Relative Something

It was a Thursday, almost three months ago on November 3rd, when Cyndie took Delilah for a walk while we were up at the lake place. We had just spent two days watching some major tree trimming and removal on the Wildwood properties. As Cyndie reached the top step of the bridge that crosses a lagoon, Delilah bolted after a squirrel and yanked Cyndie back down to the ground. The impact snapped bones at her ankle.

Today, she sees the surgeon who screwed plates to her bones for an assessment of the healing and, hopefully, the doctor’s permission to begin physical therapy to walk again.

This has been our life since that fateful incident:

• Thu Nov 3 – Anxious trip to Hayward Hospital emergency room with a suspected broken ankle.
• Fri Nov 4 – Drive home from the lake with Cyndie in the back seat calling around for an appointment to be seen by a surgeon.
• Mon Nov 7 – Drive to Woodbury for analysis by a trauma surgeon, then to Stillwater for a CT scan and COVID test.
• Wed Nov 9 – Cyndie has surgery on her ankle in Stillwater, receiving metal plates and many screws to hold things together.
• Thu Nov 10 – Delilah’s stomach issues (vomiting) becoming increasingly worrisome.
• Fri Nov 11 – I bring Cyndie home from Stillwater hospital. Delilah has the first of a series of vet appointments.
• Sat Nov 19 – Delilah has been refusing to accept prescribed medication and a new diet.
• Mon Nov 21 – Delilah was put to rest by the veterinarian due to suspected acute pancreatitis.
• Tue Nov 22 – Discover cut on Mix’s leg that requires a visit by the equine vet for assessment and treatment, including medications.
• Wed Nov 23 – Mix refuses to accept medications I added to her food. Johanne from This Old Horse starts coming twice a day to administer meds.
• Mon Nov 28 – Drive Cyndie to Woodbury to have stitches removed from her ankle.
• Tue Nov 29 – First big snowstorm of the year that needed to be plowed.
• Wed Dec 14 – Drive Cyndie to Stillwater for bone density test.
• Thu Dec 15 – Second big snowstorm requiring plowing.
• Thu Dec 22 – Mia gives me a big scare with an episode of choking in the middle of eating her evening feed. Minor snowfall forces more plowing.
• Mon Dec 26 – Plowing required to clear drifts from the driveway as a result of blowing snow.
• Wed Dec 28 – More plowing is needed to clear drifting snow.
• Tue Jan 3 – Another brutal snowstorm.
• Thu Jan 5 – More snow. As soon as one session of plowing is done, the process starts all over again.
• Tue Jan 10 – Farrier visits to trim all four horses.
• Thu Jan 19 – Heavy, wet snowfall triggers another round of plowing and shoveling.

In the previous ten and a half weeks, per the doctor’s order, Cyndie has avoided putting any weight on her right ankle. We have had our eyes set on this day as the time when she might be allowed to begin the process of returning to the fine art of walking on two feet again.

It feels like it’s been a long time since November 3rd but the time we anticipate it taking Cyndie to recuperate fully will be magnitudes greater, along the lines of possibly a year or so, if not longer. It’s a rather harsh notion to consider, given the challenging terrain of our property.

Today’s assessment by the trauma surgeon about the amount of healing that has occurred in her broken bones is very important to both of us. It makes January 23rd the next milestone after November 3rd from which we will begin measuring her ultimate recovery to safely walking on both her feet without supplemental support.

Here’s hoping for some great news!

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