. Less detergent. Much drier after the wash cycle. And, uber (yes, I'm stealing yet another word from a fellow blogger) quiet. The best part? The washing machine does not try to walk out while it's on the job. Yahoo!
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About Me
- Riddlez
- What started as a way to communicate with far away friends and family has become a place for this horse trainer/HR manager turned stay at home mom of 3 girls to hold on to a bit of her own identity. It's my take on the ins and outs, the ups and downs, the thoughts and feelings, the mistakes and triumphs of this family as we bumble our way to eternity.