, but not today.I'm still alive, redux · 8:25pm Aug 21st, 2017
This time it's Real Horse who almost didn't make it.
First, an update on Final Solution. I wasn't going to post until I had something concrete (you know, like an actual chapter...), but an enterprising reader stumbled across one of my other accounts and mentioned that I really should do something. I've not been back to FimFic for months, so I apologise for ignoring you all; real life was very disruptive and writing became impossible for a couple of months.
So: I have approx. 40K words written. Of these, 16K are ready to go (two chapters, currently in peer review), while the rest needs more development. I'm aiming to post one every two months, starting early September.
Thus ends the story update part of this post
So what was the problem this time?
You never get a good call from the Yard Manager. They never call to say everything is fine. "Real Horse is sick and it looks bad. She was lying down when I went to collect her and is having trouble moving. The vet is on the way; can you get here?"
If you've ever had a call like that, you know that stomach-churning feeling. I bail out of work and meet them at the stables. Real Horse is hot and sweating, trembling all over. She doesn't move, except to try and lie down. Then it's obvious that she's in a lot of pain. She can't bend her legs properly; we keep her on her hooves because there's no guarantee she'll be able to rise again if she does go down.
The vet doesn't know what is wrong with her. It's not colic (a term for any digestive complaint, ranging from trapped wind to terminal necrosis of the gut), but he does the basics anyway. I can't watch as he puts a tube like a garden hose down her nose and pours in about a gallon of saline. This is only a generic protective measure; he says she needs to go to Liphook Veterinary Hospital. His only thought is that she has atypical myopathy, a kind of poisoning that generally kills half of all horses presenting with symptoms, even with treatment. They just waste away, muscles self-destructing and dissolving over a few days.
I get a first look at how Real Horse moves when we load her into the lorry; she is hesitant and shaky, moving like she's drugged. She manages the ramp and doesn't slip. I have no idea what we'd have done if she fell.
Liphook is one of the better equine hospitals in the UK and it's only 40 minutes away, but this is Friday night rush hour and it takes an hour and a half. That drive was a nightmare; we have no way to know what state she'll be in when we get to the other end. It seemed entirely possible that she vanish into Liphook and never come back out.
The hospital staff and facilities are excellent. Within fifteen minutes they have taken urine samples and received lab results -- it's not atypical myopathy -- and installed a blood tap in her neck. She has another internal exam to confirm that it's not colic, and then she's walked a short distance for a gait assessment. The funny thing is that she looks much better; not normal, but far better than when she was loaded into the lorry.
She's kept in for observation, but it looks hopeful, even if they don't know what's wrong. The worse thing is the responsibility waiver; I have to give them authority to euthanize her if she deteriorates far enough.
A few days pass and I pay her a visit; they still don't really know the cause but she has improved. Since gentle exercise seems to help, it suggests a physical trauma. It could be a fracture, but horses are hard to X-ray so they need to do a bone scan. This is radiomedicine; she's injected with technecium-99m bound to proteins that collect at areas of active bone growth. This stuff is generated from highly enriched uranium (!) and has a half-life of about six hours; I have to stay away for the next two days because she's too radioactive to be near.
There's a hotspot in her neck, but nothing on the subsequent X-ray. Best guess: she took a tumble in the field, suffering a momentary, reversible dislocation and enough of an impact to shock the rest of her muscles. If that is what happened, she's lucky; most horses that fall like this break their necks. She continues to improve and is discharged, with pain killers and anti-inflammatory drugs, for a month of box rest.
She's used to being outside all the time, so being trapped in a stall is a kind of torture at first. She gets used to it, though, and my life becomes a circle of work-stables-sleep.
Finally the mandated time comes to an end, and now we need to discover if there's any long-lasting damage. She's had an extra two weeks out in the field, and seems okay, but the vet can't tell us, so the only thing to do is actually ride her. "You'll soon find out if there's a problem." Thanks for that.
But there isn't a problem. It's like she'd never been hurt.
