Earl’s Long Road to Recovery

Hay Feeder Traps and Pins Earl for Hours

At 2:30 a.m. on December 16^th, I woke with a start and climbed out of bed. I have insomnia, so it wasn’t unusual for me to be up at that hour. I made my way upstairs to my craft room, where I was going to fiddle around for a few hours. I turned on the tv, then decided against watching anything. Then I heard it. A bang. It sounded like something hard hitting metal. I thought it must have been the HVAC cutting off. Then I heard it again. It sounded like someone loading a horse onto a trailer. I rushed to the window and threw it open. I looked out into the dark cold night, waited, listened. Bang! It was coming from my stallion’s pasture. I quickly closed the window, went downstairs, pulled on some boots, donned a coat, and made my way into the darkness. I listened carefully as I tripped and stumbled may way over to his pasture. It was quiet. Just then, bang! I turned on my phone light and saw the silver metal roof of the FARMCO hay feeder. It was on its side and pinned below it was Earl. He must’ve heard me approaching and trashed in response.

“Oh God!” I screamed, as I ran to him.

He was down on his left side, the weight of the manger resting across his ribs. His neck was twist up the right, nose pointing straight up and his head trapped somehow in the frame of the feeder. He was grunting, crying, panicking. He thrashed and kicked futility.

“Easy baby, easy,” I said.

I fumbled with my phone and tried to call Andy. He was sound asleep when I left the bedroom. No answer. I knew I had to act fast, with or without him, so I ran toward the barn to get the tractor. I stumbled, fell, got up, stumbled again. The uneven ground, my terrible balance, the darkness all seemed to thwart my progress. Panting and running, I called Andy again.

“Hello,” he said sleepily.

“Andy, you have to come now, Earl is trapped under the manger!” I managed.

“He’s what?” he asked confused.

“The hay feeder is on top of him!” I screamed. “He can’t breathe!”

I hung up and started the tractor. I had to get the pallet forks on, so I could lift the manger off Earl. It seemed to take so long. My hands were shaking, making it tough to pull pins. Somehow, I got it on. I was pulling up to the feeder with the tractor just as Andy arrived with the Gator. The vehicles’ headlights revealed the terrible scene. My heart raced even quicker.

Earl’s head was stuck between two 2” square metal pipe frames. One pipe was welded to the body of the feeder, while the other was part of a swivel panel that held the slow feeder net in place. He must have gotten his head around the swivel frame, then pulled back until his jaw locked his head between the two bars. Panicked, he must have continued to pull back with all his might. Being a nearly 1,800-pound horse, he brought the feeder down on top of himself. The bulk of the feeder rest across Earl’s ribs, crushing his lungs and heart while the two metal bars clamped tight like vice grips at his throat latch. The situation was desperate.  

It took a few attempts to get the feeder lifted off Earl, though we couldn’t lift it too high given his head was trapped. At least the weight was off his vital organs.

“Have you called anyone?” Andy asked.

I pulled the phone from my pocket and dialed my neighbor, Carmen.

“What’s wrong?” she said answering her phone.

“I need your help,” I explained, panting, “Earl is trapped in the hay feeder.”

I hung up and dialed my other neighbor, Terry. No Answer. I called her husband, Everette, no answer. I turned back to Andy.

“We need wrenches and saws!” I yelled. “We’ve got to get this frame off to get his head out.”

Andy jumped into the Gator and sped off to the machine shed for tools. I climbed into the manger where mounds of hay had piled onto Earl when the manger tipped over. I clawed and crawled through the hay in a desperate attempt to get to my dying horse. When I finally made it to his head, the look of panic, despair and fear in his eyes tore at my heart. He began to thrash again.

“Easy baby, easy,” I soothed, as I stroked his head. “Mommy’s here.”

He moaned, then went limp, unconscious.

“Nooooooo!” I screamed.

I began to dig at the hay again, throwing it out in armfuls. It was futile. There was too much hay. It was too heavy. I was too weak. I sat back on my heals.

“Please God, save him,” I pleaded. “Help me save him.”

I tried to call Terry again. She answered. It was now 3:38 a.m.

“Terry please come,” I managed through desperate sobs as I stumbled out from the belly of the feeder. “Earl is trapped.”

The headlights of the Gator came into view as the first of our neighbors pulled down the long driveway. I stood over Earl’s prone body, nearest the feeder as I could. Andy jumped out and came to stand next to. He tried to loosen the bolts that held the frames in place, but they were impossibly tight – likely torqued from the fall.

