Hard to Say No

Thanks everyone for the positive thoughts for Comrade. He is still at Morvan and on his way to healing completely. He took awhile to clear the salmonella test but finally came off iso last week. Peggy said he has put on 80lbs and has eaten them out of Dengi. Hopefully he can come home in another week or so.

Someone is looking good!

In other news, I think I just might be turning a corner in my own healing. I hesitate to hope or even write it, but there it is. It comes at a good time since Roscoe seems to have lost all his exercise riders. The teenager was not unexpected once school started. Kelly was a hit. She had all these plans and then poof... no more. I can understand the time to come out is tough. She did offer to care lease him for a year and bring him to her trainer's. It was hard to say no, but too many factors make the situation difficult. I promised Roscoe he could have turnout buddies and live as normal a life as I could give him. That would not happen at a boarding barn. Plus the added difficulty of him being an active breeding stallion. Kelly does not have a trailer, so I would have to pick up my trailer then go pick him up before a collection which would be a nightmare timing wise.
I think she thought there was a chance I would let him go because we have started Ember. Except Roscoe is my therapy pony, who keeps me motivated while dealing with all my health crap. So we will go back to the slow track we were on and continue to build from the progress Kelly made.

Recently I have taken him out into the turnout for his rides. He has to figure out how to hold himself up on the uneven ground. The first day he said it was too much work, but the next ride he went right to work. A benefit is that he can't run through stuff as easily and slows down. Then when we go back in the arena, he listens to my cues better. We have had some really fun rides. Maybe if I keep improving we just might be able to do a first level test in the winter series.

Tongue Tied

Send healing vibes for Comrade.

 Like me, his recovery has been slow. And now his tongue is infected again. He has been making funny faces and having some issues since the surgery. The vet said the scarring could make him chew funny. So we began to think we were worry warts. Then Thursday he did not eat his food and was drooling like crazy. Even at his worst before the surgery, he always tried to eat. Peggy arranged for the vet to come Friday. Of course by then he was colicky from not eating. Banamine helped him feel better and eat some hay. The vet came and looked at his tongue. Sure enough it was squishy. The options were another course of antibiotics for a longer time or bring him back to the hospital. Peggy chose the hospital and fortunately he could go right away. The vet who did the prior surgery kicked himself for not having Comrade come back for a follow up. He said this time they would get it fixed. As he poked and prodded the tongue, it exploded push. About 1.5 cups of that nasty white stuff. He could stick his finger in the tongue and feel the bottom.  To keep the wound open and draining, they cut a hole all the way through. Then they tied a rubber tube through the hold around the tongue.  Comrade was literally tongue tied. The vet figured it would not last long but it would help.
Peggy had a minor panic attack when she received an update on Saturday. A different vet  said that around midnight he had a "seizure." Then he kept going as if it was not a big deal. Peggy finally asked what him having a seizure means. The vet proceeded to say "his temperature went up." And a light bulb moment, the vet's accent made "fever" sound like "seizure." She could relax again.
The next update was less exciting. Comrade had diarrhea caused by one of the antibiotics. So he had to go on a sort of isolation until he passed three salmonella tests. He also lost his tube.
Hopefully he will be home next week and be on his way to being completely fixed! We certainly could not have done the targeted flushing that the hospital can, but we miss him. Comrade though is loving all the attention. He even nickered at the vet.