Warning: very long post ahead
💙Miracle, Mercy, and Grace!!!💙
💙Miracle, Mercy, and Grace!!!💙
GUESS WHO KIDDED?....
On February 19th, I noticed that Puddins was acting strange, so I left her in her stall with fresh hay and water. She was acting strange all day, horning her belly, getting up and down, was sunk in by her tail, and had also bagged up more overnight. Despite all of this there was no "goo". At the same time Ginger was having goo and Mom and I alternated sitting with Ginger and sitting with Puddins. This went on most of the day. Finally, around 4:00 p.m. Puddins started to have discharge.
We thought everything would start happening as usual, but it didn't. Puddins had a distressed behavior that was abnormal and Mom started saying she was worried, as something was wrong.
Then at 4:25 a ton of fluid gushed out suddenly. I knew that it was the amniotic birth sack of a kid.
At 5:30 p.m. Mom decided to go up inside and see what the hold up was. Well, after getting only to her wrist, there was a blockage, but it wasn't a kid. It was a soft mass that felt scratchy kind of like the surface of a cow tongue but not as hard. Mom said she didn't know what that was. Perhaps a tumor? She mentioned it could be her uterus prolapsing, collapsing in upon itself and trying to wedge out before the kids, but why? It was blocking the birth canal and Mom couldn't get her hand past it to the kids on the other side which were pushing up against this blocking the canal.
We waited some more. By 8 p.m. Ginger was kidding so we left Puddins to go help her. By 9, Ginger was going well so we went back and Mom went back up into Puddins a second time, but the same thing. This mass was completely blocking the birth canal and Mom couldn't push it out of the way. Mom was really worried and we told Dad, but he admitted that even though he had assisted many cows in labor and delivery, his arm was too big to go up and feel around- he knew he would of hurt Puddins.
We went into the house and continued checking every 30 minutes, praying and hoping everytime that we would find a miracle. Puddins was getting desperate and in heavy labor. This went on until 2 a.m. when Mom informed me that Puddins was going to die- we couldn't get the kids out. We cried because Puddins is our favorite. Mom said that there was nothing more for me to help her with so she put me to bed. Even though I was sad, I fell asleep instantly because I was so tired.
In the meantime, Mom went into her bedroom and woke up Dad. At this time it was 2:30 a.m. She told him the situation had not changed and Puddins was in desperate pain. She wanted him to get up and shoot her to end the suffering. Dad got up and dressed and said he wasn't going to shoot her, but that he wanted us to try a third time going up and seeing if we could get past the mass.
So Mom came in at 3am and woke me back up. My arm was the smallest and she had already had no luck. She explained to me what I was to do and Dad and I went out together one last time. Mom stayed inside because unfortunately she had come down that day with a terrible head cold and it was really starting to make her feel sick.
I went outside with Dad into Puddins' stall. I had washed my hands thoroughly inside and applied lubricant. Dad held Puddins, and I slipped my hand inside of Puddins. This was the first time I had ever reached my hand up inside of a goat. A little ways up I felt the strange, scratchy mass, but my hand was small enough to get around it. I felt the mass and baby kids' bones as I reached up inside. Eventually I felt spaghetti. I went up inside almost to my elbow, and then I felt what I thought was a kid's rib and also what I thought was several kids' spines. I couldn't feel anything else, though, besides the mass, and several bones. I was extremely tight and cramped in there, and had I been able to find a kid's leg, I wouldn't have been able to pull it past the mass.
I slipped my hand out of Puddins, and Dad and I went inside, leaving Puddins in great distress. I told Mom that I, too, had felt the mass, and we debated what to do. Dad said that the only thing to do was to call the vet. Dad called Dr. Carl's emergency phone number. By this time it was around 3:30. Dr. Carl told Dad that the kids were probably dead by now, and that there was no use in rushing her to the vet now. He told Dad to bring her in at 7:30 to the clinic, so we all laid back down to try to sleep for 4 hours.
We all fell asleep, and Mom woke up at 6:30. She woke me up and told me to wake Dad up to hitch up the horse trailer. By 7:00 the trailer was hitched. I ran to bring Puddins and she painfully hobbled to the trailer and stepped in. We drove out of the driveway with low hopes, sure that the kids were dead and that Puddins would probably die too.
