There is news about Mads. The vet came to see him today.

It was rather a coincidence actually. The goats were out on the little horse field again. I was sitting down next to Mads. Reda and Margit were working to empty an old shed. Then Alice came to see how they were doing. And she saw me. And she told me that they had called the vet last week. He hadn’t been there yet but they were expecting him to come by this week. And then a voice from out back said “he’s here right now”. And that was the vet, who decided to arrive just as we were talking about him.

I’m glad I was there when he came by. I could help calm Mads down as he was examined. And I could hear what the vet had to say. It turns out that the problem isn’t Mads’s hooves after all. It was actually lymph nodes (I think it’s called. Node? Nodes? Wiki says that “glands” is an inacurate term). Under his left leg. They’re swollen and that’s what causes the discomfort when he walks. Sometimes he’ll stand still and lift his left leg up off the ground. I thought that was to take the weight off of the hoof, but I guess it was actually to take the pressure off the swollen nodes.

So what does that mean? Well, there are two possibilities. Either it’s due to an infection. Or else it’s some kind of tumorous growth. So Mads is going to be getting antibiotics for 10 days. If it’s an infection then this should help. If it’s not an infection then there’s nothing you can really do, according to the vet. It will only get worse in time.

Now we can only wait and see if the antibiotics will help. I hope and pray that they do. I want so much for him to get better. He is my special guy. My crazy goat buddy.

He’s still doing quite well. The vet said he looked good. He can still walk okay when he’s motivated and all. He’s not in pain generally. So even if it turns out not to be an infection then I still expect him to be around for quite a while. I hope. I’m not a doctor though. I don’t know how quickly it could get worse. We didn’t talk about that. I hope he’d still be able to have a good life for a long time yet. But I know that if it’s a tumor then I have to accept that he’s not going to be around forever. I just can’t think like that yet. If I let those thoughts inside my head then they will grab me and make me spin out of control. Mads has done more for me than most humans. Not all humans, but most. If it wasn’t for him then I might never have discovered how great goats are. Discovered the sanctuary of the playground. All the good I have had from the animals and people there. He is very dear to me.

My dear, poor Mads. Please get better.

After the vet left and Per had squished the antibiotic paste in Mads’s mouth then I sat down with him in the sunshine. For a long while. A beautiful, summery day. I had to take off my jacket. For the first time this year. Mads making sleepy noises. I think he was happy now that everyone else had left and it was just the two of us, relaxing in the sun. He knew something was up when the vet arrived. As I said, I was sitting down with him. When the vet arrived he got up and looked a little nervous. But he was pretty good during the examination. Then when Per and Alice came with the antibiotics he got nervous again and tried to run away. Unfortunately for him he tried to run through a tiny hole in the fence. No way he was going to fit through there. As Per said “you chose the wrong direction buddy”. Alice and I held him still while Per squirted the stuff in his mouth. He didn’t like that at all. Yes, I’m glad I was there to help him calm down afterwards. It’s always hard when the animals don’t understand that you’re trying to help them.

And Mads helped me calm down too. Just sitting in the sun and stroking him, like nothing is wrong in the world. That was good for me too.

Ten days and we should start to know more. I guess it was a good thing that I told Alice about my thoughts about Mads. It wasn’t that easy for me to bring it up. The social phobia, the shyness. I didn’t want to appear to be questioning what she’d said about arthritis. I didn’t want to pressure them to spend money on a vet if it wasn’t necessary. I also didn’t want the risk of getting bad news. But I had to say something in the end. I’m glad I worked up the courage to do it, and I’m glad they decided to listen to me. I just hope, hope, so much that the antibiotics will work.

I’m sure you’ll all join me in crossed fingers.

And just so it’s not all doom and gloom, let’s finish with a few pictures from today.

Chokolade investigating the vegetation.

Lakrids and Magnethe. And my hand around the little one.

Margit and Reda. Who seem to be two very nice people. They help make me feel welcome at the playground still, now that Pernille isn’t there anymore and Kurt very rarely seen.

Margit and the goats. They seem to like her and she seems to like them. I consider that to be two very good qualities in a person.

That’s all for now. Stay safe. Everyone.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 5th, 2008 at 21:35 and is filed under Blogging. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.