My poor baby horse, you guys. I scrambled back to the barn wayyyy before the morning feeder got there and could tell that there was something wrong with Lex's eye. I brought her in, called the vet, and long story short, she got hit in the eye by something. She's got a shallow corneal ulcer and also some other injuries to it, all of which we're treating. The vet bill was basically a million dollars, but it's her EYE. There's no price on that.
Lex is hurting a lot. She has to wear a fly mask with an eye patch, too, which is hot. This morning after the vet left I just put a bunch of duct tape on the inside of it to shield her eye from the sunlight (one of the medications she gets dilates her pupil), but that just trapped the heat all day, so that side of her face was super sweaty when I got back out this evening. I got her a box fan this evening, so she can at least stand in front of that tomorrow, and I spent forever sewing in a cover on the fly mask that should be at least somewhat more breathable than duct tape. I didn't finish it, actually, so some of it is still duct tape. I'll get it done tomorrow. At least she's mostly outside in the dark.
I just don't have it in me to write a lot right now, or to craft interesting paragraphs. It's been a shitty day. I also got in a car accident (some asshole stopped on the road and backed up and slammed into me, despite the fact that I was laying on my horn) but that's the least of my problems. I'm fine, my car's fine, and that guy is lucky he wasn't picking up his teeth with broken fingers, given that I was on my way to get Lex some more medicine.
I just want Lex to feel better. She hurts, she's confused, and there's so little I can do except treat her eye four (4) times a day (and the barn's not exactly next door). I was telling my mom all of this and she reminded me that if I hadn't bought Lex, she'd be dead by now, which just made me cry harder.
Tips for sanity maintenance? I just want my happy, healthy horse back, please.
What a day. Hugs to you, hang in there with Lex. It seems weird, but in retrospect, our love for them is forged through good times and bad. :) Things will get better for you.
ReplyDelete*hugs* Big deep breaths.
ReplyDeleteholy moly. talk about the weekend of wicked horse karma... sounds like we had similar weekends. Glad you caught the problem and Lex is on the mend!! big hugs.
ReplyDeleteI know it is agony to have a horse injured and in pain, but here are some positive things to remember: horses live in the moment, so she's not pining for the way things used to be or worrying about how long it will be til she's better. You could argue that living in the moment doesn't help if she's in pain every moment, but since you're treating her very assiduously her pain is certainly decreasing. Atropine dilates, but also eases pain.
ReplyDeleteI've seen horses with eye injuries wear a sort of modified racehorse blinker hood with the whole eye covered: Kris may have one because she used to have a ton of lay-ups from the vet school with eye injuries. Imagine how much more difficult it would have been to manage this if she were still out at the old farm!
The car accident utterly and absolutely SUCKS - there's no way to sugar coat that... except neither you nor your car were hurt. I can't help it! I have to sugar coat everything!
I think I'll go bake some cupcakes now.
I <3 you, Shelly! Kris actually gave me one of those masks today. She's the best. I appreciate all the encouragement. I think she seemed a little less ouchy today and definitely more settled in at the new barn.
DeleteI'm sorry! Eye problems are painful and expensive but she will get through this just fine. Take a deep breath it'll be okay.
ReplyDelete