We arrived at the vet clinic at 7:23 and it wasn't open yet, so Dad and I sat in the truck and waited. At 7:30 Dr. Carl drove in. He told us to take her into a room with double doors in the back of the vet clinic. We unloaded Puddins and ventured into the unknown.
The "unkown" was the surgery room. It had a concrete floor with several drains, and a huge utility sink. The counter was covered with syringes, spray bottles, medicine boxes, ect. Dr. Carl then walked in with one of his assistants. He got a bucket full of warm water, wet his hands, and stuck his finger inside of Puddins. He barely got two fingers up to the joints when he said "There's no way I'm going to get up inside of her. She will have to have a caesarian. He told Dad "I'm going to be upfront and honest. It will cost $175, and goats like to die on c sections". Dad said to go ahead and do a c-section on her, she was our favorite goat and he wanted to try to save her.
They gave her 3 syringes full of some sort of numbing agent, then began. First they shaved her, than rubbed the area with iodine/antiseptic wipes. I stood on the other side of Puddins and looked down as Dr. Carl worked opposite side of me. He warned before he began that if I got sick or funny feeling to just look away and sit down on the floor next to Puddins. Puddins stood on the floor the whole time with dad at her head holding her collar. Dr. Carl took his scalpel and quickly began slicing open her belly.
Puddins was oblivious. She was standing up, head drooping, not even knowing what was going on, she was so tired. Blood started to drip on the floor as Dr. Carl stuck his hand in. He said "These kids are totally jumbled up in here, there was no way your wife could of got them out". He then felt around and grabbed a kid's leg. He started to pull it out. Meanwhile another assistant had arrived with towels. Out slid the kid, which was limp and not moving. This kid was a silver on her front, gradually fading to a rusty brown on her back with black points and some white on it's head. The assistant took it and started to dry it off. I knew it was dead, until suddenly it lifted it's head and looked me right in the eye!!! I was astonished and dumbfounded, as well as being delighted!!!
He pulled a second kid out and the assistant took it also and started to dry it off. It sneezed, and I knew that it was alive too!! I said "I can go help dry the kids off". I left Puddins and started to dry the second kid. The second kid is an intriguing color. It is white with black points, and has gold highlights all over it.
Then he pulled a third kid out! It was limp, but alive. The assistants immediately swung it upside down for a long time while slapping it's shoulders, to get out any fluid that had gotten in its lungs. Then they took several long Q tips and swabbed her throat out, bringing up some goo. By this time the first kid was already standing! I was so excited and happy. Dr. Carl and all the vet assistants couldn't believe the kids were alive!
Dr. Carl then sewed Puddins up, telling Dad that he had gotten all of the afterbirth out that he could, but that there may still be a little bit in there. Puddins had survived the surgery!!!!
The kids were trying to suck the air, and also trying to stand. I was so happy. All last night Mom and I had been praying that somehow the kids would be alive and that Puddins would live. Jesus answered our prayers!!
We drove home when Dock saw the kids in my lap. He and Mom were so astonished! They were expecting dead kids, but hoped Puddins would make it. We all praised Christ for the miracle.
All of the kids are doelings!!
I named the first kid Miracle, because it was a miracle that the kids lived and Puddins lived.
And the last kid I named Grace, because Jesus has Grace on us.
We thought everything would start happening as usual, but it didn't. Puddins had a distressed behavior that was abnormal and Mom started saying she was worried, as something was wrong.
Then at 4:25 a ton of fluid gushed out suddenly. I knew that it was the amniotic birth sack of a kid.
At 5:30 p.m. Mom decided to go up inside and see what the hold up was. Well, after getting only to her wrist, there was a blockage, but it wasn't a kid. It was a soft mass that felt scratchy kind of like the surface of a cow tongue but not as hard. Mom said she didn't know what that was. Perhaps a tumor? She mentioned it could be her uterus prolapsing, collapsing in upon itself and trying to wedge out before the kids, but why? It was blocking the birth canal and Mom couldn't get her hand past it to the kids on the other side which were pushing up against this blocking the canal.
