Update on my girl ...

Cygnet · #1 02/26/13, 12:14 PM

So the vet called back with the results of Runty's blood work. She had some raised muscle enzymes, and some minor liver issues, but nothing serious. Her white blood cell count wasn't elevated, which was a surprise -- she definitely had a uterine infection.

She looks much brighter this morning but she can't stand up. Vet thinks she has bruised pelvic nerves.

I know how slow nerves heal from personal experience. I suspect we're in this for the long haul with her. (I had brachial neuritis myself -- inflammation of the nerves in my shoulder -- almost a year ago, and my arm still isn't right.)

I can give her time and she's a yearling, so she has plenty of good life ahead of her, and youth on her side ... but I feel so bad she's going through this.

Her baby is stinking cute and bouncing all over the place. Healthy baby.

Mama's totally willing to let him nurse and moves a leg back so he can reach her udder. Baby nurses from her lying down. I'm going to continue letting him nurse off her -- he makes her move around, which is a good thing.

bknthesdle · #2 02/26/13, 12:34 PM

Oh wow! Glad for the update! Here is hoping she makes a nice recovery soon. Hope you will post more pictures of baby as he is just darling!! <3

Minelson · #3 02/26/13, 02:21 PM

I'm glad the bloodwork came back normal. I sure hop[e she gets up soon!!!

Minelson · #4 02/26/13, 02:23 PM

Is she still on the Dex?

Cygnet · #5 02/26/13, 02:45 PM

She's on dex until tomorrow.

I'm looking at ideas online for a goat wheelchair right now. I want to get her up and moving ASAP so she has as little muscle atrophy as possible. Doggy wheelchairs are way out of my price range, unfortunately, so I may have to make something.

She weighs about 35 pounds, so I suspect I could put one together with PVC, some old towels, velcro, and large wheels and vetwrap and cotton batting for padding. The trick's going to be working around her udder. I'll have to experiment a bit -- I'm off to home depot for the PVC.

She's a pet -- she's so much fun I just can't imagine not giving her every chance I can.

Backfourty,MI. · #6 02/26/13, 02:48 PM

I hope she bounces back quickly for you. Sounds like she's doing pretty well & even lets her baby nurse is good.
Keep us posted.

mammabooh · #7 02/26/13, 02:53 PM

That's great news. When you get your wheelchair designed and made, we most certainly have to see pictures of it being used.

dozedotz · #8 02/26/13, 04:30 PM

You are a wonderful goat-mom! Sounds like she is doing her part, too. Sometimes the friendships we make in this life are unusual, but very wonderful anyway.

GoatJunkie · #9 02/26/13, 09:32 PM

What a good Mom she is.... and you are too!

I hope you will post pictures of the wheelchair you are making.

Cygnet · #10 02/26/13, 10:39 PM

Well, I never made it to home depot -- I got struck by a headache instead, dang it. Too bad to drive. (It's 40 miles.)

Will try to make it tomorrow.

I'm just thinking a basic four wheeled cart with a harness around her chest and padded straps around her back legs supporting her. I have a doggy seat belt that should fit her front end that should work for supporting her front. Four big casters. And it needs to be just tall enough so she can push herself around with all four legs without bearing much weight. 1 1/4" PVC should be rigid enough. It should be fairly simple to make.

She's pulling her hind legs underneath herself and trying to stand, but can't quite, so I think she'll be able to push herself around if she doesn't have to support her own weight.

I have experience with neuritis myself -- the atrophy of muscles can be dramatically quick, even unaffected muscles. So I need to get her up and moving to give her the best chance at recovery. Plus being down can't be good for her lungs or rumen -- I don't want her to bloat or get pneumonia on me.

But hey -- she'll be the easiest first freshener to milk EVER!

(I love this goat. Even with all the pain she's in and all the rude things I'm doing to her -- shots, nasty tasting banamine, temperature checks, picking her up and moving her around, making her move her legs, etc., she's still happy to see me.)

Minelson · #11 02/28/13, 09:58 AM

How is Runty doing?

CottageLife · #12 02/28/13, 10:50 AM

I don't know if they'd help or not, but there are plans out on the web for building your own dog wheelchair in different sizes. They may help you in designing one for your goat?

Cygnet · #13 02/28/13, 05:47 PM

No change. She's bright and alert and happy to see me, but can't stand up. As long as she doesn't seem to be suffering excessively (she is in pain) and there seems to be a chance for recovery, I'll give her time. I won't torture her, however.

