Her name says it all. She is a fighter and has been through a lot. From the cool spring day that I found her in the field with a temperature below 90 degrees, to the heavy doses of antibiotics for a bone infection, to the bone spurs that caused her so much pain she would only stand to eat during cold days, to the leg amputation. She has been a fighter and she thinks life is Simply Glorious. Gloria is a favorite on the farm. Many hours were spent getting her healthy and I glad to say as of today she is completely healthy.
Gloria rough start to life started on 4/29/2007. When I discovered her limp body on a cool spring morning, her temperature was not even registering on my digital thermometer and she was having difficulty breathing. Immediately I ran to the house filled a 5 gallon bucket full of hot water and grabbed a garbage bag. I put her in the garbage bag with her head sticking out so she wouldn't get wet and stuck her in the water. In about 20 minutes we got her temperature up to 95 degrees. Back down the hill for another bucket of hot water. Another 20 minutes and I had her temperature normal. The sun was now out which would help her warm up. I gave her a little Karo Syrup. She started smacking her lips and was wanting something to eat. Soon Gloria was standing and started nursing right away. And luckily her mom was just loaded with milk.
Gloria was born on her due date but her teeth had not erupted from her gums meaning she was a bit premature. The vet came out the next day to draw blood and give the cria a quick checkup. Other than the teeth not erupting from the gums, the vet thought she was fine. Next day Gloria's IGG came back a 0. I've had low IGG's before but never a zero. . At first I did not understand since Gloria's mom had plenty of milk, but the vet explained since Gloria was premature she was unable to absorb any of mom's antibodies in the colostrum. So the next day it was off to the vet to give Gloria a plasma transfer. She really perked up the first week after the plasma transfer.
Everything was fine for a month and then I started to notice that Gloria was limping. At first I thought she just hurt her leg playing with the other cria. But after a few days I knew something else was wrong. Off to the vet again for x-rays. X-rays revealed she had developed a bone infection at 1 month of age. After an extensive treatment of antibiotics, the bone infection cleared up but left the head of her right femur in bad shape. The surface of the bone was very rough. The bone had really deteriorated but being so young there was a slight chance that the bone might repair itself as she grew. I hoped for the best. At first she walked fine but as the weather turned colder I could see that it was really causing her pain. By early fall she was only using 3 legs to walk on. New x-rays showed the head of the femur was covered with bone spurs causing the discomfort. The vet gave us 2 options put her on medicine that may cause her stomach problems or amputate the leg. After weighing our options we decide to have the leg amputated. The week before the surgery Gloria was in so much pain that she did not get up except to eat.
At first the vet was going to leave a small stump for balance but after looking at the bone spurs, she decided it would be best to remove the entire leg as any movement in the stump would cause her pain. After several hours in surgery, I finally got the call from the vet and the surgery was a success. Gloria was up and walking around. She could get up and down on her 3 legs easily. She stayed at the vets for the night and the next day I picked her up. Since then she has been gotten a clean bill of health.
I have to thank my vet, Kendra Ewalt, and her staff at Central Kentucky Veterinary Services in Paris, KY. I never bring a boring case to Kendra.
Ever wonder how a 3 legged alpaca with only one back leg scratches herself. She can actually balance on her front legs. I'm trying to get a picture of it but I think she knows when she is being photographed. |
