Quiz Update - Five Weeks Out

Five weeks.  In some ways I can't believe it's already been 5 weeks since Quiz's injury.  in others - it feels like I've been living under a cloud of concern and caution for so, so much longer.

The basic update on Quiz is great.  He continues to be an incredibly calm patient and giving his body every chance to heal.

Updates from the hospital are starting to slow, which is a good thing as it means we are also starting to exit the window of reall-scary-complications.

Last week, we took a second set of films (essentially one month post-op) and discovered that Quiz broke one of his pins up in his cannon bone.

Note broken pin at exit of cannon bone

My heart sank when I hear that, but then the surgeon quickly followed up with "that's good, that means the pins are doing their job.  He's using them.  They are taking the load we want them to."

Oh, ok then.

But broken pins can't just hang out, so quiz was prepped for anesthesia again, and they went in for repair.  To minimize his movement and disruption, Quiz got laid down in his stall on a big recovery mat and they removed the transfixion cast in order to access the pins.  Broken pin was pulled, a new one was inserted in its place and a new transfixion cast was applied.

It turns out that this was probably a great thing - as Quiz was starting to develop some cast sores, and adjusting the cast helped address that.  The foot was also placed ever so slightly different, so as to load the joint at a new angle and help encourage all the bone remodeling.

from a healing standpoint, things look great.  The implants are holding, the P2 is knitting back together, and perhaps the most significant news is that so far there are no scary chips or jagged edges raising any alarm yet.

All good things. 

Progress!

Quiz is adjusting to his new life.  He learned how to sleep in the sling and slump into it, giving both his front legs more of a rest.

Just in the last week or so, Quiz has been getting to lay down at night and get out of his sling entirely.  Apparently taking them out of the sling is very dependent on temperament and how careful the horse can be when getting up/laying down on their own.  Quiz has been gentle with himself, and has even figured out how to wiggle over to the wall in order to use it plus his good front leg as support when getting up and down.

To be honest, I'm starting to get my hopes up.  He looks so good, and so normal and is acting so calm, it's difficult to make myself remember how damaged his limb is and how questionable his total recovery still is.

PC: Quizzy's Surgeon

So for now, I sit and wait.  Quiz probably has one more week in the transfixion cast with the pins before we recast without the pins and start considering next steps.

I've booked a plane ticket to go visit in about 10 days and am hoping that I can use that visit to start mapping out what the next phase of his recovery will look like.  In the mean time, I'm grateful his lazy, lazy, lazy demeanor is serving him so well.