She just has no strength at all in her back legs, and she acts like it hurts when I pick her up. I'm debating splinting her legs to see if that helps, but I think the pain is in her hips more than her legs. (She has full range of motion in her legs, albeit without the strength needed to stand.)

She's milking like a holstein.

This is the only time I've ever truly wished a goat would turn the tap off ... it can't be helping her to give that much milk. Milking a goat who can't stand is challenging (though I did determine I could hit the dog several feet away with squirts of milk when he wouldn't leave us alone -- that worked good as a squirt gun, LOL). I'm not going to drink the milk from a sick goat who's on meds, so it's all going to waste, too. :-(

Lazaryss · #14 02/28/13, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cygnet

She's on dex until tomorrow.

I'm looking at ideas online for a goat wheelchair right now. I want to get her up and moving ASAP so she has as little muscle atrophy as possible. Doggy wheelchairs are way out of my price range, unfortunately, so I may have to make something.

She weighs about 35 pounds, so I suspect I could put one together with PVC, some old towels, velcro, and large wheels and vetwrap and cotton batting for padding. The trick's going to be working around her udder. I'll have to experiment a bit -- I'm off to home depot for the PVC.

She's a pet -- she's so much fun I just can't imagine not giving her every chance I can.

Are you still in the Phoenix area? I can help you design and build one around the udder.

I'm heading to work so call Dusky if you get a chance.

Sherry in Iowa · #15 02/28/13, 05:54 PM

It takes a lot of time to heal injuries like this I imagine. IF there was a vet or person close by that did acupuncture..I'd have them take a look at her. They do great things with nerves and muscles..ask me how I know.

Cygnet · #16 02/28/13, 06:54 PM

Lazaryss, I'll give you guys a call if what I'm working on doesn't work. I have everything bought -- I just need to put the pieces together. I am thinking that PVC and a "temporary" cart is my best bet, though, since I may have to modify it.

I'm pretty good at redneck engineering ... :-) :-) :-)

I don't want to put any pressure on her hips/pelvis/udder area, both because she's in full freaking milk production and because the damage is to the nerves in her pelvic area. So initially, I'm going to support her weight with a padded sling on a four-wheeled cart. The goal will be to get her to push with her back legs and build those muscles up. I will not leave her in it -- just put her in it for a few minutes at a time several times a day and build her strength up.

If that works, I'll take it from there.

Minelson · #17 02/28/13, 06:59 PM

Shoot...I was so wishing she would get up!

I would call the vet and maybe start some oral pred with a tapering dose. That is the only med I can think of that might help. You are probably past the banamine threshold. ((((hugs)))) thinking about you and Runty all the time!

Cygnet · #18 02/28/13, 07:36 PM

Minelson, dexamethasone is a more powerful steroid than prednisone. She's had a three day course of it.

Minelson · #19 02/28/13, 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cygnet

Minelson, dexamethasone is a more powerful steroid than prednisone. She's had a three day course of it.

I know...but maybe she needs more to get her through this...but I would ask the vet for sure...

Cygnet · #20 03/01/13, 04:54 PM

This morning, I was able to get her to balance on all fours (with my hand under her belly) long enough to get a long drink of water. I'm sure she was happy with that -- drinking from a bowl lying down means her chin gets soaking wet!

Now that she's not in so much pain I'm getting a better idea of the damage. She can't push down hard with her back legs<edit> but she can't pull her legs forward hardly at all. I'm thinking her femoral nerves got hit, which is weird, because that would be hard to do (if I understand the goat anatomy I'm reading) while kidding. Given the drama fits she threw, which included throwing herself into the fence, and the struggle I had getting her down to untangle the kid, I wonder if she didn't herniate a disk. The vet said her x-rays were clean but I know from personal experience that x-rays don't necessarily show a herniated disk. He was also looking for damage in the pelvic region, not higher up -- she had a ton of swelling.

(If you pull your knee to your chest, the muscles I think got "hit" by this nerve injury are largely the ones that let you do that. In a goat, they bring the legs forward to take a step. The psoas and the quads. The nerve root should be between the 4th and 5th lumbar disks -- which would not normally have been impacted by the kidding.)

Sigh ... in any case, only time will tell. I can't afford (nor would I put her through) any kind of risky surgery or invasive procedures. IMHO, the kindest thing I can do for her is keep her as comfortable as possible, encourage her to use those back legs, and re-evaluate where she's at in a few months. If she's improving, give her more time. If not ... well, it must suck to be a goat who can't run and play.