Oh Poo for Poo Sake!
So I got to learn what a Christmas Miracle is this year.
It did not look like I expected, or like the movies portray. There was no heavenly visitors, no Santa with twinkly eyes, there was a team of hard working people doing all they could to save a life.
Christmas Day 2019, Pistol, in all his gastric glory, decided now would be a great time for a little colic fun. The dreaded C word in horse life, COLIC! Such a simple thing, a little upset tummy, a little back up in the pipes, for humans there's a billion easy remedies and a slew of medical options, for horses not so much. To those that don't know, colic is a 50/50 phone call, you have to immediately face the very real possibility that these are the last hours with your beloved horse.
For Pistol, things turned out well. We were fortunate enough to have a great support team to get us to the medical care that was needed and fortunate enough to be able to cope with the cost associated with the whole process.
Christmas day, he showed signs of colic, and thank my stars that the amazing staff at Janssen Stables were right there with him and even had the vet en route before I was out the door.
At first things looked like they were going to blow over just fine, no issues, but by the next morning it was clear that wasn't the case. So with zero prep time, my trainer and I rushed him off to the Veterinary Health Center at K-State.
The emotions I felt were overwhelming, my heart on the verge of breaking, but my mind ready to make a hard call if it was the right thing for him. It's hard to put into words all that went through my head during those days. Mostly I was numb and scared and incredibly sad. I wanted to explain to him what was going on, I wanted to hug him and tell him it was going to be ok, but he was a 2 hour drive away and I didn't know if it was going to be ok.
The care team at K-State was fantastic! They gave me updates every 12 hours for his whole 5 day stay and answered every single question I had, they shared stories of his antics and kept me posted on all the progress he was making.
He pulled through with flying colors, and he was able to come home where he is doing fantastic! It took a village to get it done, but he is back where he belongs, better than ever.
I know it was a coin toss if it was going to be positive or not, not everyone was so lucky during the holiday season, and not every horse emergency results in recovery. I feel very blessed that this time we came through and are back to our normal routine.
Wrapped around all the emotions was a sense of complete gratitude. I am in awe of his presence in my life, thankful to him for all that he has brought to me. I am humbled by all the great people I now know because of him and I know that if things had gone bad during this, those people would be right me rallying me through my grief and getting me right back in the saddle to keep moving.
Special thanks to Lesley Janssen of Janssen Stables for her excellent care and readiness to move at the drop of a hat, to Gus Juarez for being the one to notice Pistol had a problem, to Patee DeNolf Bunce for rushing in to babysit so Lesley could take us to K-State, to Jon Haggard at Eudora Animal Hospital for being the most patient vet possible, to the care team at K-State Veterinary Health for guiding us through those rough days, to Robin and Roger Frazee for giving us a ride to get him home, to my friends and family for the hugs and the listening ears, to my husband, Duncan Eshelman for never once saying I had to just give in, but who stood by me and said let's do what we can.
Having a horse, isn't just like having any other pet, it takes collaboration, sacrifice, and community. But being part of the horse world gives you the tools to make it work, I will be forever changed for having taken this plunge and forever humbled.
This picture is of Pistol's care team and was taken by Robin Frazee when we picked Pistol up on 12/30/2019.
It did not look like I expected, or like the movies portray. There was no heavenly visitors, no Santa with twinkly eyes, there was a team of hard working people doing all they could to save a life.
Christmas Day 2019, Pistol, in all his gastric glory, decided now would be a great time for a little colic fun. The dreaded C word in horse life, COLIC! Such a simple thing, a little upset tummy, a little back up in the pipes, for humans there's a billion easy remedies and a slew of medical options, for horses not so much. To those that don't know, colic is a 50/50 phone call, you have to immediately face the very real possibility that these are the last hours with your beloved horse.
For Pistol, things turned out well. We were fortunate enough to have a great support team to get us to the medical care that was needed and fortunate enough to be able to cope with the cost associated with the whole process.
Christmas day, he showed signs of colic, and thank my stars that the amazing staff at Janssen Stables were right there with him and even had the vet en route before I was out the door.
At first things looked like they were going to blow over just fine, no issues, but by the next morning it was clear that wasn't the case. So with zero prep time, my trainer and I rushed him off to the Veterinary Health Center at K-State.
The emotions I felt were overwhelming, my heart on the verge of breaking, but my mind ready to make a hard call if it was the right thing for him. It's hard to put into words all that went through my head during those days. Mostly I was numb and scared and incredibly sad. I wanted to explain to him what was going on, I wanted to hug him and tell him it was going to be ok, but he was a 2 hour drive away and I didn't know if it was going to be ok.
The care team at K-State was fantastic! They gave me updates every 12 hours for his whole 5 day stay and answered every single question I had, they shared stories of his antics and kept me posted on all the progress he was making.
He pulled through with flying colors, and he was able to come home where he is doing fantastic! It took a village to get it done, but he is back where he belongs, better than ever.
I know it was a coin toss if it was going to be positive or not, not everyone was so lucky during the holiday season, and not every horse emergency results in recovery. I feel very blessed that this time we came through and are back to our normal routine.
Wrapped around all the emotions was a sense of complete gratitude. I am in awe of his presence in my life, thankful to him for all that he has brought to me. I am humbled by all the great people I now know because of him and I know that if things had gone bad during this, those people would be right me rallying me through my grief and getting me right back in the saddle to keep moving.
Special thanks to Lesley Janssen of Janssen Stables for her excellent care and readiness to move at the drop of a hat, to Gus Juarez for being the one to notice Pistol had a problem, to Patee DeNolf Bunce for rushing in to babysit so Lesley could take us to K-State, to Jon Haggard at Eudora Animal Hospital for being the most patient vet possible, to the care team at K-State Veterinary Health for guiding us through those rough days, to Robin and Roger Frazee for giving us a ride to get him home, to my friends and family for the hugs and the listening ears, to my husband, Duncan Eshelman for never once saying I had to just give in, but who stood by me and said let's do what we can.
Having a horse, isn't just like having any other pet, it takes collaboration, sacrifice, and community. But being part of the horse world gives you the tools to make it work, I will be forever changed for having taken this plunge and forever humbled.
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