We waited some more. By 8 p.m. Ginger was kidding so we left Puddins to go help her. By 9, Ginger was going well so we went back and Mom went back up into Puddins a second time, but the same thing. This mass was completely blocking the birth canal and Mom couldn't push it out of the way. Mom was really worried and we told Dad, but he admitted that even though he had assisted many cows in labor and delivery, his arm was too big to go up and feel around- he knew he would of hurt Puddins.
We went into the house and continued checking every 30 minutes, praying and hoping everytime that we would find a miracle. Puddins was getting desperate and in heavy labor. This went on until 2 a.m. when Mom informed me that Puddins was going to die- we couldn't get the kids out. We cried because Puddins is our favorite. Mom said that there was nothing more for me to help her with so she put me to bed. Even though I was sad, I fell asleep instantly because I was so tired.
In the meantime, Mom went into her bedroom and woke up Dad. At this time it was 2:30 a.m. She told him the situation had not changed and Puddins was in desperate pain. She wanted him to get up and shoot her to end the suffering. Dad got up and dressed and said he wasn't going to shoot her, but that he wanted us to try a third time going up and seeing if we could get past the mass.
So Mom came in at 3am and woke me back up. My arm was the smallest and she had already had no luck. She explained to me what I was to do and Dad and I went out together one last time. Mom stayed inside because unfortunately she had come down that day with a terrible head cold and it was really starting to make her feel sick.
I went outside with Dad into Puddins' stall. I had washed my hands thoroughly inside and applied lubricant. Dad held Puddins, and I slipped my hand inside of Puddins. This was the first time I had ever reached my hand up inside of a goat. A little ways up I felt the strange, scratchy mass, but my hand was small enough to get around it. I felt the mass and baby kids' bones as I reached up inside. Eventually I felt spaghetti. I went up inside almost to my elbow, and then I felt what I thought was a kid's rib and also what I thought was several kids' spines. I couldn't feel anything else, though, besides the mass, and several bones. I was extremely tight and cramped in there, and had I been able to find a kid's leg, I wouldn't have been able to pull it past the mass.
I slipped my hand out of Puddins, and Dad and I went inside, leaving Puddins in great distress. I told Mom that I, too, had felt the mass, and we debated what to do. Dad said that the only thing to do was to call the vet. Dad called Dr. Carl's emergency phone number. By this time it was around 3:30. Dr. Carl told Dad that the kids were probably dead by now, and that there was no use in rushing her to the vet now. He told Dad to bring her in at 7:30 to the clinic, so we all laid back down to try to sleep for 4 hours.
We all fell asleep, and Mom woke up at 6:30. She woke me up and told me to wake Dad up to hitch up the horse trailer. By 7:00 the trailer was hitched. I ran to bring Puddins and she painfully hobbled to the trailer and stepped in. We drove out of the driveway with low hopes, sure that the kids were dead and that Puddins would probably die too.
We arrived at the vet clinic at 7:23 and it wasn't open yet, so Dad and I sat in the truck and waited. At 7:30 Dr. Carl drove in. He told us to take her into a room with double doors in the back of the vet clinic. We unloaded Puddins and ventured into the unknown.
The "unkown" was the surgery room. It had a concrete floor with several drains, and a huge utility sink. The counter was covered with syringes, spray bottles, medicine boxes, ect. Dr. Carl then walked in with one of his assistants. He got a bucket full of warm water, wet his hands, and stuck his finger inside of Puddins. He barely got two fingers up to the joints when he said "There's no way I'm going to get up inside of her. She will have to have a caesarian. He told Dad "I'm going to be upfront and honest. It will cost $175, and goats like to die on c sections". Dad said to go ahead and do a c-section on her, she was our favorite goat and he wanted to try to save her.
They gave her 3 syringes full of some sort of numbing agent, then began. First they shaved her, than rubbed the area with iodine/antiseptic wipes. I stood on the other side of Puddins and looked down as Dr. Carl worked opposite side of me. He warned before he began that if I got sick or funny feeling to just look away and sit down on the floor next to Puddins. Puddins stood on the floor the whole time with dad at her head holding her collar. Dr. Carl took his scalpel and quickly began slicing open her belly.
