Bad News

Two days ago I called the vet again. After a lengthy conversation, he agreed that Riyah was not improving like she should and he wanted to see her again. I had done the two weeks of stall rest, Bute, DMSO/Furazone, and cold hosing. (And that was in addition to celebrating my oldest daughter's wedding, hosting the reception, taking care of my two grandsons (ages 2 and 4) while she and her new hubby honeymooned in Hawaii, enjoying a house full of family staying, as well as dealing with the stress of my youngest daughter having gall bladder surgery four days ago. A busy two weeks to say the least.

Riyah did seem a bit better. She was walking on her bad leg. Limping badly, but walking. That was more than she had been willing to do the first week. I really just wanted reassurance from the vet that she was improving and I should just give her more time. But no, nothing so simple.

After keeping Riyah all day and conducting and in-depth nerve block study he found the source of her pain. Riyah has a bone chip or cartilage fragment in her hock. I am still trying to deal with the shock of this news. I can't understand how this could have happened. I have been crying for the last few hours. My husband, bless him, went with me to pick Riyah up. I just can't really grasp this news.

Dr. W said Riyah will need arthroscopic surgery to fix her hock. He with share the radiographs with the orthopedic surgeon tomorrow and get back to me. He was reluctant to give me her real prognosis until he had consulted with him. I am going to have rough night. I don't know how I will pay for a procedure like this. I don't even know if her injury is fixable. Will she recover fully? These are things I am having a hard time thinking about right now and I can hardly even see to type.

Riyah is in the barn now and I held her sweet face in my arms and stared into the dark depths of her brown eyes through my tears. She trusts me to take care of her. She needs me to take care of her. You know, I wasn't going to fall in love with this horse. I was going to give her a year to see if she had what it takes to be an endurance competitor. That was the plan. In that I have failed miserably because we have already bonded and I love her dearly.

There was rainbow over the mountains as we drove home through a black thunderstorm. I pray it was a sign that there will be a rainbow in this storm, too. Tomorrow will tell.

My phone has rung a couple of times: friends calling to check on Riyah. I apologize for not answering. I just can't talk about this just yet. Thank you for calling and I promise to get back to you soon.