Final Accounting

One of the many little jobs that I hadn't gotten around to yet has been my taxes, but that is one job I can't put off much longer.  Nothing like a deadline to get a body moving.  So, I've been getting all of my stuff together and trying to impose some pitiful semblance of order on piles of paperwork. One of those piles included all the vet bills from Cornell, et all.  I finally gathered up my courage and added them up.  Ready for this?

Cornell:  $7768.17

Other vets:  $579

Bandaging and other medicaments: $400

Total:  $8747.17

As a counterbalance to that rather frightening number, you amazing people contributed a total of $5600 to that daunting sum.  I don't say much about it lately because I just don't know what to say.  It just blows my mind.  I hope every one of you knows how much all of your help and support means to me.

I also hope all of you know what it means to me that you stop by my little blog to visit most days.  Your comments and feedback are what helps keep this blog going.  I know I am terrible about responding to your comments and I hope to do better in the future.  It is not that I don't want to, it is a matter of lack of time and doubt.  I never know if anyone actually comes back to read my responses or if they just sort of disappear into the ether, especially since it usually takes me at least a day or two to answer.  Blogging in general is like that.  I write what I enjoy writing or feel a need to write and send it out into the world.  Often there is little or no feedback other then the fact that the blog averages about 400 page views a day.  That also blows my mind.  I know it can't all be from spammers.:)

In the end, I guess I just wanted to say Thank You!  once again and let all of you know where things stand.  I will be taking the PayPal button down soon if I can get blogger to cooperate (often iffy, every time I try to make a change to my template I end up cursing and swearing a lot so I try to avoid it.  I may need a bit more sunshine before I can tackle that).

I would also like to invite all of you to let me know if there is something you would like to see more of or would change on this blog.  I would be very interested to hear what you have to say.  We're all ears.

PS - this photo of Ramsey (taken yesterday) struck me because it is one of those fleeting moments where I still see a baby donkey.  Yet, almost like an aura or a visible echo, I can see the beautiful grown-up donkey he will one day be.  He is going to be such a handsome man.
  

Success!

For once things went almost as planned.  We made it to Cornell at 7:58 this morning with dry roads and no trouble.  Can't beat that!  As soon as we arrived, word went out that Ramsey was back and all of his fans started appearing like magic.  It really is amazing what this one little donkey seems to do to people and I can really see how donkeys can make wonderful therapy animals.  Even worried and distraught horse owners in the midst of their own crises, couldn't help but break out in smiles when they saw Ramsey headed their way, especially wearing his high-top.   One student did an actual, honest-to-God happy dance when she heard Ramsey was there.  He is simply irresistible. 

The good news for Ramsey is that the vet and farrier both thought that Ramsey's foot looks great!  They even decided that they did not need new x-rays since it is healing so well and he is walking so soundly on it.  The farrier trimmed the foot and took off all the dead hoof that I was afraid to cut.  Between what I did last week and what he did today, his foot is at least an inch shorter.  He still has a huge hole in his foot, in fact, it may actually be larger now, but the wound is clean, dry and healing beautifully.

The hole in the side wall has grown out so much that, from the side it looks to be half gone.  However, that large section of sole and frog that was dead, has now been cut out so the hole in the bottom of his foot is rather frightfully large.

After the trimming I did last week, I thought this would happen so I wasn't really surprised.  The hoof that is left is healthy and growing fast, so we all think it will be OK as long as I can continue to keep it completely clean and dry.  The only drawback is that there was no way they could use an acrylic patch on the foot.  The stuff gets very hard and, while it works well on the sidewall of the hoof, it can't be used on the sole.  It would be like making him walk on a large rock all the time.  It means I have another 5-6 weeks of having to keep the foot bandaged. 

Again, I am not surprised by this and I'm not really unhappy about it either.  The patch would have made my life much, much easier, but it also prevents any further treatment or observation of the hoof.  If something were to go wrong under that patch, I would never know until he came up lame again.  It means six more weeks of rather all-consuming care, but, we have made it this far, we'll make it another six weeks.  I do get to stretch the bandage changes out from every other day to every 3-4 four days, so there is at least a tiny reprieve.  I hope to have some pictures for you in a few days. 

The other very good news is that Ramsey's gelding surgery went very well.  Donkeys are much harder and riskier to castrate then most other animals and I have been worried about this.  I am glad I had the surgery done at Cornell in a very controlled environment rather then on the farm.  I am also just extremely relieved to have it done.  I have heard of donkeys actually breeding as early as seven months and Ramsey is just about 6 1/2 months old.  If we had had to put this of for too much longer, I would probably have had to find somewhere else for Emma to stay.  None of us would have been happy about that! 