Puddins was oblivious. She was standing up, head drooping, not even knowing what was going on, she was so tired. Blood started to drip on the floor as Dr. Carl stuck his hand in. He said "These kids are totally jumbled up in here, there was no way your wife could of got them out". He then felt around and grabbed a kid's leg. He started to pull it out. Meanwhile another assistant had arrived with towels. Out slid the kid, which was limp and not moving. This kid was a silver on her front, gradually fading to a rusty brown on her back with black points and some white on it's head. The assistant took it and started to dry it off. I knew it was dead, until suddenly it lifted it's head and looked me right in the eye!!! I was astonished and dumbfounded, as well as being delighted!!!
He pulled a second kid out and the assistant took it also and started to dry it off. It sneezed, and I knew that it was alive too!! I said "I can go help dry the kids off". I left Puddins and started to dry the second kid. The second kid is an intriguing color. It is white with black points, and has gold highlights all over it.
Then he pulled a third kid out! It was limp, but alive. The assistants immediately swung it upside down for a long time while slapping it's shoulders, to get out any fluid that had gotten in its lungs. Then they took several long Q tips and swabbed her throat out, bringing up some goo. By this time the first kid was already standing! I was so excited and happy. Dr. Carl and all the vet assistants couldn't believe the kids were alive!
Dr. Carl then sewed Puddins up, telling Dad that he had gotten all of the afterbirth out that he could, but that there may still be a little bit in there. Puddins had survived the surgery!!!!
The kids were trying to suck the air, and also trying to stand. I was so happy. All last night Mom and I had been praying that somehow the kids would be alive and that Puddins would live. Jesus answered our prayers!!
We drove home when Dock saw the kids in my lap. He and Mom were so astonished! They were expecting dead kids, but hoped Puddins would make it. We all praised Christ for the miracle.
All of the kids are doelings!!
I named the first kid Miracle, because it was a miracle that the kids lived and Puddins lived.
The second kid is Mercy, because Jesus had mercy on us to let them live.
And the last kid I named Grace, because Jesus has Grace on us.
She's my favorite kid of all the kids this year!! (Mercy and Spicy are close seconds)
Puddins drank water right away, and then has been eating!
All the kids are vigorous and adorable!
Puddins has a 2 week window of time where post-op could go south and she could get sick, but we have a feeling that she is going to make it. Praying to Father God through Christ Jesus this is the case. She drank a lot of water the past 2 days and is nibbling hay and her grain. She is standing and laying down throughout the past 2 days and we have a mini-horse blanket on her. We milked her colostrum out that evening and expect her to dry up due to the stress, but we will see if that happens. She did expel more afterbirth when she got home later that day, which is a wonderful sign that none of that is left up inside of her. Dr. Carl said Puddins will never be able to breed again, which is fine with us because this was going to be our last year breeding her anyways, we were going to retire her and become our pasture pet. Puddins is up and alert and talks to us when we go into her stall, so everything so far is looking good for her to having a good recovery. In 2 more days, we are to administer her another round of LA 300 to prevent any infection.
I'm so sorry things went so badly, but happy to hear the wonderful outcome! Praise God!
ReplyDeleteWe had a bad c-section a few years ago, so if I can help in anyway, let me know!
Hello to everyone on Grace mountain:)
ReplyDeleteWell, you've had a exciting couple days!! God is Good!! He also loves his animals:) and gives them to us to love and care for. And he gave kryssa a special love for her goats.:) it's amazing that those 3 little goats survived, but with your prayers God was faithful to you. I can't believe you wrote that long story and I'm sure you left nothing out:)). You're such a great writer kryssa, you should write a book about your goats for other kids to enjoy. I can't wait to see them in person. If this snow would go away. I don't have my SUV anymore so i'm not as confident driving my car although it's been pretty good in the snow. But bickelton is rather scary to drive through there's always more snow there and no phone service. So if old grandma tam runs off the road they may not find me:):):). So I'll have to be satisfied with the pictures you provided. But they sure are cuteeeeee.
How's mom feeling? And what has Dock been up to? Not much going on here. Grandpa Russ has been working on our house in Prosser, almost has the wiring done and has installed the fire place all by himself. I don't know if grandma Tam will be able to keep up with this old man.:)))
Love to all!!
Grandma Tam:):):)