Valley Fever Update on Michelle Rose:
Last I wrote I said it was touch and go. I just didn’t realize that it would be that very afternoon after I had finished blogging. Michelle looked depressed and so I thought that I would move her with the other girls into the front pasture. Although I knew she was quite weak from the weight loss she seemed happy to be able to move out of her stall.
After a little while things went down hill. I noticed Michelle wasn’t comfortable and constantly kushing then standing. Her kushing wasn’t normal either. She was leaning heavily onto walls to catch her from falling over. When I moved her to the pasture there were no walls and eventually she would roll over onto her side. Her breathing was hard and I thought each one would be her last. By mid-afternoon I gave her a shot of banamine and placed a call into the vet. I gave her all the information and basically I was asked if I wanted to bring her in to be euthanized. The vet said that Michelle was starving to death and that it sounded like the valley fever had moved into the joints. Heart broken I advised that I needed to call the insurance company first.
After giving all the information to the insurance company they wanted to speak to my vet. They were pretty much in agreement with the euthanasia, but wanted a full exam to take place before hand. Since the vet was leaving work early the appt was made for the next morning. I called Tom and told him I didn’t think Michelle was even going to last until he got home from work. The afternoon moved along at a very slow pace with both Michelle and me very depressed. Dominique must have felt my sadness as she kept coming over to where I was sitting and nibbling on my shirt trying to get my attention. For a minute or two she got it and allowed me to rub her neck.
Finally I decided to move Michelle back into her stall. Luckily she did get up and walk in by herself. She seemed agitated until the rest of the girls were moved back into their stalls. Then all of a sudden Michelle got up and went over to her food bucket and started eating like there was no tomorrow. I’m not sure what got into her, but by the time Tom got home I had to comment that Michelle was 10 times better than she was just hours earlier.
The next morning I took Michelle to the vet and explained to her the change in Michelle. When we opened the trailer door Michelle was standing there with ears up and alert as normal as can be. Of course the vet couldn’t recommend euthanizing at this time. Instead she drew blood for a full blood work up.
That brings us to today, Tuesday, May 26th. Michelle is doing well and eating regularly. Although she has a long way to recover. She’s gained just a couple of pounds, but that is pretty remarkable considering she caught a respiratory infection the day after the vet exam. She’s been on antibotics and the first couple of days she was pretty congested. She didn’t eat as well, but regardless never stopped eating. Her balance is so much better to the point that she can now lower her neck to the floor without fear of toppling over. She is still walking like an old lady, but overall much swifter than before.
Michelle has beat death so far and continues to fight. This will be a long and slow recovery, but she’s hanging in there. All we can do is take it one day at a time.
