Still Here!

Much has happened since my last post.

Or should I say...

Not Happened

I can plan, and plan all I want...
but sometimes things just don't work out the way I want them to. 

I think I wrote about Mary taking a spill off of Phoenix at the ...

Fun Show

photo complements of 

BusyB Photography 

 Well...
No broken bones or nasty wounds.
Mary even got back on Phoenix to finish the show.
When we got home though it was another story.

Mary was VERY sore and for several days could hardly move.
I personally viewed this as GOOD THING, because we know first hand that it could have been much worse. 

However just as she was starting to 

get around better,

she fell victim to this nasty flu bug thing that has been going around.

And let me tell ya...

all she wanted was her 

"Mommy!"

And Mommy dropped everything and complied.

 Ugh!
Just when I thought I was going to start getting my ...

Green Gourd On

 and paint some 

NEW 

Gourd Birdhouses.

I have a full blown "sick house".

No...

Now Mary shares her "ick"

and all we can do is curl up together and wish our woes away.

Unfortunately I missed out on having a table at the

Fall Festival

at Wrangler Farms

But I still have the 

Jarvisburg Christian Academy Fall Bazaar

November 10, 2012

Which Green Gourd Creations 
WILL 
have a table at
with both Bill and my pieces 
for sale.

A Few Bags

some...

Christmas Gourds

Hair Sticks

Yard Art

Metal Christmas Trees

And Other Surprises

Maybe even some NEW gourds as well.

We will see.

I haven't been able to put together as many new items for this show as I would like but I have to say that I am very happy that I am even doing a show

PERIOD.

I have been out of the Greengourd zone for some time now!

It has been a long time since I have even thought about doing a show.

However, I feel like I may finally be turning the corner.

Even if I do keep hitting bumps in the road.

Just when both Mary and I started feeling half human again...

Boo Boo at the Barn

I apologize for the blurry shot...

I took this picture from my non smart phone

to send to our Vet.

(I miss my Samsung ... snif, snif)

ALL fun and games till someone gets HURT!

It's always something isn't it?

Fortunately Phoenix is still sound and there are no signs of lameness.

So once again I will consider ourselves fortunate.
It could have been much worse, right?

The most difficult thing about all this has been the Daily 

trips to the barn to ...

clean and bandage

Phoenix's Wound

We lost our opportunity for a clean viable suture.

But because of shape and where the wound is...
the likelihood of any stitches actually staying put without ripping and causing even more scaring is very unlikely.

These days everyone's seems to be struggling 
and we all try to be as frugal as we can when we can.
After moving Phoenix to the new barn 
deciding which vet we would use was something I went back and forth on.

I straddled the fence of... 
Do I stick with the vet I am already on plan with or do I switch over to the "Barn Vet"?
It seemed more sensible at the time to go with the Barn Vet.

However, Big Animal Vets are just like Pediatricians...
the patient they are treating is my 
"Baby"
and I must have 100% trust and confidence in those people.

I am still kicking myself in the butt for not calling our vet,
The Oaks
right away!

But I didn't, 
it wasn't until I had already had the barn vet out to see Phoenix
that I called my vet.
I was not happy with how the the barn vet treated the situation.
So, I called my vet.
They have been nothing but considerate, helpful and understanding
despite my lack of good judgment.
I am sure that the "Barn Vet" 
which I will have the courtesy of NOT naming
is very competent but they are not a good fit for us.
I love The Oaks and even though it may cost a little more 
to be the only client at the barn that uses them. 
(No shared farm call)
It is worth it in the long run to have the peace of mind knowing that I can fully trust my vet.
Because when it comes to emergencies...
There won't be a shared farm call regardless of which vet I use.
And in an emergency
I want someone that I trust and that has both Phoenix's and my best interest as the top priority.

Not to mention a little birdy just told me that they may be opening an office just outside of Elizabeth City soon. 
Woo Hoo! 
Having a equine vet that close by is wonderful for so many reasons.

Both my vet and the barn vet come from Virginia
not a hop skip or jump from here.

Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch...

With a few days of wrapping lessons from Heather and Wesley under her belt

Mary felt confident enough to... 

Wrap Solo

Not Bad

I am so proud of her!

After an inspection from Wesley...

She gets a thumbs up!

I think it must be from all her own personal experience with 

Wrapping

Just in case you are new to my blog...

Mary had a riding accident on Phoenix almost a year ago to the date.

