“Ten” update!

Ten’s already had some challenges, and he’s gotten through them. As if a long and very slow drive back to Pilot Hill in his condition late Wednesday wasn’t enough, late Thursday, he had a mouth bleed. We’re not sure what happened, but it appears something pierced an artery in/near his palate. He had a steady stream of blood from his mouth for what seemed an eternity. It may have been some “things” packed in a pocket in his gums (think foxtail, stemmy weeds, hay, etc.) or maybe he picked up something on the ground somewhere? We don’t know. He’s on a soaked alfalfa pellet diet, so it wasn’t something he was fed. Thanks to the docs at LBEMC, bleeding stopped, and he got through it. He got a fluid boost, blood was drawn for diagnostics, and recovered surprisingly well.

He had a good day Friday, and he got another round of fluids on Saturday and a recheck of some blood values. His blood values were all over the board, but not surprising based on his condition.

He was doing pretty well, so he got a much needed bath to help remove all the grunge from his skin and some dead hair. He felt much better after his spa day.

Sometime early am Sunday, he finally took a rest, it seems the first time he’d layed down since the night he got here. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to get up in the morrning. Despite a variety of support efforts, his hind end was just too weak. Sadly, we thought we were at the end of the road. Thankfully, the LBEMC docs came to the rescue again, this time, they brought their Large Animal Lift.

After some discussion with the doc, we decided to give him a chance to get back on his feet to see if he could stand on his own before making any decisions, and sure enough, he was able to stand on his own! With a little time to gather himself, he walked back into his “area” to resume eating, as if he’d done it before. (Ten has the master suite in the covered roundpen with the misters to keep him cool during the day).

We had a deep discussion with the doc, and she felt he was in good spirits, eating, drinking, and pottying, and there was no reason, yet, to not continue to give him a chance to recover. That was so helpful. It’s so hard to know what the right decision is, and none of us want him to suffer or prolong the inevitable if we’re going in the wrong direction. She also said he may need some help up again until he regains his strength, and it wasn’t unreasonable considering his condition. More blood was drawn to monitor various levels, and one significant finding was that his phosphate and magnesium levels were very low, which may have explained his weakness. Some adjustments were made with feeding and supplements to better support his needs.

As long as Ten’s still fighting to live, and he’s showing signs of improvement, we’ll support him as best we can.