Rain bypassing us. A new stage for Shade, improving but with new risks. Sales, subscribers, and shares very much needed.

Photo copyright Aji, 2018; all rights reserved.

One more of many rainstorms that will never reach us. Yesterday looked promising, as does today, but we know better. Bone-dry, and if the rain promised for Thursday materializes, we will both be very, very surprised, given the weather patterns' recent track record.

Shade is in a new stage now (and also chillin' in the, ahem, shade under the overhang, lying in her soft spot, which is not especially conducive to getting a decent shot of her). The vet thinks that what she's been passing since night before last is indicative of the displacement resolving itself, so now, we wait. No more Banamine, at least not until the UlcerGard comes in, because she's likely to have colitis after all the meds and stress and inappetance. She's going to go through some heightened discomfort now, hence the lying down, but Banamine is like any other anti-inflammatory: Prolonged use causes ulcers, and ulcers in a horse can lead to a rebound effect, creating a flare-up of the very condition (colic) that you're trying to treat in the first place. Which can be deadly. [Of course, if it flares now in a life-threatening way, then she gets it anyway, but we're hoping it doesn't come to that.]

Thanks to very good friends, the UlcerGard is on order and the hay delivery at the end of the week is covered, as well as at least a chunk of the vet bills. that doesn't mean we don't need sales badly; we absolutely do. Shade has a very long road ahead of her, assuming that she makes it out of these particular woods (still no sure thing). It's entirely possible that the displacement was not caused by (or not only caused by) reduced motility as a byproduct of the liver dysfunction; it could have been shifted by a mass. We won't know more until the ultrasound readings are back, and even then, we may not know definitively. If she does make it through this displacement safely, the rest of it is going to be hugely expensive, even if it turns out that the biggest long-term expense is her Cushing's meds (which are ghastly). And while our vet is both a friend and willing to work with us, she has to get paid, too. I have no idea where this will leave us when it's all done, whatever the outcome, but I do know that it will not be good. So we very much need sales and new Patreon subscribers, and since this is early July, if you subscribe today, you won't be billed until August 1st. Here are the links and a request to share them, because without those sales and subscribers, I honestly don't know how we get through this:

• My new Patreon, The Interstices (Writing Between Worlds);
• Wings's site, for sales, with new items posted;
• Wings's direct PayPal link;
• A way to buy me coffee (which actually goes to all of our medical bills, which continue to mount);
• Amazon wishlist, which mostly consists of animal and household stuff;
• Partial registry #1, from Bed, Bath and Beyond. There are new kitchen-y things on it now, stuff that I didn't realize we'd need to replace (either because the RV ruined it or because we gave it away when we had to downsize).

I had said that I'd really like to raise another $500 in subscriptions before July is out, just to have a little more to throw to the medical wolves that are constantly at my throat. Now, we've got a lot more that needs to be done, too, and I'm damned if I know how. The truck was more than enough to throw a wrench in the works, but this thing with Shade? And once you're in it, you have to keep going; there's no way out but forward, whatever the result. So please, please share the links. Thanks to everyone who has kicked in on Shade's behalf already; we're profoundly grateful, and we love you all. Shade does, too, even if she can't verbalize it.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2018; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.