October 20, 2011

It was an experience that we are all still recovering from both physically and emotionally.

Mary fell from Phoenix while cantering and was sling shot back under him.

It was one of those moments that a mother NEVER wants to witness.

Phoenix tried to avoid her and Mary tried to ball up and become small neither of their actions were successful in avoiding the consequences of this fall.

He stomped her twice in the exact same place on the leg resulting in a sever crush wound.

I am still amazed that there were no broken bones.

Day 2

Day 7

This is necrotic tissue damage on both the surface and deep tissue.  This type of wound is impossible to heal on it's own.

Even with weekly trips to the doctor, daily soaking, cleaning, wrapping, antibiotics and silver sulfadiazine cream... surgery is inevitable.

Almost 

2 Months Later

her doctor puts a call into CHKD 

and a few days later sends us to a surgeon with experience with these kinds of crush wounds.

Just days before Christmas we drive to Norfolk, Virginia to have a consult with a surgeon.

He looks at it and asked if we could be there by 6 am the following day for surgery.

He didn't want this to wait till after Christmas.

Wow...

this really changes our plans for the Holidays.

Post Surgery with...

Wound Vac

Mary's Dr. had to do a radical debridement which meant going deep into her leg to to remove all the necrotic tissue as well as some of the new tissue.

He also did a skin graph to cover the wound to promote a sterile environment for new tissue growth.

Mary was sent home with this fancy wound vac to help bring blood flow to the wound to aid in recovery.

2 Weeks Post Op

Today

Amazing!

She is just starting to get feeling and movement back in parts of her leg muscle
and it will still be another year or so before it is fully healed.
We feel blessed though, that she is getting back to her old self.

Now here we are a year later and again Mary is tending to another nasty wound that will take a while to heal.

But he is part of the family, our baby!

We will do what we have to do to make sure he is back to his old self too.
Regardless of how long it may take.

Unwrap

Wrap

It took her two tries to get this pillow and standing wrap on Phoenix where we felt comfortable that it would not slip.

Because... 

we had an unwanted visitor and may not be able to get back to the barn daily.

Hurricane Sandy

Day 1

It was certainly nasty weather
but not so bad that we couldn't leave the house.

Avalon Pier is our favorite stopping off place during a storm.  
We have a full view of the ocean and it's intensity

and we never even have to leave our vehicle.

Storm or no storm...
We still need to tend to Phoenix's leg while we can.

So it is ...

Over the Bridge 
and Through the Storm

to Wrangler Farms we go!

A New Bandage for Phoenix

Doctor Mary

Vetrap vs Standing Wrap

The Vet told us that we could use either. 

Sheet cotton with vet wrap and elasta wrap or pillow pad and standing wraps.
Which ever we felt more comfortable getting a tight fit without bunching or slipping while not wrapping too tightly.

Even though Mary's pillow wrap was holding nicely we decided to go with the cottons and vetrap at least for now.
(Mary feels much more comfortable with them)
This storm was getting nasty and we thought that in the case that we were unable to make it to the barn for a day or two the vetrap might hold up better.

It was a good call because Sandy sent a lot of water our way.

Sandy
Day 2

On the way home from wrapping Phoenix's leg, we again made our ritual stop at the pier.


Beach Road

Kitty Hawk is notorious for flooding and we went as far as we could till the

Road Block

Day 3 of Sandy
Avalon Pier

This is NOT one of my pictures...
I didn't not make the pilgrimage to the pier as so many did on this day.
I watched from the comfort of my Facebook home
as this ole pier came apart in sections.

I didn't go out early because I wanted to avoid the AM high tide thinking that if I waited then I would have a better chance of getting out to the barn.
Wrong!
As the hours went by and the winds began to switch,
the ocean over-wash continued to build.
The entire Hwy 12/Virginia Dare Trail aka "The Beach Road"
was completely underwater
and now
a large section of Hwy 158 aka "The Bypass"
was flooded and impassable as well.

Now,  for those of you who are not familiar with our little island...
these are the only two arteries we have on or off our sandbox.
(Northbound anyways)
We lost our window of opportunity to get to the barn Monday. 

"Stir Crazy"

 Winds have died down some and we still have power
so Mary decided to walk to our nearest Redbox.
Good Grief...
I Know What You Did Last Summer, Morton Fisherman!


The Oaks vet was supposed to come out and see Phoenix Monday
but for obvious reasons they were unable to make it.

