Update - 8/31/18 - Well, the meds finally got here and we have done what we think will be life saving treatments for Laddy. Within 24 hours we should know for sure. He is such a trooper and Survivor! The rest of the blood test results are back and all organs look okay.

Keep this guy (and me) in your prayers! Laddy!

​

Update 8/30/18 - Good news is that he is brighter today and we have a tiny bit of swelling relief. Bad news is that this poor guy can't seem to get a break. Some of very needed meds were shipped to the wrong address...three hours away. The fluids are in limbo somewhere. One antibiotic he needs is on back order ... no one can get it due to a manufacturing issue. I scrambled late yesterday to get him enough fluids to last through the night and morning. I was able to get someone to drive to get the meds. Our vets are working very hard to find more fluids. 

We have partial results back on the blood panel that was taken yesterday.  The initial Serum Amyloid test, as well as the second one taken at the hospital, showed a normal result. (15). The sample taken yesterday (after not having his antibiotics for who knows how long while in the hospital) is 750! This is indicative of a massive infection. The most important results are still pending and should be in this afternoon.

​

The swelling has to come down before anything can be done as far as scoping his mouth. At this point, he's going to starve to death if we can't get the swelling down! That is our number one priority!

 

Thank you to Dr. Moore and Dr. Lynde both rearranged their schedules today to help us! I am beyond frustrated.

 

Update  8/28/18 - Needless to say, we are quite disappointed that in the days Laddy was hospitalized, he has not shown the improvement we had hoped. He has been on K Pen, Gentacin, Metronidazole, dexamethasone, and Lasix for 10 days with almost no lasting improvement. He was also never officially diagnosed. We brought Laddy home yesterday. They did not send us home with any fluids or antibiotics. We feel he will get better treatment here at MOP. We decided we needed to get a second opinion regarding Laddy's condition, so we reached out to the vet that saved Rowdy, Mea Ola and Spider (Dr. Sam). We provided him with all the diagnostics, x-rays, ultrasounds and videos that were done. He suspects Lumpy Jaw. The unfortunate thing is....Dr. Sam is retired. Dr. Adrienne Moore,  a friend and supporter has stepped up to help us with Laddy. She agrees with Dr. Sam and is ordering the necessary meds to begin treatment for Lumpy Jaw (Chloramphenicol and sodium iodine). He will also get started on fluids again, since he was dehydrated when he came home from the hospital :(

​

A case study - Actinomycosis of the mandible, mimicking a malignancy in a horse

​

Laddy is fighting hard and we will continue to fight too!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Update 8/22/18  -

                                                  Just finished up visiting Laddy and brought him more fresh                                                                      smoothies.
                                                  The swelling has changed some today and it looks like a pocket may                                                      be forming. 
He is scheduled for another ultrasound later and I will get a phone call update later this evening.  It would be great if they could find a place that they could lance to drain some of this infection.
Please continue to pray and send positive thoughts for Laddy. He's trying so hard.❤️
Laddy has a different vet tech taking care of him today. She just couldn't stop saying "This boy sure has a lot of TRY in him." He has also let her know how spoiled he is and demands his smoothie buckets to be held for him.  He just ignores the bucket if it's just left for him. Yes...I'm afraid I have spoiled him, but he is so worth it! 

Thank you for helping to save one life at a time! 

​

Update 8/20/18 -

                                           The swelling is continuing to go down. Gravity is pulling  most of it to                                                  his lips and the bottom part of his head and  along the jaw.
                                           Good news is they were able to pass a small nasal gastric tube and feed                                                    him. Small amounts only right now and they are using the smoothies as                                                well as adding a powder that has more calories and nutrition since this has to be so watery.
They repeated the ultrasound this morning and now the pockets of infection are just dissipating along his face. There is nothing they can drain. They are continuing meds and hot packing. Laddy will also get another blood panel to make sure he is getting enough on his own to stay hydrated. There still is no way to get a good look inside his mouth. Not even with a camera. It's just still too swollen.
 

Dr.Wan will be contacting an Internal Medicine Specialist as he really wants to see what else Laddy can have and what else can be done to help this move along a little faster.
We discussed possibly bringing Laddy home in the next couple of days, providing he can eat...well...drink his food (aka smoothies). We would continue treatments at home that they are doing at the hospital, since it may take a week or longer for them to be able to get a look inside his mouth. He would need to come back to the hospital for that. Laddy is staying another 24 hrs for sure. 
The entire staff and all of the vets at the hospital just adore him and believe he can do this. They all also agree that Laddy is a SURVIVOR!❤️

This is going to be a long process...Who's in? Laddy sure is.

