What the heck are you putting on me now?

Tyler's new apparatus arrived today and he hates it but like the good boy that he always is, he is putting up with it. Tyler is pretty depressed but his body is healing. His incision was not leaking fluid today when they changed his bandage and last night he gave us the gift of a big, steamy, pile of manure. He's eating but not a lot. He wants to go home and we want to bring him home but he's not healed enough yet.

He has had quite a few visitors over the last two days but he is not that interested in being social right now although I am told he perked right up when mommy gave him three cookies. I am pretty sure he has more visitors than any other horse in ICU and probably more than some humans. He is well loved.

Yesterday Jodi, Mom and Auntie visited. Today Brenda, Mom, Auntie and Dr Casselberry stopped by to see him. He may get to go out for a walk in the next couple of days which I think will cheer him up.

Looks Pretty Good

Not too much of an update today. Tyler continues to gradually improve. He is maintaining his hydration on his own which is good. He hasn't pooped since 4 pm Monday but as the doctors explained, he hasn't eaten much.

He did eat some grass hay today. Still not eating his bran mash. They are gradually going to increase his food intake and make sure he continues to tolerate the hay. Obviously he needs to start passing some manure.

It would help if he could get out and walk but unfortunately his incision is still too fragile to handle any activity so in his stall he stays. Dr K recommended we order him a special belly bandage for when he comes home. It will make changing the bandage easier. It's basically a $500 horsey girdle. Nothing but the best for our boy.

Mom, Auntie and Yolanda visited today. Mom went to visit him after visiting Uncle Howard in ICU at Vaca Valley Hospital. Dr K told her that "he looks pretty good" which says a lot coming from a self proclaimed pessimist. Yolanda and Auntie went in the evening. We got to go in his stall and love on him.

We pray he continues to improve and we can take him home in a few days. We also pray Uncle Howard gets well.

Some alfalfa please

Tyler's visitors today were Donna, Eva, Mom and Auntie. Yesterday he was very active and seemed to be feeling pretty good. Today he was quiet and wasn't really into visiting with us. He seemed depressed and uncomfortable. He kept trying to lie down. He would make it almost down and then decide it was too painful and stand back up. He wasn't really wanting to eat either. The VT said he ate a few handfuls of grass earlier but the grass, hay and bran mash weren't really doing it for him. They took him off the lidocaine so that may be why he wasn't feeling as good today but it is good news that he is being weaned off the meds. He has icky, smelly stuff coming out his butt today and they are concerned about that. They sent a sample off to the lab and we should know tomorrow if he has a bug. His incision continues to be the number one concern. It is still leaking.

The good news is that they took him off the IV fluids today. Hopefully he will maintain hydration on his own. I was able to go in his stall and groom him. He enjoyed the attention and seemed less fussy when I was in there with him. The VT gave me a pinch of alfalfa to see if he would eat that and he did. In fact after he tasted the alfalfa he perked right up. He raised his head, hung his head out the top of his stall door and nickered to the VT to see if he could talk her into giving him some more. The VT put a call into Dr Katzman to see if maybe he could get a couple of handfuls of alfalfa.

We appreciate your continued love, support, thoughts and prayers.

Got Poop?

First-time parents can be tickled the first time their baby poops. We had the same joy when we showed up Sunday morning and found that Tyler had pooped.More than once. He ate green grass, and some grass hay. The poison that leaked into his body as the tumor choked off his intestines is almost clear. His vet is a bit pessimistic because he's seen horses turn from good to bad in no time.
Tyler isn't "good" yet, but he's better. He has a long way to go. They changed his belly bandage and his wound is leaking, but the walls of the gut are holding. This is so important. We do not want to take him back to surgery.
Tyler's Daddy, Ken, and sister, Zen, visited. He was happy to see him. In fact, he got so happy by his visit that he got wound up. He was also torqued because Annette wouldn't give him his daily fixings of grain. He can't have any. But tell that to a 1,500-pound beefalo who hasn't eaten in more than three days. He sulked. He threw his head around. He yawned and even pawed. Not happy.
Things got worse when we left. We planned on going back, but we were advised that we should not return because he was too upset after we left. Tyler needs to rest. He is going through a lot.
He also needs a good teeth-cleaning and industrial-strength mouthwash.
Have you ever smelled a horse's breath after he hasn't eaten, his body has been through surgery, part of his gut has died, and he isn't allowed to eat peppermints? We don't suggest it. But the important thing is that he has breath. It is beautiful. A miracle. And we're going to keep praying for miracles. We'll worry about the dental improvements later.

Video of Tyler going for a walk

Saturday Update - Not out of the woods yet

This morning Tyler was still feeling colicky when we arrived. He also is having some complications with the incision. It is leaking and coming apart a little so they bandaged his belly up to keep everything together. Hopefully this will help the incision heal.

On a positive note Dr Katzman said there are some small signs of improvement. His gums have better color which indicates that the toxin levels have decreased. He also is requiring less fluid via the IV.

Anne and Brenda both visited him today which I think improved his spirits. This morning they removed the tube for the reflux to see how he would do without the tube to capture the reflux. If he deteriorates and shows more discomfort then they will have to re-insert the nose tube and pump his stomach.

After they removed the tube and cleared out the reflux of about 8 liters one of the assistants brushed him. He seemed to really enjoy being groomed. Then they let us take him out for a five minute walk. He was very alert and wanted to look around at everything. They said they wouldn't normally allow us to take him out when his belly is wrapped but they made an exception today which was great.

Cat and I took a break and headed to Dixon to get a bite to eat. When we returned we found a much more comfortable horse. He nickered to us when we came in. He was alert and did not appear colicky. He also drank from his automatic waterer. Yesterday he refused water so this is also a positive step. He wanted to lie down but I think (hope) it is because he is tired not because he is colicky. When we left Tyler seemed pretty mellow. I think he is happy to have that darn tube out of his nose. He had his back leg cocked and was nodding off.

If he still seems comfortable tonight, he may get a handful of grass. We continue to pray that his body will heal and he will pull through this terrible ordeal. There are still a few large hurdles he needs to get over. He needs to get motility in his intestines and the incision needs to heal.

Please pray for Tyler and another horse in ICU at UCD, Richard, who had the same surgery as Tyler on Monday.