All in all, it was a very god day and I can't tell you how happy and relieved I am to have this one done and behind us.  We still have a long way to go, but I feel good about where we are.  I had felt like we were making progress, but it is so good to have it  confirmed by the people who really know.  Both the vet and the farrier told me to just keep doing whatever I have been because the results are outstanding.  Very good to hear.

One more trip to Cornell

If all goes according to plan (I winch every time I hear that word), we are going back to Cornell at the crack of dawn Friday morning for Ramsey's (HOPEFULLY!!!) last checkup.  He is going to get another set of x-rays, see the vet, the farrier and (also hopefully), get a patch on his foot.  We will see.

If all goes well and according to plan (ouch, there's that nasty little four letter word again), Ramsey is also going to be gelded in the morning.  He is six months old now and we can't put this off much longer without having to make some drastic changes in donkey living arrangements, which I very much don't want to have to do. 

Ramsey has to be at Cornell by 8:00am, which means leaving here around 6:00.  Since I work nights and normally get to bed round 3:00am......it's going to be a very long day.  Still, I am really hoping that the weather is OK and we don't have to reschedule. I really want to get there and get all of this done and behind us.  I very much want to come home tomorrow and report that my sound young gelding has returned home for good.  Wish us luck.

High Fashion

I have been accused, more than once, over the years of being singularly lacking in fashion sense.  Not without cause I suppose.  Being graced with a stature that has precluded my having ever found an item of clothing that really fits properly, combined with the profoundest indifference, leads me to chose whatever is comfortable and functional.  Fashion does not enter into the equation.

Recent depictions of me aside, I own neither a dress nor a pair of red shoes.  Or a purse.  Still, I can say with a fair degree of certainty, that I am not the strangest looking person one might see wandering the aisles of a grocery store at 2:00 am, so it's OK. 

I am here today though, with incontrovertible proof that high fashion is alive and well here on the farm.  Ramsey debuted his new footwear at Cornell yesterday with devastating effect.  I have never seen the place so crowded and busy with owners, vets and students rushing from one crisis to another, but Ramsey stopped traffic and had people near to swooning at the shear adorableness when he walked down the aisle...

The friend who trucked Ramsey quipped that the shoe was a bigger hit then Ramsey.  My reply to that was, "it's the man that makes the clothes"....

In case any of you are wondering where I found such perfect little shoes...I have been looking for some kind of protective footwear for Ramsey since he came home from Cornell.  A reader in Canada had the excellent suggestion to try dog booties, but I had trouble finding anything I thought would work. They are also expensive.  She also sent me a link to a site selling boots for mini horses, but when I checked it out, the boots were unavailable.  They also cost $80 EACH, which I think is crazy.  Finally, I turned to my friend Google and did a search for mini-horse boots and this video popped up.  It took me a few minutes to actually figure out what she was talking about and then I was highly skeptical, but the more I watched, the more I thought "huh, that could work".

These perfect little Ramsey shoes are actually made for Teddy Bears.  I know, who'd a thunk right?  I sure wouldn't have.  I was willing to try though, and for $7 a pair (and that includes shipping), Ramsey is stylin' in his very own build-a-bear shoes.  Or maybe that should be build-a-donkey shoes?

A Little Good News...

We made to Cornell and back this afternoon.  Ramsey had a new set of x-rays and got to visit with some of his fan club.  The x-rays looked good, there are no significant changes from his last set.  The recurring abscess that had me so worried is actually caused by his heel bulbs rubbing inside of the bandage.  Now that I know that there is not something terrible going on inside his foot causing the pain and swelling I kept seeing, I can address the issue separately.

They told me over and over again when Ramsey came home that I had to keep his foot absolutely dry.  Well, I guess I am nothing if not diligent, because his heel bulbs are too dry.  I am going to apply some ichthamol to that part of the foot when I do bandage changes to help soften it up a bit.  I just have to be careful to treat it separately from the surgical site and not contaminate that area.

The surgical site itself looks good and is forming granulation tissue as it should.  The daily bandage change rather than every-other day has been beneficial and helped stop an incipient infection.  It is a pain, but I am going to continue with the daily changes for a while yet until I am sure everything is OK.  Barring further trouble, he goes back for another checkup in four weeks.

Cornell's farrier trimmed the foot a little and said his other feet look good, which I was very glad to hear since I have been trimming his feet myself.  I keep trying to figure out how this happened and blaming myself is the easiest answer.  However, there is no evidence of that.  In fact, there is no evidence of anything, his feet are in good shape.  I don't think we will ever know what precipitated this.   It could have been something as insignificant as a sliver of hay pricking his coronet band.  All I know is that bacteria got inside his foot and that is that. 