“We need the saw Andy,” I said, “This isn’t going to work. We’ll have to cut him out.”

Andy went back for the power tools as our neighbors, Carmen and Greg, approached.

“What can we do?” Carmen asked.

“Call the vet,” I suggested.

Greg went over to Earl to assess the situation, then grabbed the handsaw from his truck. He immediately climbed into the manger and studied each frame carefully.

“Please hurry!” I yelled. My voice sounded shrill, harsh, too demanding. “Please, he’s dying.”

“I know Stace,” he said, “But I’m afraid if I cut in the wrong place, something may fall and cause more trauma to him.”

I turned and saw Andy behind me with the reciprocating saw, which he passed it to me over Earl’s body.

“Here,” I said to Greg, who was now vigorously hacking away at the frame by hand. “Use this.”

I was surprised to see that he’d managed to get a good way through the pipe by hand. He took the Sawzall, started to cut and the blade instantly broke. He passed the tool back to me and began again with the hand saw. Andy handed me another blade to replace the sheered one. My hands were shaking, and I dropped the blade a couple times before I could lock it in place.

“Here Greg,” I said, passing the saw back.

Earl began to thrash again, but not for long. He was tired, frothy with sweat. It was apparent he’d been like this for hours. He had red paint on all four hooves from where they’d banged relentlessly against the feeder. He had raw scuff marks between his legs and had rubbed off his chestnuts fighting to free himself. He went limp again.

I could feel despair creeping in deeper and sobbed. Carmen grabbed me into a hug.

“I can’t lose him like this Carmen,” I whimpered over the grinding sound of metal on metal. She whispered something kind and supportive, but I couldn’t hear the words over the constant ringing in my ears.

When I pulled away from Carmen’s shoulder, I looked up to Terry and Everette approaching.

“Carmen,” yelled Greg from inside the feeder. “Call 911 and ask for Fire and Rescue. Tell them we need large animal rescue!”

Carmen walked away, dialing 911 as she went.

“What do you need us to do?” Terry asked.

“We’re trying to cut him free,” I said with a non-answer. “We need more saws. Some way to cut him free faster.”

Everette and Terry jumped back in their truck for their farm for more tools.

I stood, stuck in place, unmoving, unbreathing, watching the horrific scene in front of me. Earl’s neck in an impossible angle; eyes white with fear. Greg standing over him, hacking away at the metal. Andy alongside Earl, trying to loosen unmoving nuts from torqued bolts.

“Do you have any sedation?” asked Carmen, who was now on the phone with Charleston Equine Clinic.”

“Yes!” I said, turning at a run toward the barn.

I grabbed my stash of dormosedan gel, ran back, climbed into the manger behind Greg, who was still sawing, and administered the drug under Earl’s tongue. I stepped out of the manger.

They’re going to need to know what happened, whispered a voice in head. To treat him, they’ll need to see this. I pulled out my phone and recorded the gruesome scene. A snippet of his head trapped between the bars, the manger on its side, Earl lying prone and seemingly lifeless. I’d not documented such horror since my time as a combat photographer in Iraq. I hoped those days were behind me. Apparently not.  

I stopped recording to call my friend, Dr. Heranando Plata. It was now 4:02 a.m.

“Hello,” he said, “Stacy? What’s going on?”

I explained the situation as calmly as I could manage. I knew deep down he couldn’t do anything from Kentucky, but hearing his sage, unwavering voice steeled me for what was to come.

I hung up the phone and turned back to Earl, where Greg was making the final cut that would free him. The blade jammed from the pressure. He wiggled and wrenched it free, then cut again. The bar came apart and Earl’s head fell limply to the ground. I rushed over to him, embracing his neck. The manger was still hoisted precariously over us, held up by the tractor. Andy jerked me back in case it fell.

Everette jumped on the tractor and deftly lifted the hay feeder upright. He and Andy moved the feeder out of the way as Greg and I began to render aid to Earl. I once again, knelt over his neck and head, talking softly to him. His breaths were shallow, fast, erratic. His gums were pale and dry. My hands fluttered over his head and down his neck. My hand came away warm and wet; blood. It was pouring from a 2” puncture wound at his throat latch, just behind his right jaw. It drilled all the way to the spine and was dangerously close to a major artery.

“He’s bleeding!” I yelled. “Is the vet coming?”

“Dr. Sally is on her way Stace,” said Carmen, “But she’s an hour away.”

Greg being a trained EMT rushed over and immediately started treatment.

“I need my thermometer, pain meds and blankets,” I said to no one particularly.