But we got the call Tuesday morning that Dr. Shanna was headed our way.
It was a much further drive for them than it was for us. But we still jumped in the truck and headed North through

Kitty Hawk

Even though the sun was out and the rain and wind had stopped, there was still so much flooding.
The roads were still out in Kitty Hawk 
but now there was a ...

Detour

to go around the stretch of road that was impassable.

Everyone was being directed through a usually gated community 
 to come out less than 100-200 yards down the road. 
It was a mess! 

Follow the Leader
You first!

Traffic was backed up from the bottle neck and
it was slow going.
Especially from all the folks speeding up the other lane then cutting into the front of the line.
Grrrr...
(I admit, I sometimes suffer from mild bouts of road rage)


Needless to say the vet got to the barn before we did.

Good news though ...
The flap under the cut still appeared to be living tissue and even had started to reattach it'self to the fetlock.
Dr. Shanna was amazed that it looked as good as it did.
I wish that I had an updated picture for you.
It truly is amazing.

She gave us several options of treatment
all of which have a lengthily recovery.

So we chose an option that we felt most comfortable with for both us and Phoenix.
One that we felt would have less problems long term and most practical.
We may even avoid an ugly battle with Proud Flesh 
and scar tissue.
As long as we can avoid infection this is only a superficial injury.
So if all goes well... it is at least a MONTH of 
stall rest, SMZs (antibiotics),  a bandage change daily or every other day with Neosporin or TriCare, no cold water soak, no scrubbing, or walking and Ace as needed.

Hmmm...
Ace (acepromazine) ... as needed 
well this would be nice 
IF
I had not dropped the brand new glass vile on the cobblestone walkway in the barn.
Ding Dang Dong!

Why is it, that when you are already struggling 
Murphy's Law  demands to be noticed?

Oh well...
at least of the two medications to loose, it is the cheaper of the two to replace.

Mary is heartbroken that Phoenix is injured... 
and that she won't be able to ride him for at least a month.

It will be a struggle to keep them both from getting absolutely nutty!
But we will find ways to adapt and make the best of this situation.

And still be able to fit all these things into our 
wacky new schedule.

I guess this will mean more meals in the crock-pot ...

Venison Stew

Mary will have to REALLY focus and get her school work done,
no more jibber- jabber or random educational detours.

Hit the Books

This is hot off the press!
We are now officially 

Kitten Free

Awwww!
I am going to absolutely miss this adorable face.
But I have to tell you that I feel as if a weight has been lifted and my life is becoming just a little bit more manageable.
(Even with garden terrorist chickens, a hurricane, an injured horse, 2 dogs and 5 cats)

All my animals are spayed and neutered now and up-to-date on shots.

I am slowly getting the awful smell and mess that those cute kittens left behind.
I am still finding little kitten presents all around the house.
Ugh... nasty!

Slow and steady!
I am reclaiming my HOME.

McFly or Super Fly?

Last year during Hurricane Irene Phoenix got an eye injury.
So we decided to try a little preventative measure this year.
Ha... this didn't last long.
Phoenix loves his fly mask so I think it must have been his neighbor "Cowboy" that help rid him of this disguise.
Don't be a hater Cowboy..,. not every horse can be as cool as Phoenix!

Fortunately there were no eye or any other injuries during this storm for Phoenix.
I wish I could say the same for the rest of the barn.
I don't think they are direct results of the storm but I know that the barn vet has been very busy the last several days.

Zombiefied

We have survived yet another Halloween.
No candy this year please...
we just want your
BRAINS!

Mary needs all the brains she can get with all these

Distractions

We are having a little homeschool bulling going on here.
Late' just won't let Tigger sleep
she keeps giving her sister big love bites in the neck.
Tigger however won't even acknowledge her.

Mary needs to take a lesson from Tigger
and ignore the constant 
animal drama.
Folks may think that there are less distractions in a homeschooling environment...
but they obviously have never tried to have class in our 
Wild Kingdom.

I am beyond excited that we have managed to have 3 consecutive FULL  uninterrupted days of school this week despite all the chaos!
And was finished by 1:30.
And only one fragmented full day that I thought would never end.
Way to go Mary!

I will even pat myself on the back for this one.

Thank God for the small miracles!

And the LARGE ones!

Even though the past month has thrown many hurdles our way,
I feel blessed and humbled 
by the awareness that things can always be worse.

I can choose to only see the negative things in my life or I can choose to give thanks for the blessings.

I know which one I will choose.

Jump for JOY 
while I still have both my legs!