With a nod to Yogi Berra as I love that quote....
It was a not so welcome reminder of the past when my equine coach, River, was a little "off" as she trotted in the round pen last weekend. A worried call to the vet and a vet visit later in the day confirmed my fears -- River had a flare-up of laminitis. Laminitis is an inflammation of the connective tissue, the lamina, between the hoof and the bone in the hoof, the coffin or pedal bone. The inflammation chokes the blood supply in the hoof and the forces on the bone can cause it to rotate. In extreme cases, the bone can actually punch through the bottom of the hoof. River has at least two acute cases of laminitis previously. Her recovery from the last bout was amazing; but like any chronic condition, it can rear its ugly head. And so, here we were again.
River was put on anti-inflammatories and I began the daily process of soaking her feet in ice water to bring down the inflammation. River took it all stoically. I am pleased that a subsequent vet visit this weekend showed that she was greatly improved -- so much so that she is allowed to do some light groundwork exercise and have her anti-inflammatories reduced.
River was not giving strong signals that something was wrong. It was only through observation that I knew that she was in pain. It's the same with us humans. It may not be evident that someone is hurting, whether it be physically or emotionally. A person may show it in other ways besides showing pain or sharing that they are in pain. They may become terse or angry or withdrawn. For those we deal with daily, it may be a process of careful observation to determine they are hurting. For those we deal with in passing, we may never know, but should give the benefit of the doubt. Every person is usually dealing with some type of pain or difficulty in their lives. Once we determine someone is in pain, then we can reach out to help them. Like River, once the pain is identified, the process to resolve the pain and recovery can then begin.
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