Carmen and Terry turned and ran back to the barn as Greg applied pressure to the wound. Earl laid panting, nostrils flaring. Steam from his over-exerted body rose in the cold night air like smoke from a brush fire. He was fevered, fatigued, in shock. He was dying.

I stepped back and called Dr. Sally, who was in her truck on the road to my farm. I explained the traumas and told her of the neck wound and bleeding we found.

“Do you think you can get him on his feet?” she asked. “It may help slow the bleeding.”

“I don’t know doc,” I replied. “He’s been down a long time. I don’t know if he has nerve damage. He’s moved his legs. I’ve seen him trashing. Whether he can stand unassisted, I don’t know.”

Greg overheard my dialogue with Dr. Sally and asked Carmen and Terry, who were approaching with blankets and pain meds, how far out Dorchester Fire and Rescue were. After all, they had the tools and ability to lift Earl from the ground should he not be able to do it himself.

“They should be here soon,” replied Carmen. She turned to me, palms up with syringe and bottle in-hand. “I’ve got drugs.”

I measured a full dose of Banemine pain medication and administered it to Earl. Red and blue lights strobed across the pasture as the firetruck rolled up. A flood of lights from the ladder bathed the scene. Three firefighters approached, ready to lend a hand. They gave Greg gauze for Earl’s wound and strategized next steps. I took Earl’s temperature, and it was well over 103.

“Can we start an IV?” asked one of the firefighters.

“It’s too dangerous,” Carmen replied. “You have to know what you’re doing. If you hit the wrong vein, you can kill him.”

Resigned, I knelt beside Earl, wrapped my body around his head and wept. Terry embraced me and together we hugged Earl and cried. Carmen laid her hand on mine.

“Pray with me Carmen,” I cried.

She sprinkled Holy water over Earl’s head, and I did the same over his heart, making the sign of the cross. Knowing for certain my sweet, gentle boy would not live to see his third birthday. Together we prayed and offered Earl the grace of last rites. He’s an innocent creature with no sins to repent, but I needed to absolve myself from guilt that gripped me deep within. Should I have known this could have happened? Would I have gotten to him sooner? Could I have done something different? Should’ve, would’ve, could’ve. I am still grappling with those questions.

Praying over him, I whispered to him to not give up. I would move heaven and Earth to make him whole.

Around 5 a.m., Dr. Sally arrived. Earl was not on his feet. In fact, he was barely alive. I tried to find a heartbeat, but it was so weak I couldn’t hear it through a stethoscope. She inserted a catheter and started Earl on IV fluids, then assessed the neck wound, shaving, cleaning, flushing, packing, and wrapping it. The first bag of fluids drained quickly and gave Earl the lift he needed to try and sit up. He tried, then fell flat once more.

“Andy, can you get a bale of straw?” I asked. “That way we can wedge him upright next time he tries.”

After looking Earl over, Dr. Sally prepared a second bag of fluids, spiking it with DMSO and other supportive meds. Earl rolled up once more, and we wedged the straw bale in place. He was flighting to live, and a glimmer of hope scored through the darkness that had engulfed me.

“Is animal rescue on the way?” Dr. Sally asked the firefighters.

The ranking firefighter called in for a status report. Just then, Earl tried to stand. His front legs were stuck underneath him, and he struggled weakly to unfold them. When he gave up, we reached in and pulled his legs free, stretching them out in front of him. After some time, he tried again, and fell. Once again, we straighten his legs and positioned ourselves to help him when he was ready. We waited, watched, and prayed.

Well into his second bag of fluids, he swayed, rocked, sat up onto his butt, took a deep breath, then heaved himself up. The firefighters, Andy and I supported him as he swayed on weak, sleepy legs. He teetered, threatening to fall but didn’t. He shifted his weight on his back legs; left, right, left, right. It was now 7:03 a.m. and I’d just witnessed a miracle. Praise be to God, and Earl.

The firefighters’ shift was over and bid farewell, promising to come back and check on him. They kept that promise, stopping two days later.

Dr. Sally had another call to attend and said she would come back to take x-rays and reassess Earl in the afternoon. Greg and Carmen’s daughter was graduating from Clemson that day, so they too departed for the long ride upstate. Terry and Everette’s kids had school and they needed to get them readied. Even though they all had huge life events, they answered my call. True friends indeed. I am so very thankful to have them in our lives. I found out later it was Terry’s birthday. What a helluva way to celebrate it, I thought.

