Phew!! We made it! God is so good. And so kind. And I'm so grateful for His mercy and goodness.
I got to the clinic this morning and snuggled with Dan. His evaluation happened a little later than expected, but it was good. He is not ataxic or neurologic but he definitely struggles a bit with his head held high going up and down hills. He really gets a bit of proprioceptively lost in the hind like that. Of course he also slid his left hind shoe off to the side again but I don't think that had any bearing on his proprioception. He was remarkably good! Sure, they had a big tall dude doing his leading and they had the chain since I warned them, but Dan really didn't try any naughtiness. He was also much stiffer in his neck for his carrot stretches than he has been, especially to the right.
And then I went and sat under the oak trees (or whatever they are) and spanish moss and... cried a little bit. And distracted myself on my phone... and prayed... and just sat... and was still. Praying sometimes, and sometimes just sitting. It was nice.
Finally they were ready for him. Dr. Tull is amazing and let me put on some spare scrubs and come in there to watch. It was fascinating!! A bit tough seeing my big brave boy on the table admittedly. And being hoisted in the air (although I only glanced at that part). The team at Ocala Equine was incredible. They did a great job and kept everything smooth. Even when there was a bleeder.... and even when Dan's heart rate doubled... I'm sure it was extra stressful for them too having me there. And Dan was hypertensive practically the whole time so she was working hard to keep him happy and safe. Bless them. They were all incredible. The surgery was fascinating! My vet brain kicked in and I got to watch and learn. It was the coolest! The way they check the anatomy and landmarks and then make sure they are still in the right place is just... brilliant common sense. It was really cool! There were some tense moments though. And I just kept saying "I trust you God" and... sure enough, God came through. I am so grateful at His generosity on soothing me... even in my "unbelief'. When we first got started they put on some music and the first song was the Journey song we kept hearing at St Simons a few weeks ago. It brought me peace. However, later.... "Another one bites the dust" came on... um POOR CHOICE! Ha ha. Luckily that did NOT coincide with his heart rate doubling or the massive spurting bleeder. Anyways, because of that bleeder... which kept bleeding every time he tried to get more debridement cranially... he opted to stop there and see what we had. He mentioned that sometimes he can't get as much as he wants but... there's only so much he can do in the moment. So they took him off to CT and... there is a dramatic improvement but more cranially in the space there is still the narrow spot. Dr. Tull was so hard on himself and said that he really wanted to get more space there, but.. unfortunately we would just have to see how he did. I get it sir! You can't keep working when you can't see. Not when you're in that very delicate space. That was the wise choice. And the left side is the better side, so... hopefully we got enough space that it'll be effective.
They sent me home at that point because they said that they take their sweet time waking them up to make sure it goes smooth, so.... I got in the car and left. I didn't want to... I wanted to kiss my baby boy and let him know he was okay. But I had been there all day and they had been so gracious so... I did. I waited til I got word he was up to get food because I wanted to be able to fly back there if I needed to. (I'm sorry God... I believe, but please help my unbelief). I finally got a text that he was up and fine. He bit his lip. And then later... he also tried to army crawl his way off the mat so he scraped some hair of his knee and fetlock. hee hee.. I shouldn't laugh but of COURSE HE DID! It's Dan! Honestly, I'm impressed that's all it was. Although I'm not convinced they didn't make it seem calmer than it was. I did get a video of him walking back ot his stall, so... that made me feel much better. So then I ate! I ended up eating at the Stormy Crab which is right next door to the hotel. I got shrimp and crablegs and had to laugh because my crab meat looked just like his neck. All that muscle fibers and stuff in the scope view looked like crab meat. I'm not right either Dan! We're a match made in Heaven. It was pretty tasty too! And then I had a slice of key lime pie because... it was a stressful but good day.
So... tomorrow I'll get up early and go snuggle him and let him know he's not abandoned and then go learn some acupuncture. I'm not sure I'll have time to go visit him during the lunch break but hopefully! And then he can do his 3 days of strict stall rest there. I should bring his trazadone tomorrow for them.
Thank you God for hearing my prayers and bringing my pony out safe and sound. Thank you for not taking him as your apocolypse horse just yet. Thank you for soothing my soul and reminding me you are with me even when I'm doubting. Thank you for the brilliant people at Ocala Equine Hospital who took such fantastic care of my boy. Thank you. Thank you for everything.
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