I saw my doctor on Monday and was officially freed from the sling. I was still not *supposed* to use it until Thursday, but, yeah, right. I didn't use it much, but I certainly didn't just leave it hanging at my side doing nothing. I can't raise it very far – especially to the side – and I've little strength, but things are better. One of the things my doctor did was up my dose of Aleve to two pills twice a day. I was very surprised to find it made a considerable difference.
So Tuesday I picked up my assistant and off we went to get a couple of horses shod. We were headed up to an area where my cell phone coverage is iffy at best. Usually I won't even bother to answer my phone if it rings while I'm there. I can receive texts and – usually – get them out. But since my kids are grown now, I don't worry too much about being out of contact.
My daughter was planning to come out and ride Hoss for me in the afternoon, so in the morning I had lunged him to be sure he would be reasonably well behaved. The last time I lunged him, two days before, he was being very disobedient, so I was concerned that he be reminded how he was expected to behave. I knew I'd not be home when my daughter arrived, but I also knew she knows what she's doing.
My phone rang a couple of times, but I didn't answer as I didn't expect to be able to actually talk to anybody. I was beginning to wonder why I was so popular when I received a text message from my friend, the massage therapist, who lives about three miles down the hill from me. It simply read, "Hoss threw your daughter. She's hurt." Oh crap. I told my assistant we needed to hustle it up so I could figure out what was going on. I texted back to find that my friend really didn't know anything. I texted my son, who has recently moved back in, and my roommate, asking them to take care of my daughter.
I chivvied my assistant along to get the last horse done, got him to load the truck, and we left. I don't think I've ever driven so fast on those back roads. At that point, I believed Hoss and thrown a bucking fit and tossed my daughter, then dashed home by himself. I got home to find out I had misunderstood the situation.
My daughter had headed out about 3:30 on Hoss with "Team Fluffy" eagerly on their heels. They did great until they got to the running hill. My daughter let Hoss out to run, only to find the Fed Ex truck coming down the hill. Hoss shifted to the left to avoid the truck, and misjudged a berm that had built up on that part of the road. He hit it wrong, tripped, and went down hard. My daughter, who rides in the dressage saddle, wound up pretty much on his neck and had lost both stirrups. Hoss started trying to get his feet under him while my daughter tried to get herself back in balance. At some point Hoss shifted to the right, and my daughter, whose momentum was still forward, "Supermanned" over his shoulder and hit hard. She hit hard enough to slide up the hill a bit. She described that Hoss sort of looked at her (he was still going forward) and, evidently deciding he had no idea what that was on the ground, continued on his way up the hill. He topped the hill and realized he had no rider anymore! Distressed, he turned to look back down the hill and hollered for her. I think he saw her moving and realized where she was but, being a horse, waited where he was for her to come get him.
The three dogs came back to my daughter to check on her. Now, I can just hear this conversation. Mac, my fastest and possibly the smartest of the three, told Ash and Jazz, "You guys stay here, I'm going home for help!" And that's just what he did. He ran home and into the house, found my son and started bugging him. My son, not having been around much, didn't realize that Mac does not stay home from a trail ride, and for him to come home when his sister hadn't arrived yet was unusual to the point of alarming.
Meanwhile, the Fed Ex driver, having just witnessed this alarming fall, stopped by my daughter to help her. He got my cell phone number from her, and headed on down to hill, as he didn't have service where they were and would have to find an area where he could call. When he did, he called me, and not reaching me, called 911 to get her emergency aid.
Not long after the Fed Ex driver left, the UPS driver came by. Recognizing the dogs and horse, he stopped as well to help my daughter. Unable to do much, he drove to the house and told my son his sister was pasted on the road. This was about five minutes after Mac had arrived and tried to tell him the same thing. (I can only imagine Mac thinking, "I tried to tell you!). My son put on his shoes and headed out. He was unable to find the keys to the Jeep, so he took off on foot.
By this time the Fed Ex driver had arrived at my friend's home, where my roommate was having a massage. He needed my friend's signature, and started making conversation by describing what had happened. Alarmed, my friend and roommate both asked for clarifications and quickly realized it was my daughter and horse he was talking about. That was when I received my first message about the incident.
My roommate contacted my son to make sure he was handling the situation. My son, running along the road, was spotted by a couple coming in who asked him what was wrong. He told them and they gave him a ride to the scene.
The ambulance and two fire trucks had arrived to tend to my daughter. One of the firefighters retrieved Hoss. It was clear my daughter had suffered an ankle injury. They splinted it for her, and she decided to wait for my son to get the Jeep and drive her to the hospital.
My son somehow got back home for the Jeep and drove back out. It took some doing to get Ash in the Jeep. Since he first met my son, Ash has been utterly terrified of him. So my daughter had to get on her feet to get Ash in the Jeep. I said later I would have just made the damn dogs follow the truck home! Someone led Hoss home, rather than having him led out the window of the Jeep.
I arrived, hot as can be, just before my son was getting ready to drive my daughter to the hospital. Hoss had been unsaddled and put away. I was ready to leave him tied to the trailer for hours, thinking he had run off and left my daughter on the road. Everyone hollered at me and got me calmed down and explained what had happened. I still got Hoss out. He hadn't been groomed, which I felt he earned after that experience, and he needed to be checked over for injuries. I turned that job over to my son and took my daughter to the hospital.
After several hours at the hospital, it was determined my daughter had a nasty sprain in her left foot. Other than that and some scrapes and bruises, she's fine.
One might expect that would be the end of a long day, but of course, it was not. Just as my daughter and I were preparing to leave the hospital, my roommate texted me to let me know her cat, who is declawed and suffers from seizures, had somehow gotten out. In spite of their best efforts, she and my son were unable to catch her.
I get called "Dr. Doolittle" around here. I'm the one who figures out what's wrong with animals, where they are, all sorts of things. It seems I can control the critters pretty effectively. So it more often than not falls on me to deal with serious issues and unusual situations relating to the animals. I advised my roommate to leave the cat alone, just to have someone outside to ensure nothing nasty got close.
My daughter and I arrived home a little after ten. I knew by my son's presence outside that the cat had yet to be recovered. I found my roommate in her room, treating herself for an asthma attack. Due to her allergies, trying to chase her cat down in the currently tall grasses was a bad plan. Once I had gotten a sweatshirt and put down my stuff, I headed out to find the cat myself.
I did a quick perimeter check to be reasonably sure no predators were close by. Once I had satisfied myself that there wasn't anything around, I started a real search. I was walking around calling in hopes of getting her to make a sound, but only succeeding in getting one of my own cats to follow me around, wondering what the heck I wanted.
There is a rock formation on the back side of the house that creates the perfect hiding place for a cat. I figured the cat was in there. Unfortunately, especially in the dark, it's hard to see in there. It's also difficult for me to get in there with just one functional arm. My cat finally figured out what I was doing, and showed me where the other cat was.
I was finally able to get myself down there, and got my roommate and my son out to try to keep the cat from escaping. This particular rock formation has at least three different escape routes. The cat tried to dart out, but I managed to get hold of her right in front of her hips. I wormed my hand up her back and was able to scruff her and get her out. She turned to try to bite me, but seemed to realize I was trying to help her. Once I got her out, I handed her off to her very grateful owner, and they headed back into the house.
It was a very eventful day. I wasn't in bed until midnight after getting the cat and tending to my daughter for the night. All that in one day. I never would have thought it possible.
No comments:
Post a Comment