Regardless, Ramsey got a good report card from the vets today and I feel better about where we are at and where we should be going.  I am glad I took him in as I have a much clearer sense of what is happening in his foot and what needs to happen.  I am even more glad that he got to come back home and didn't have to stay.  (Oh, and just wait till you get to see Ramsey's new footwear, it was all the rage at Cornell.)

Back to Cornell

We are headed back to Cornell in the morning.  There are some things about Ramsey's foot that I don't like the look of.  The abscess that blew out last week never seemed to drain and go away.  Now it seems to be coming back.   I think it is time to take another set of x-rays and find out what is going on.  I could have someone come out to the farm, but she thinks it would be better to take him back to Cornell so that is what I am trying to get set up.  I hate to stress Ramsey and Emma (and everyone else) out this way,  but Cornell is the only place really equipped to deal with this.  I'll update when I can. 

 

Update #?

I know things are getting just a little too crazy around here when I have to go back and read my own blog posts in order to remember where I left off.  That's where we're at.  However, today is a new day and things are going a bit better.

The vet was out to see Tessa yesterday afternoon.  She could not find any foreign objects in the puncture wound and we are all a bit puzzled as to why this rather insignificant wound has caused so much trouble.  I personally believe that there is a strain of bacteria that has infected the soil in this region that is far more aggressive and resistant to treatment then normal.   I feel that Tessa's reaction and Ramsey's pedal osteitis could be related.  They are in fact only the latest  (and in Ramsey's case most severe) foot problems in a long string of problems that I am aware of in this area in the past three years.  Regardless, Tessa is better today.  She is on the same antibiotics ad anti-inflammatory as Ramsey and she seems to be responding well to them.  I am watching her VERY carefully and if she does not continue to improve I will take other action.

After dealing with Tessa yesterday, I went to Cornell to see Ramsey (and from there to work.  Is it any wonder I can't remember where I am?).  He had another set of x-rays done and they look good.  I have been thinking about this all night and I think that I should try to bring Ramsey home as soon as possible.  The vets were concerned yesterday that he might have been regressing, but the x-rays and other tests show just the opposite.  After spending quite a bit if time with him myself, I think that he is lonely and tired.  While he certainly gets a great deal of attention, he is spending almost all of his time in a 12x12 stall that he is too short to see out of.  Also, the lights are on 24 hours a day and there are people around all the time, checking him every hour.  It didn't really matter when he was so heavily medicated, but now he needs more sleep and he needs companionship.  He needs to get out of the hospital so he can heal. 

I will be speaking the Dr. Walker this evening.  Hopefully, I'll be bringing Ramsey home tomorrow.

A Step In the Right Direction

I went to see Ramsey again, he is doing wonderfully.  They are switching him over to oral antibiotics which is a big step in the right direction toward coming home.  He gets to go for short walks now and, while he is still quite lame, it doesn't stop him from wanting to race up and down the halls.  Lord, what fun he could have in there!  And what havoc he would wreck.  I can just picture the herd of earnest, young vet students billowing in his wake as he darts and weaves through the rooms and aisles of Cornell. 

The thing about Ramsey is that, he really is irresistible.  Every single person we met in the hallways took one look at him, broke into a huge smile and just had to get their hands on him no matter what they were doing or where they were going.   He even sidetracked a whole group of about twenty people taking a tour.  Cornell's large animal hospital is an impressive place, but it can't hold a candle to a certain little brown donkey.  Ramsey simply accepts it as a given that everyone loves him and, even if it's against their better judgement, everyone winds up doing just that.

We're still on track for bringing him home on Monday.  Dr. Walker is going to walk me through his last bandage change and I am going to meet with the farrier there to discuss his foot trimming.   I keep thinking I must have messed this up along the way somehow for this to have happened.  The vets have all been adamant though that I haven't and rationally, I know they are right.  Looking back, the only thing I might have done differently was to get him to Cornell sooner.  However, it would not have changed the outcome.  Somehow, bacteria got into his foot and attacked the bone.  From there, there are only two options: euthanasia or surgery.  It's all or nothing.

I chose to go all out.  Others may have chosen differently and I can't say they would have been wrong.  From an economic stand point, my decision makes no sense.  However, once I knew that Ramsey could be saved and would have a good chance of recovering, I could not let money be the deciding factor.   Euthanasia is both a responsibility and a gift that we animal owners can and should bestow when called for.  The overwhelming sense of relief and peace that I felt when I decided to try and save Ramsey, makes me know that I made the right choice this time.   

The unexpected and incredibly generous outpouring of support from all of you tells me that you too, must feel some of that relief and peace.  I certainly hope so as it is a rare gift to know so absolutely, that one has made the right decision.  I have received $3800 in donations.  There really is just something irresistible and special about this one pesty baby...

A Visit With Ramsey

From my visit with Ramsey yesterday....