Earl had managed to walk a little, so Andy and I got him to the barn. When he finally urinated, it was dark as chocolate from his muscles breaking down. His kidneys were taking a hit. His fever didn’t break, and he cried in pain. Andy and I bedded down the stall, enticing him to rest. He made three or four attempts to lay down, but faltered, cried and gave up. Finally, out of sheer exhaustion he went down and slept. I never left his side.

Dr. Sally came back in the late afternoon and performed x-rays and explored the wound. His neck was fractured, and he needed urgent care – more than her clinic could offer. She called Tryon Equine Hospital three hours away and informed them we’d be coming at first light. I slept for two hours, then gave Earl his IV fluids. I did this all night until dawn. His urine was still dark and he was still very painful. I worried he wouldn’t make the ride.

Andy needed to stay and watch the farm, so Terry volunteered to ride with me. It was a nerve-wracking ride. I thought of all the things that could happen to him inside that trailer. I thought of him dying before I got him there. We made it.

The doctors were there to greet us and treat him right away. They loaded him with sedation, opioids and fluids. They did more x-rays, labs and ultrasound.

“I can’t give you a prognosis,” explained Dr. McDonald. “He has a lot of critical traumas happening all at once. His neck is fractured at C1, he is blind in the right eye, there’s apparent neurological trauma, he’s developed pneumonia and his kidneys are really taking a hit. At best, I’d say recovery is ‘guarded’.”

“Not at all,” was her answer; “but depend upon it, he means to be severe on us, and our surest way of disappointing him will be to ask nothing about it.”

DONATE TO EARL’S HOSPITAL FUND

Critical Care is roughly $2,000 per day and includes, but is not limited to, the following:

• IV fluids
• Gabapentin
• Banamine
• K Pen
• Batril
• Matronidazole
• DMSO
• Vitamin E Injections
• UlcerGard
• Wound Care, drain, flush, debridement, pack with antibiotic ointment and wrap

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The following diagnostic tests are performed routinely to monitor the progression/regression of Earl’s injury symptoms:

• X-Rays (multiple)
• Ultrasound
• Spinal Tap
• Blood Work & Labs (multiple)
• Neurological Tests (multiple)

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LIST OF EARL’S INJURIES

NEUROLOGICAL

Cervical Stenotic Myelopathy (Ataxic) – he is unable to control the rate, range, or force of their movements resulting in an inconsistent gaits. His body is unable to “sense” how its joints, muscles, and tendons are moving, and where all of the components of his body are in relation to each other.

Cerebral Blindness – his eyes are intact but extensive intracranial lesions that involve the optic pathways have resulted in various homonymous visual field defects and bilateral visual loss. May also be complicated due to C1/C2 subluxation.

Spinal Canal Stenosis – due to severe rotation with a competent transverse ligament during traumatic event.

Meningitis (being tested) – infection on the brain and spine brought on by open wound exposing fractured bone and spine.

INTERNAL ORGANS & SOFT TISSUE

Traumatic Rhabdomyolysis & Renal Trauma – Crush syndrome or traumatic rhabdomyolysis (tying up) happened when the manger came down on him and pinned him for hours. There have been systemic changes after crush injury, i.e. the damages seen after a prolonged period of pressure on a muscle group. The pressure caused necrosis of muscle, and during revascularisation diffusion of calcium, sodium and water into the damaged muscle cells have been seen, together with loss of potassium, phosphate, lactic acid, myoglobin and creatinine kinase.

Pneumonia – aspiration of food during the traumatic event resulted in a severe lung infection.

Sternocleidomastoid Muscle – his neck was twisted and wrenched, causing acute neck stiffness with decreased mobility and rotation accompanied by neck/body pain.

Necrotic Wound – the wound at the C1/C2 is necrotic, which means dead or devitalized tissue. This tissue cannot be salvaged and must be removed to allow wound healing to take place. Slough is yellowish and soft and is composed of pus and fibrin containing leukocytes and bacteria. This tissue has adhered to the wound bed and cannot be easily removed.

SKELETAL:

C1 (Atlas) Vertebral Fractures (Burst and Displaced Fractures).

Atlanto-axial subluxation – Traumatic Subluxation of the C1/C2, or dislocation of the lateral mass of C1 on C2. He has instability, excessive motion and spinal cord compression at the atlantoaxial joint.

Osteomyelitis – it’s believed his bones may be infected at the C1/C2. In contrast with other locations of spinal infections, osteomyelitis of the cervical spine can be a much more dramatic and rapidly deteriorating process, leading to early neurologic deficit.