a long and winding road..........

Another bottle of antibiotics and I am hopeful that we can finally kick this mrsa.  I actually doubt that it is going to be that easy but I can try to think positively.  Her infection is not getting in the way of your 15 minute rides.  The last couple of times I was able to just hop on  with the hackamore and no saddle.  She didn't take a misstep or act silly in any way.  There doesn't seem to be any neurological damage and she  goes along just like she did before.  Her ears work, her eye blinks, and she is making more tears every day. I still have her wearing her mask with the plastic cup over her eye just as a precaution.  We only put ointment in her eye once a day, too.  Now, she stands there without a halter or lead rope and lets me cram my whole finger into her eye.  Before it took an act of congress to get her to let us do that.  Nothing seems to hurt anymore so she is a little less skittish when I handle her.  I think we are at the end of worrying about the temporohyoid osteoarthroapy. We are only working on the infection now and that will take a while to clear up.  I will keep posting to this blog to let you know what may happen in the long run.  So, check back periodically and I will keep writing.  This has been a long and horrible road that I have been traveling.  At this point with her recovery, this far, I am glad that I saw it through because I have my horse back.

'nuff said

October 12, 2011

Not the greatest posture but nevertheless, riding!

the waiting game.......

This week she has been experiencing some sore feet.  We have her back on some meds to help with that.  I am concerned about what I call the "F" word for horses. I would hate to get this far only to have her founder.  That would suck.  She seems o.k. today, though.  Last week she was pretty lame.  Today she was trotting around the bull pen.  We  will keep watching and praying.  Her eye looks great and her infection is slowly getting smaller.  This is a tough infection to beat.  It really takes long term antibiotics to kick it.

things remain the same.......

Everything is pretty much the same.  She is on tons of antibiotics and we are just waiting and waiting.  So, nothing new right now.  The condition of her eye goes back and forth from dry to moist.  So we keep sticking ointment in her eye and she continues to wear her mask to help keep the area around her eye humid so that her eye doesn't require as many tears.  I hope she will make more tears so that this problem goes away.

point of view......

It all depends on perspective.  If you look at the little princess from this side she is ready to go for a long ride or have a nice bath.

From this side you can see the ointment in her sore eye and her still drooping lip.  Her ear looks pretty good, though.  As soon as we can clear up the infection under her jaw these signs SHOULD disappear.

The saga continues.............

On Tuesday, she received the first of her IV treatments for the bacterium that she is harboring.  There isn't much change.  We have been squirting a betadine solution up into the hole that is draining and the pressure from that caused her eye to go south again.  It was dry and milky white.  That was a scare.  We started putting ointment in her eye and put her special mask back on to see it that would help.  Today her eye seemed super.  She is more comfortable and her eye isn't so white.  I hope we can sustain this  until we get this infection cleared up.  We just have to be more gentle when squirting the medicine in the hole under her jaw.  The saga continues...............

the four letter word..........

Well, the cultures finally came back on her infection.  She has MRSA.  Great....  She is rapidly becoming the six-million dollar horse.  We will try another medicine and then resort to an I.V. treatment once a week for three weeks.  I think the "cow" medicine has been working better than anyone knows because I can see a difference.  I will let my vet be the judge, though.  I just don't understand why this keeps going and going and going.    This is getting old.  I hope we see the end of this soon. I am very tired.