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So that's it, folks. Everything is more-or-less back to the way it was. The insurance has paid Real Horse's medical bills and I've managed to get back into the habit of writing after about two months off. Hopefully I've built enough of a buffer that there won't be any more unplanned breaks.
Answer: Horses and Infants.
Question: Name two creatures who can't tell you what is wrong with them, but will tear your heart out from stress when something bad happens.
An entirely understandable absence given the circumstance. Glad to hear that Real Horse seems to be doing well, and that you're back on the figurative one.
Ouch... I'm glad Real Horse is doing alright.
Have been getting worried about you and glad to hear everything is working out. Looking forward to the end of the amazing story and what ever else comes next. Missed you!
Wow, glad that the ordeal has passed and everything is mostly fine. Take care and take your time.
As I told you already, I feel it for your ride - on pet. And I'm glad things are turning out fine.
Get well soon Real Horse! (I know she's better as of this post, but the sentiment remains.)
I'm amazed and little bit alarmed that one of the procedures for analyzing potential injuries is considered so dangerous to humans. What's it doing to her in the meantime?!
EDIT: Also, I met an English chap at the opening ceremonies of Bronycon, and wished that you had been able to attend so I could shake your hand in person. I can't wait for more story! (But don't rush just on my account!)
Ah, one of my favorites is back good cheer. And yeah it's not an enjoyable experience to have a beloved equine injured, so good news for miss "real horse"
P.s. can't wait to read final solution again.
~visio
Well! I'm glad to hear Real Horse is healing up nicely. Hell of a scare there, though. Here's hoping Real Horse continues in good health for a long time yet!
Good that real horse is recuperating, and good on you that you are doing passably and improving it sounds like
Will review the horsewords - honest! Was distracted by arrangements to watch the sunmoon.
I offer you an internet hug.
Give Real Horse plenty of hugs for me, too.
I would offer a hug for Real Horse, myself, but Real Horse is six or seven times my mass and may not react appreciably to attempted hugging.
Also, Real Horse is across the Atlantic Ocean, and I have no boat, ship, or plane with which to traverse it.
Glad to hear from you again, and best of luck and future health to Real Horse!
Congrats on writing some more and bleh but yay for real horse.
Thanks for being so understanding, folks, I appreciate it.
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It's one of those 'no minimum safe dose' things, a bit like when your dentist triggers the X ray from outside the room. I did a few calculations and the procedure was about a year's background radiation dose for her; in the scheme of things, not too bad (a CAT scan will do about the same, and the information did shape our rehab program). It remains to be seen if she'll develop any superpowers.
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Ha, any excuse. I'm jealous -- did you get a good view?
Yay, it worked! Thank you for not giving up on this... really.
I have two pet dwarf bunnies. When one of them sick, I got worried sick. He recovered. So I guess I can relate, a teensy bit at least. I find your story such an enticing combination of sci-fi, ethics and action that I've described your fic to family and SO's. I wish you and Real Horse the best.
I didn't even realize how much I had missed reading Final Solution till I read this. Good luck and good health to you and RealHorse.
I feel bad that the main reason this makes me happy is because we're gonna get more horsewords.
Still, glad to hear everything worked out! My cat and the family dog both love to randomly get sick for no reason whatsoever, generally with no identifiable cause, so I can relate.
Someday I should get a horse. That, or bees, I haven't decided. At least a beehive won't cause heartache when things go wrong.
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Hopefully she spontaneously alicornizes. That would be freaking awesome!
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Your 'Corn and You:
A Comprehensive Guide to Care for Inexplicably Metamorphosed Equines
Chapter 1: Notable Changes in Physiological Characteristics
Section 1: On the Horn and Possibility of Impalement Thereupon
Section 2: On the Wings and Molting
glad real horse is ok
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Chapter 10: How to form Human Phonemes with Horse Mouths and How to Teach It
Chapter 20: Coming to Grips with your Horse's Newfound Immortality
Also she might bite you and give you superpowers.
Horse is fine!
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"What? Luna is evolving!"
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Do not underestimate.