Hello, old sports.
Well, in my last post I explained that I was waiting for answers. I've had a very, very busy week and now have those answers.
Last week, Spode loaded me up and took me back to the hospital for my follow up appointment. I've picked up weight and am looking the very picture of health so we had high hopes that I would maybe get some good news after a plethora of bad. Just look-this was me in March.
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| Tucked up all the time |
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| And super big abdominal muscles from breathing effort. |
Now I'm looking much better. The spring grass is in, I'm not putting as much effort into breathing, and I'm just feeling a lot more like me.
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| Look at me now, just last week. Much more relaxed abdominally! |
With me looking much healthier, Spode was much less stressed about the trip to RVC. So off we all went together to see our favourite vet team. Spode tells me I'm their favourite too (maybe because we have provided them with so much money since September when this all started? Unsure...I do have a global fan club now so maybe they really do love me. I do have that effect.)
The trip went smoothly and Spode left me to have my x-ray, my ultrasound, and then the very scary lung biopsy. I was out of it so didn't really notice to be honest, while Spode practically chewed her own arm off with anxiety while waiting for the vet to call and say I was okay. Apparently it was risky and Spode had to sign my life away. I know, old sports! The audacity! Nobody asked me to sign anything!? What's happened to a horse's rights?
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| Ouch. And two staples as well! |
Anyway, it all went smoothly, they let me rest for several hours, and then Spode took me to a new home. WHAT!? I had no idea I would be leaving my home when I left it. Not very happy with the secrets. Sheesh. But Spode tells me that this is my retirement home so that I don't need to come inside at night anymore. It's more like my home in Canada so I'm quite happy. More than happy, I'm loving the freedom.
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| Blissfully peaceful. |
I've pretty much settled in at my new home with pony pals Theo and Oli, and I'm enjoying retired living.
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| It involves a lot of relaxing |
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| Yep, a lot of sleeping too. |
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| Zzzzzzzzz |
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| A lot of hanging out and chilling with the crew |
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| Don't judge. It's a hard life being this lazy. |
Spode has been loving it as much as me. She saw me three times today after discovering that she can practically walk from her house to get to me on a public path. I predict a very Spode-filled summer once she's done teaching for the year.
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| She's just as lazy as me when on term break! |
Alas, amidst this happiness we did get my biopsy results back which showed that I do have fibrosis and more evidence of soon to be scars and haemorrhage from the scars I have already. The good news is that it's mild at the moment. The bad news is that it's degenerative, diffuse, and confirms the fears and suspicions the vets had about me having equine multinodular pulmonary fibrosis. We're out of options now as I had already been treated for it when we were just assuming it's what I probably had. We just have to wait and hope that this disease doesn't progress quickly. Unfortunately it's quite unpredictable, but the vet said to take hope in the fact that I've been stable for a couple of months now, perhaps due to the complete lack of exercise. We're all hoping it's slow and that I have many years left to enjoy my retirement. I look so much better than I did before, so it seems I'm in a good patch at the moment at least. I still breathe too quickly, but it doesn't take quite as much effort at the moment. Maybe the weather change is helping.
It's upsetting news of course, old sports, and I think we both took it hard as Spode had her hopes up since I look visibly healthier (even though my ability to exercise is still poor). I think we both imagined that it might just be possible that I wouldn't actually have fibrosis or that maybe I had even recovered a bit from the inflammation. Now that we've properly digested the news and the diagnosis has been confirmed, Spode is just focused on enjoying every day and living life like a horse: in the present. I'm not worried about the future. I worry about two things: food, and where Spode is (since she has my food).
So there's your answer, old sports. I have fibrosis and my life span is in question now, but I will keep eating the greenest grass I can find and keep making Spode laugh with the time I have with her. Although I no longer have the hope of not having fibrosis anymore, I have the hope of outlasting the statistics beyond the 2-5 year expectancy. I still have time to be the miracle horse again. It's 5 years since my eye surgery, and just look at the extra life that gave me. And it's been a year and a half since my inflammatory bowel disease, and now I'm over weight! I make things happen. They don't call me the GREAT Gatsby for nothing. I've been put on this earth to surprise vets, I'm convinced! Let's do it again, old sports!
Until later,
Jay.
