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She came to us on the 18th of June, 2002 and had been born on May 24th.
She is our very special baby.
Following is a diary I'm keeping on Chance. I will be writing about her Navel Ill, her other problems as a result, how close she was to dying, and how long she has. You will read about all the ups and downs, and of how far Chance is coming along in her recovery.
A lot of what we done, that has helped Chance so far, has been with what we had around the farm, including a couple of goats that turned out to be a Godsend.
I will be updating the diary every day or two. Please click on any highlighted words for more info and/or photos. Some photos graphically depict Chance's problems. Some show her wonderful spirit.
Thank you for visiting Megan's page. I hope you come back often.
And please say "HI" in Chance's guestbook or on her message board!
UPDATE post on
Chance's page 8.
I love you Baby...
Day 1- 6/18/02: (PHOTO) The man from our neighborhood came over yesterday saying he really needed goat milk. Said his nephew's new filly was very sick, they'd had two vet's out who said it would cost thousands of dollars to save her, so the kid decided to shoot her instead. The neighbor said, "Gimme 24 hours to try and help her." I gave him all the goat's milk I had and offered to help in any way I could.
I have Multiple Sclerosis, and it has gotten steadily worse for months now. So we recently made the decision to sell about half of our horses, most of the goats and farm birds. I wasn't looking for another project.
When the neighbor said, "She just might end up here", I thought he was half joking. NOPE.
This afternoon he pulled into the driveway, with the foal on the flatbed, daughter holding her. He picked her up, laid her on the grass just outside our backdoor, and went to gathering our livestock panels to make a pen around her. He left and returned with an old portable shed, which he affixed to the pen.
Due to my MS, we knew I wouldn't be able to walk to the barn every couple of hours, day and night, so there she was, all set up at the door, under the shade tree.
The filly is terribly weak and dehydrated, cannot stand up on her own, and once helped up can only take a few wobbly steps before going down again. After doing a "once over" check of her condition, I see huge pressures sores all over one side of her body, one large swelling on a hip that looks to be from an improperly given intramuscular shot of penicillin (pressure sore developed on it), fever ulcers in her mouth (one on her lower gums is the size of a quarter), temp is over 103 degrees, both eyes are watering. They are so sunken in from dehydration that the lids are inverting and the lashes are scratching the eyeballs. One eye is in worse condition, and filling with fluid, as a result of the neonatal septicaemia (aka Navel Ill or Joint Ill). All joints are badly swollen, but one of the hocks is obviously filled with the bacterial infection and is grossly disfigured.
After talking with the neighbor I find out that the mare was on tall fescue grass during the whole pregnancy, surely contributing to the fact that she had little milk and dried up completely almost immediately. The filly hadn't gotten the required antibodies through the mares colostrum, so she had little or no immune system. The antibiotics shots were stopped two days ago, but I was able to get what was in the bottle, just in case it was needed.
Bottom line- She is in critical condition and is going to have the fight of her life. I do not own her, and the owners won't approve another vet visit, so we can only do the best we can with what we have.
Day 2- 6/19/02: (PHOTOS) I started Chance on FASTRACK, a probiotic supplement. The gel was easy to get into her mouth from the paste wormer-like syringe. Though I had a foal/lamb nipple, I couldn't get the filly to take in any fluids until about 4am this morning. I researched the 'net and have found that the goats' milk is the next best natural thing to mares' milk. So I milked my goats, put it in a bottle and just squirted what I could into her mouth. I turned my back on the bottle for just a moment, and one of the goats chewed the whole end off the nipple. The only one I had. *frown*. Continued dribbling milk into her mouth, and she was getting some. At 4am, though, the foal started sucking her tongue. Out of desperation I brought a goat to her, held her head in the normal position of a suckling foal, and held the nanny's teat to her mouth. She took to it immediately and drank til she couldn't hold anymore (SEE PHOTO)! The first and biggest hurdle overcome!I decide to call the filly Megan's Chance, naming her after Megan the goat, who is patient enough to provide what the filly so desperately needs: nourishment, suckling, and companionship.
This morning I found out that the second vet to see Chance is a good friend of ours. I put in a call to find out all I can from him. All day, while waiting for the call, I am offering the goat every half hour, which Chance is gladly accepting. I have to hold her up or prop her with a haybale, as she is too weak to sit up on her own.
I have started NAXCEL, the antibiotic injections, again, putting alum on the mouth ulcers, triple antibiotic ointment in the eyes, furozone ointment on the bedsores, and am giving her distilled water with added corn syrup to make sure her stool stays soft. The sudden addition of milk to her non-existent diet could constipate her. Also adding some MSM into the bottle. Chance is eating grass and hay here and there as well. She is drinking as much as Megan can produce, so I brought the other milk goat up. The two are keeping up with Chance's needs. Megan, the old white nanny, has begun grooming Chance, and had laid beside her a couple of times today.
The vet called this evening. We visited about Chance for about an hour. He said that everything I'm doing sounds good, and he added a couple of comments/suggestions. Too much alum can poison, so no more than a light dusting twice a day. The ulcers will heal up on their own, but the alum will help keep them dry and help the process along. If possible I should try to get Chance up on a mattress or something to relieve the pressure sores and not encourage more.
Day 3- 6/20/02: I'm already exhausted! Hubby travels a lot for his job and has been gone for almost a week. This every half hour thing, around the clock, is wearing on me. I slept through the alarm, and Chance went 2 1/2 hours. She sure was whinnying when I did show up, hehehe... (Sorry Chance!) Her and I were caught, by my son, taking a nap together. I only meant to close my eyes for a minute while holding ice packs! Hubby will be home tonight, so I'll have him get the old cot mattress out of the shed to put Chance on. In the afternoon I went out to feed, and Chance was sitting up all by herself! I've been constantly rotating ice packs from joint to joint. They aren't so feverish, so it is helping. Swelling is going down in some of them. I've found out that any joints that the septicaemia has affected will eventually fuse. Guess that's just a "wait and see how much" thing. I've found all of Chance's favorite itchy spots now, and when I sit beside her she wiggles into my lap to get scratched. Oh oh, she's wiggling into my heart too, and she doesn't belong to me. I keep reminding myself that I'm doing this to help someone else and their filly.
Day 4- 6/21/02: Last night a couple of Chance's joints swelled and got very feverish again. But it was right before she was due for her evening shot, and a couple of hours after I gave the antibiotics the joints were better. Today I caught Megan grooming Chance and even snuggling up with her. This is one weird goat, but the filly sure enjoys the bonding. The uncle stopped by to check on Chance's progress. I told him she is drinking everything the goats are producing, plus I'm using what I have in the freezer and getting low. He said he will talk to a couple of dairies he's knows. I already know that the owner won't put any money into Chance, and I just am not able to put a bunch into someone else's horse, so any options are worth exploring. I call the vet and double check. He says goat milk is the next best thing to mares', nothing needs to be added, and reaffirms that the fat globules are much smaller, and easier to digest, than cow's milk. But if the cow's milked is skimmed and corn syrup is added, it will be fine. There is now a couple more small ulcers starting in Chance's mouth. Vet says things are just running their course and not to panic- they will heal as she gets better. I asked the neighbor to talk to his nephew about signing Chance over to me. Continue to page 2...
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