​

Update 8/16/18 - This morning I decided Laddy needed to go to the hospital. He was having difficulty swallowing, he wasn't able to slurp his smoothies and the swelling was not subsiding as I had hoped. When we arrived, they did x-rays and an ultrasound. They found more problems but also solutions. Good news is his blood work was great! They said we did a great job keeping him hydrated. All organs were working great too.
They did find a small fracture on the left side of his face in the lower jaw (see photo below) However, they aren't actually concerned about it. What is concerning are pockets of abscess in his face unrelated to any teeth. At first they thought it was in the bone and my heart sank! But, it is actually all in soft tissue. They are baffled by what could have been the cause. There could still be a foreign body somewhere in his mouth, but they don't see any evidence of that right now. Again, they are not concerned about strangles (since many of you have asked). This is not a case of strangles. They said this is presenting like a Clostrida bacteria. Some of the swelling is actually caused by "gas pockets" even though it is not crepidous (That baffled them too). Strangles is streptococcus. Completely different and completely different presentation. His throat is fine and his airway is clear.
They are sending out a culture to make sure the correct antibiotics are used. The plan is to hit it hard this evening with 3 different antibiotics and also steroids, plus Lasix to start attacking the swelling. They feel very confident that they can reduce the swelling enough so that he won't need to be on fluids all weekend. 
They want me to make and bring his smoothies! 😀 So, I will be back with fresh ones for him tomorrow hoping he'll be able to slurp them again.

Thank you all for believing in Laddy! The vets believe he can do this too!
Laddy is most certainly a survivor!

​

Update 8/15/18 - It looks like the infection is from his top incisors. The vet thinks he also may have taken a blow to the face (probably another horse, which the owner thought happened too). Several front teeth were already missing but the remaining ones were badly rotten and there is a massive hole and split in the gums...almost to bone. The remaining top front teeth were removed.
Everyone is very hopeful that this will get him well on his way to recovery. Unfortunately he was still too swollen to get a good look much past the front teeth. But, because of what was found there, it is may likely be the entire issue. 
He will remain on fluids again overnight and probably another few days, depending on what sort of improvement we see.  He will continue to get antibiotics, pain meds and his mouth will be flushed after his smoothie meals.

​

We were called about Laddy this morning (8/13/18). It was almost one year ago (3/16/17) when the Blue Cut Fire ravaged this high desert community. Laddy was the very first horse on the trailer that we helped evacuate.  

 

Laddy was feed leased by his owner just over two years ago. No money is exchanged in a feed lease. The feed is the "payment." Laddy had been happy and healthy until recently and had regular checks by the owner. Other people around town who knew this horse have seen him fairly recently and described him as healthy and happy.  The lessor had been working out of town the last couple of months and had had a caretaker for the horses. Last week the caretaker noticed an issue with Laddy. Yes, it probably was going on before that, but when the caretaker saw an issue, the original owner was notified since the Lessor could not  get back to town. The original owner contacted us after seeing Laddy's condition. We are now trying to save Laddy's life. No one did anything malicious.  It was probably brewing for a month or so. But, if you are not horse savvy...how could you know? When the drainage and inability to eat was noticed, help was summoned. None of these people had money to cover something this extensive. They reached out for help. There is no cruelty involved here unless you want to call inexperience cruelty. And even still the inexperienced caretaker reached out. When the original owner saw it, she knew it was beyond what any of them could do, handle or afford. That's why we were called.  We are just glad they called us.  

 

As you can see in the first video, he is very skinny and his face is swollen, but he is bright, despite his horrible condition. 

​

We picked him up and went straight to the vet. The vet was not able to sedate him due to his extreme dehydration, therefore they were not able to do a good exam.  There does appear to be a terrible infection of some kind in his mouth that has probably been brewing for a couple of months. Right now we aren't sure if there is a foreign body in there, massively abscessed teeth or even a tumor.  We just don't know. The vet sent us home with two different antibiotics, pain meds,  an IV catheter and fluids. Laddy will stay on fluids and antibiotics until Wednesday when the vet will be out to sedate him and do a thorough exam. 

Poor guy wants to eat, but can't open his mouth. He slurps a soup of soaked pellets, yogurt, apple sauce, carrot, rice bran and water (see video) .  His first vet bill was over $500 and we are just getting started with his treatment. 

​

Laddy was relinquished by his owner to MOP. We are thankful for that. We are also thankful for all the MOP supporters who donated to help Laddy.  

​

Laddy ... we rescued you a year ago ... we are here for you again!

Now...You are Home!