Quiebro Emergency Medical Fund

On Thursday, March 31, 2017 my beautiful 7 year old Andalusian stallion, Quiebro, suddenly collapsed in his stall and began to thrash around.  He was unable to get up and fell 4 more times, suffering serious injuries.   Shaking, sweating and in obvious shock, unwilling to put weight on his left hind leg, he was being attended to by an emergency vet within an hour of the accident.  X-rays were non-determinative, yet he was non-weight bearing on his left hind.  We were sent immediately to Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine.  Tufts  decided to do a bone scan but the radioactive isotopes could not be gotten until that Monday.  On Monday,  he was sedated and underwent a bone scan and ultrasound.  He was found to have a non-displaced fracture of his left femur and a badly torn adductor muscle.  These injuries made it impossible for him to get up from laying down because he was using 3 legs, so the vets decided he had to stand 24 hours a day on crossties.   This horse has such strength of character, grace, and such trust in people, that he tolerated this unnatural restriction of his movement, despite being a young energetic stallion.  After two weeks he was challenged to see if he could get up from laying down.  He did, but with great difficulty, so he was returned to the crossties for another week.  After that week, the vets challenged him again, this time he got up, so afteranother few days, he was discharged to my vet's rehab facility in Rhode Island.  Within three days of being at the rehab, he was found down again and unable to rise.  He had been struggling for some time to get to his feet.  But this time he suffered additional injuries, the most obvious being a massive bleed/swelling in his left adductor group.   We raced him back to Tufts and an ultrasound showed that he now had torn another muscle -- the gracillus muscle, but more significantly, he had injured the ligament holding the femur in the joint which was potentially life-threatening.    But this, we thought, was the full the extent of his problems, serious as they were, the vets were still optimistic.   Subsequently, Tufts recommended a conservative approach, restricting all movement, crossties 24 hours a day.  Quiebro spent from April 27th until the present on crossties, all day,all night, going for one short walk up the hall each morning.  But he seemed to be doing well, putting up with  this restriction with his usual grace and kindness, always interested in the goings-on in the ward and welcoming all the attention that the students and techs were happy to give him.  His affinity for people and huge personality was a people magnet.  I was told he had a fan club and when he went for his walks, the whole pharmacy would flock to the window to tell him how beautiful he was.   He is the darling of the whole hospital, admired for his beauty and his engaging character. 

I thought we were out of the woods, with another ultrasound scheduled for next week, but was stunned to receive a phone call from Dr. Jenei in the middle of the night on May 23 telling me that he'd had a seizure.  They wanted permission to anesthesize for a spinal tap, and then get him on his feet with the sling and hoist.  He then would have to remain in the sling.  The thought/hope was it may be EPM, and that possibly the very first fall was from a EPM related seizure that wasn't recognized at the time.    A spinal tap was done and we are now waiting for the labs to come back; meanwhile EPM treatment has been started.   Last night, May 25th this beautiful boy suffered another seizure and this does not bode well.  The best scenario would be EPM, but seizures are serious in an animal this size and it isn't safe for him to be moved.

To date his hospital bills are closing in on $13,000.   Prior to the seizures, he'd been put on "layup" board of $70.00 a day plus lab fees.  Now, as of May 23, his daily costs have jumped to between $300 and $400 a day.  Because he cannot be moved or discharged, I am terrifyingly between a rock and a  hard place and with expenses like this, as a retiree, I cannot sustain more than another week.  Seizures are very serious in a horse but I cannot comprehend not being able to give him a little more time, another chance to be treated and have a chance to live!!!  He is such a special horse and a truly precious soul, I am shattered by my situation. 

I've never been comfortable asking for help -- I have too much pride, but I am simply overwhelmed with this horrific turn of events.  But Im am compelled to seek help for Quiebro, for this beautiful boy who doesn't deserve to have his life cut short.  He is now beginning his third month of  hospitalization and I fear that money will dictate my next move, whether I can give him a chance or have to put him down.   He is only 7 years old and until March 31st his life was filled with promise.  He is a once-in-a-lifetime horse and blessing.

I hope you can find it in your heart to help me give him a few weeks to try treatment and possibly save his life.   I cannot bring myself to think of his life cut short, nor can I imagine not giving him a fair and fighting chance.  I know the vets at Tufts feel the same way as they are all invested in him and he has won hearts.  Quiebro is the darling of the school, loved for his beauty and affinity for people