Aroma therapy for donkey babies.  I stuffed the middle of his favorite toy with Emma's hair.  He plays with it whenever he is alone in his stall....

No more IV and drinking on his own...

Playing tug-o-war and showing off part of his spiffy new hair cut...I might have to find him a leg warmer.  Are those back in style yet?

"i WIN!"

"HOW ABOUT A REMATCH?  i'LL EVEN LET YOU USE BOTH HANDS, just as long as you put that camera thingie down and use them for scratching.  i've got another itch..."

Is this what you'd call a one-legged-reverse-Mohawk?  It's what all the fashionable donkeys are wearing this season.

I tried to get the the vets to let me take their picture with Ramsey, but they were camera shy.  I've never seen a barn aisle at Cornell clear out so fast. 

A Really Good Day!

I went to see Ramsey this afternoon and he is doing GREAT!  He is off IV fluids.  He is on his feet and putting weight on his injured foot.  They still have not decided whether he will need a splint or not, but the swelling in the tendon is gone and he is stretching his leg more on his own.  The vets are talking about WHEN he comes home not IF.  Everyone adores him and both vets made a point of telling me how much fun he is to have around.  Of course, I already knew that.  I am just glad that they are getting to see just why Ramsey is so special.

I spent over an hour with him, scratching all his favorite spots.  I had his lip twitching and his eyes rolling at the pleasure of it.  He loves his toys and some of the students have started playing tug-o-war with him.  There was no sneaking out while he was unconscious this time.  I finally had to corral one of the students to stay with him and distract him while I left.  He is a happy donkey and we are not worried about him giving up on life anymore.  I will have some pictures for you tomorrow.

The sun came out and it stopped spitting sleet at us for the first time in weeks.  Emma took a nap in the sun.

And a simply incredible, amazing, awe inspiring bit of news is that I gave Cornell another $1500 today and it all came from YOU!! 

I started this blog almost as a whim and I have continued with it because I enjoy doing it.  I have been surprised and gratified by how many people seem to enjoy it, but honestly folks, I just had no idea how many of you have come to care about me and my little herd.  I am honored beyond words by your generosity and caring.  Which is why I am going to just say THANK YOU again and shut up now.

Instead, how about some pretty pictures of some Fall colors that tend to get overlooked when the trees are showing off.  I took these for Sunday Stills, but I got a bit distracted last weekend....

A very VERY Sick Donkey

Well folks, you better sit down for this one.  I'm not going to get into all the details because I just don't have the energy, but here is where we're at...

Ramsey is at Cornell, Emma wound up staying home because we could not get her on the trailer.  I don't have a trailer myself so I have not been able to practice this with her.  Her only trailer experience was the day she came here .  I don't know how they got her on the trailer that day, but I doubt it was pretty.  I hadn't meant to wean Ramsey this early, but I guess it is just as well. 

As for Ramsey, he has a very VERY bad case of septic pedal osteitis.  This is a deep infection of the coffin bone in the foot.  In Ramsey's case, the infection has also become systemic.  There is some concern that the infection has reached his spinal column.  It is too soon to tell if some of his symptoms are the beginning of meningitis or simple exhaustion.

Best case scenario:  There is no meningitis.  The vets are able to stabilize Ramsey and control the systemic infection within the next couple of days.  If they manage that, he will then require surgery to debride and treat the infected bone followed by lower limb perfusion treatments.  All that followed by at least three months of intensive care at home.  Total cost: $8000-10,000.  Which I don't have.

Worst case scenario...well, I just can't write about that.  I hope to know more tomorrow.

An Injured Donkey

I got an email from Dash's mom (Remember Dash? He is Emma's baby brother), turns out he has had a rough week.  Last Thursday, he slipped on some of the ice we have covering everything here.  Somewhere in the fall or the scramble to get back up, he fractured 2 bones in his right front leg.  He has spiral fractures of the P1 and P2, which are the bones that go into the top of the foot and the pastern bone respectively.  Spiral fractures are caused by torsion, so somewhere in his fall, his foot got twisted rather badly. 

Luckily, Dash lives within driving distance of Cornell and has people who love him enough to take him in for repairs.  He had a rather lengthy surgery and a stay in the hospital and came home this afternoon.  He will go back in a few weeks for a new cast and a checkup.  I believe that his prognosis is good, he should recover. 

He was lucky enough to get excellent care from one of the best orthopedic surgeons in the country.  And, in typical donkey fashion, he charmed everyone at Cornell while he was there.  If there is anything good to come out of such a terrible thing, it may be a few more donkey converts.  If nothing else, at least a number of future vets will know how wonderful donkeys are.  I will post an update as soon as there is any news.  In the meantime, I will be sending positive thoughts to little Dash.