But not today...

This past weekend, God tried to call one of His horses home.

I use the word “tried,” because my beloved Parlay was pretty close to leaving me for his place in Heaven when modern medicine came to my rescue and helped me to keep him here… for now.

Parlay has (and always has had) 2 significant heart murmurs. I have known about them since he was very young. It has never stopped us from doing EVERYTHING together—from long distance trail riding, to shows, to dressage, to horse camping---in the past 23 years, Parlay and I have covered a lot of ground, heart murmurs and all. Several vets have concurred that it has been his activity level that has kept him so fit and strong, even WITH the level of dysfunction within his heart.

It’s funny, because every time a new vet or vet tech takes out a stethoscope, I have to stifle my own laughter at the faces that they would make. They would get very pale; Most were speechless—horrified that they had discovered something that they would need to tell me about! Each would breathe a sigh of relief when I would confess that yes, I know all about it. The vet students at MidAtlantic usually line up to have a listen to the extraordinary heart sounds and Parlay is usually quite patient about the whole thing.

Anyway, this past spring was hard on my 25 year old man. He was having recurring nose bleeds and coughing and sneezing quite a bit. Rather than just chalking it up to allergies I chose to have him 'scoped. Nothing showed up that was out of the ordinary, except that he seemed to be having some major inflammatory response to the allergens this year. Maybe the rain and the mold? It seemed logical. Long story short, we went home with some steroids, antibiotics and instructions to monitor the hay and grass closely.

I don’t know when it began to worsen, but I become acutely aware of the fact that Parlay was breathing more rapidly and a bit more shallow than normal. And that heart of his really seemed to be working overtime. I took his pulse and respiration and found it to be high for him---46/32. Hmmm… not right. Not at rest. So, a quick call to the vet and some Deximethisone and Trihist, and he seemed to improve.

Over the next couple of days, the pulse and respiration were up and down. Wetting the hay and feed, changing him to pasture... no huge change for the better, but some hints of improvement. Odd, but then again, it’s just allergies, right?

Then came this past Friday night. Parlay was just not right during the day. He seemed overly anxious. Downright spooky. I brought him out to eat his dinner and while he was eating, I found that his heart rate was at 56 and his respiration at 54. I was in a panic. I gave him an IM shot of Dex at this point and watched him through the night. Not much improvement, although he did seem relieved to have me at his side. OH, and to eat as many carrots as he could scoff up, all the while making naughty faces at his pasturemates.

A call to Mid A in the morning and I was advised to triple the dose of Dex as an IV shot. I followed the directions and still found that Parlay’s vitals were now at 68/72 (pulse/respiration) A follow up dose of Banamine. Nothing was bringing the vitals under control. And, most distressing, the rythym of the heartbeat was off. Missing beats and fluttering at times. My heart and my head were now pounding too.

I was quickly coming to the realization that I was not doing combat with allergies. This was definitely not a reaction to mold spores or spring grass. The vet at Mid A said it aloud and my local vet all but confirmed my fear---Parlay’s heart appears to be failing. What we were experiencing was fluid build up around his heart and within his lungs. His anxiety was probably due to the feeling of constriction in his chest and the feeling of suffocation. As stoic as he can be, it took more than a day of struggling to finally take it's toll enough for him to ask for help!

Thank God for modern medicine and a drug called Lasix. Lasix is a heavy duty diuretic that helps the body to remove excess fluid. It is keeping my old man comfortable and alive… for now. I feel so blessed to have more time to spoil him and remind him of how much I love him. He is restful and relaxed and back to his old antics of bossing everyone around. I now have more time to prepare myself for what is coming.

I know that he is slipping away now, as the prognosis is quite grave for congenital/congestive heart failure.

But I also know that when it comes to heart Parlay has given me his in every way. For now, I will cherish each Doctor-given moment that Par remains here with me on Earth, knowing full well that God is continuing to prepare a place in His pasture for one of the most wonderful horses that has ever graced this planet.

So, with 23 years of partnership behind us, we are still counting the breaths and the minutes. I had always liked to believe that Parlay would live forever…LONG LIVE THE KING! And, I guess that he will--in MY heart.

Thanks for letting me vent. Keep us in your prayers.

All the Best,

Melissa and Parlay