Apologies for my last post

It occurs to me now that I let my inner muse get ahead of my common sense, which tells me that those among my readership who are not facebook users will not be aware of the facts concerning the illness of Missy, Empress of All the Light Touches.

Here they are: Missy went down sometime between Monday bedtime and Tuesday breakfast. I wish I'd noted exactly when, because then I could have told the humans and not left them wondering, but as it stands now Missy has been unable to rise for 28 hours and counting. She has reduced sensation (but some) in her hind legs, but no strength or motor control. She cannot turn or shift herself, and is being rolled over, cleaned, and massaged by the humans at each check. Her bloodwork is off the charts in several areas, including indications of some liver disfunction and elevated protein levels. She is evacuating normally, is eating and chewing her cud, and is staying hydrated with IV fluids every two hours round the clock. She was examined at the vet hospital yesterday morning and has been given antibiotics and banamine. FarmWife is very busy googling various possible explanations. Tumors and/or abcesses on the spine, Meningial deerworm (apparently not common in our region), selenium deficiency or toxicity—these have all crossed FarmWife's mind, and are being researched accordingly.

We're told not to hope tooo much, but expecting disappointment is not something we mules are good at. We cannot help but look eagerly to the future, and so it is with an ancestral heritage of optimism that I bray for Missy's speedy and full recovery.

Ears to you,
Fenway