I can’t settle to anything all day. I try to work to keep my mind off of Bruno and what is happening at the hospital. I paint Baby Girl’s wall a dark navy – we’ve skimmed it smooth and are going to add wolf stickers to it. I wander around the house and jump at the slightest noise from my phone. My heart is in my throat and I’m nervous. I feel ill just looking at the paddock and not seeing him in it (a feeling that has yet to go away – I can’t even look at that paddock).
Right after we leave the hospital Dr. Alli sends me the radiograph and it is just as bad, if not worse, than the one I glimpsed at Weems. Also I don’t want it to go unnoticed that the two surgeons names are Dr. Alli and Dr. Tony. Weird! At 1:15 I can’t handle it anymore and I text Dr. Alli. Any updates? I ask. She answers “We are getting some special equipment sterilized now so that we can start first thing in the morning. I will touch base with you tomorrow morning and let you know we are going to surgery, etc. But he is definitely good to go first thing in the morning, he is bright and eating and doing well with the splint.” I am very relieved and I tell her so. The fact that they are planning so well means that they are very hopeful. Dr. Tony had told me when we were there that Bruno had a 50/50 chance of being ok again. Possibly a jumping pony again (I’m not holding my breath for this outcome, but wouldn’t THAT be a miracle?!). He looked at Baby Girl with her pony and said “I’m going to do everything I can for them.” Bless his heart.
The next morning I text Dr. Alli as soon as I think it is a reasonable time to do so. I am very nervous, I tell her. I understand, she says. “This is a big deal but we have the tools to give him the best shot.” At 8:17 they are prepping for surgery. I hear nothing further for the rest of the morning. At 12:30 I am jumping out of my skin. Baby Girl has gone to school and her teacher (bless her heart) is taking my texts and passing them along to Baby Girl like she’s her own child. Baby Girl has been sad all day, she tells me at noon. She says she’ll give her a squeeze after lunch and let her know that Bruno is still in surgery.
Around 1 pm Tony and I stop by the clinic on our way to Whitesboro to pick up my car (it needed a new windshield). I have to tell you that the receptionist at Mid South Equine is first rate. The kindest person, as everyone there has been. She immediately goes back to check on Bruno when I tell her I just can’t wait a second longer to know how he’s doing. She comes back and says that I really don’t want to go back there, but that he’s doing well, handling the anesthesia well and everything is going as expected. I start to breath again but I also kind of DO want to go back there. I’m surprised they would even let me. But in the end she convinces me that I don’t – that it’s too hard to see when it’s your own pony.
At 1:47 I get the text I’ve been waiting on all day. He’s out of surgery and in recovery. Dr. Tony tells me later that Bruno was a total champ and sweetheart except when he was waking up and wanting to stand – he was ANGRY and lashing out at that point. Poor baby. I just can’t imagine what he was going through. The two surgeons and several vet techs had to help him get up so he wouldn’t damage what had been done. Dr. Tony held his head while Dr. Alli held his tail and finally he’s standing. I text Baby Girl’s teacher and she responds back that Baby Girl is so happy at the news. Such a relief. This was the hardest part – the standing up after surgery. And we’ve made it.
My miracle bionic wonder pony is in his stall eating from a hay bag when Baby Girl and I arrive after school and lessons. She has been an emotional wreck and I know seeing Bruno will help her calm down. We bring him carrots and as soon as I say “hey Bubby!” as we turn the corner towards his stall he lets out the loudest, longest whinny. He shakes his head up and down a thousand times like he’s trying to tell us how much he’s been through and how much he missed us. He is not yet putting weight on his leg, but it’s only been a few hours and it must be incredibly painful. Baby Girl loves and loves on him and he “hugs” her back numerous times but mostly just searches both of us everywhere for more carrots. He licks our hands and tells us all about it.
He is tied up to a tie line that runs across the stall. This is to keep him from laying down. You can tell it annoys him, but it’s going to be this way for about two months so he’s going to have to get used to it. We adjust his water buckets higher so that he can play in them like he likes to do. When we get home I order a hanging ball toy that you can put hay and treats in and I also order a hanging salt lick. Hopefully these things will help him stay occupied during this long haul of a recovery.
I ask Dr. Tony if standing up without being able to lay down for two months will have any negative effect on him. He says no, he’ll be ok. By the next morning after surgery Bruno is putting weight on his leg. He crosses his left foot over then drags his right leg where he wants it to be. Dr. Alli sends me the picture of the x-ray taken after the surgery. The plates and screws and pins go from just above his knee all the way up to his shoulder. The entire radius is covered. You can see a black line where the two seperate pieces were put back together. It will take up to six months for the bones to grow back enough for that space to fill in. He will more than likely remain at the hospital for at least six – eight weeks. The cast will be changed as needed, but as long as he’s continuing to put weight on it that means he is doing well. Of course he’s on plenty of antibiotics to prevent infection and bute as well. So far he hasn’t needed any calming meds.
He is super alert, bright eyed and sweet as can be when we go to see him Thursday night. He searches us for carrots but we forgot them on the counter in the kitchen. I feel terrible about this. He does seem a bit more tired, but it is late and boy, I’m tired too. The surgeons are both cautiously optimistic. I ask about the long term. It’s basically a day by day thing right now they tell me. We will just have to wait and see. But the fact that he’s bearing weight on it is a good thing. He’s a little champ and they are both rooting for him. Baby Girl is able to sign his (new) cast Thursday night and that is fun for her. They added a more supportive over-layer cast on Thursday that is hard like a human cast. When we are there we see him stretch his front legs out like a dog and I am horrified. Bruno! I say, not the best idea Bubbie!! Please don’t do that again.
For the next few months we have to pray that nothing gets infected and that it all heals like it is supposed to. The surgeons reiterate how lucky he was. Dr. Alli points out that he was smart enough not to flail around and panic when he got hurt. That if the bone had gone through the skin he would not be here today. Because the risk of infection would have just been too high. That if he were a larger pony or horse he would not be here. That the risk of this kind of surgery on a larger horse is just too much. The weight bearing structures just wouldn’t be able to handle it. We WERE lucky and I am all too aware. Praise God, I think over and over to myself. I don’t know why Bruno had to get hurt at all, but Praise God that he is still alive. Because I need one more pony in my pastures that doesn’t have a job – just kidding y’all! There’s got to be a little humor here somewhere.
Please keep praying for him. And for Baby Girl. We’re not out of the woods yet. There is a long way to go. I will keep everyone updated whenever there is news and I thank all of you for your love and support!