Saturday, January 19, 2013

Max & Pretty Girl ~ Part 1

Max had been alone for some time, at least he had Delilah. And he had me. I was so happy when Pretty Girl came, he fell more in love with her than any of his previous barnmates. Litterally 1 week after her arrival, I was falling down in peoples driveways when I was walking my dog. I thought it was sciatica. I am no stranger to back pain, but it was bearable and i could live with it. This was an entirely new kind of pain. I would lay there for a while until I could roll over onto my knees, and slowly get up and hobble home. People would come out of their hauses to see if I was okay. So I stopped walking the dog. The pain rapidly progressed until I could no longer walk at all and was crawling around my haus on my hands and knees screaming with pain. I could not even sit, just lay flat or crawl. I am a "starving artist", and Max was a rescue that was a dream come true for me. Needless to say, I do not have health insurance, nor am I a rich girl. Just rich in Spirit. After crawling around the haus crying for 5 days, I broke down and called family, who flew over to LA, loaded me in the back of the car and took me to Vegas for treatment. Emergency Room, morphine drip, then MRI that showed the serious state of my spine. Severe degeneraton and arthritic spine with 3 buldging discs and major herniated discs. I was put on steroids, and pain pills, and muscle relaxers, and sent home(Vegas)to wait for swelling to go down so that surgery could be done. That was the last week of November. I am now 1 month out of surgery. I can walk short distances, and put my own shoes on. I have weened myself off all of the drugs I was put on. I am waiting to start my rehab/Physical Therapy, Doc says I am to stay here in Vegas. Doc says I am not allowed to go back home to Los Angeles for 2-3 months minimum(but for very short visits), and it will be 8+ months before I am allowed to ride Max again. This breaks my heart as he is my world. I used to go to Runyon to see him once or twice a day. He IS my therapy. I am told if I do not do as instructed, I will seriously jeopardize my spine procedure, and next time it would mean fusing my spine together and inserting rods;and I could forget about riding for good. It could lead to serious handicapt or even paralyzation. I am a young 41 year old who is used to Pilates Plus 5 times a week, hiking Runyon, and riding Max. Its a very difficult adjustment for me. The hardest part is being away from Max. I have seen him once during this time. He apparently did not miss me as much as I have missed him, because he is busy having separation anxiety from Pretty Girl. When she goes on a walk, and he must stay behind, he gets very very upset and runs in circles around the pen crying out and working himself into a sweat. Pretty Girl feels the same way. When my friend recently took Max out for a walk, I was told when they returned she had worked herself up so much that it look like someone took a hose and just dowsed her with water, she was sweating so bad. Separation anxiety is not a good thing. Being "Barn Sour" leads to behavioral problems. I had started "Tie Training" them both, and was only 4 days into it when I was incapacitated and taken away. But I thought, if I am torn away from him, at least he has her. So I was greatful.

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