Bella - To Hell and Back

Bella has been through a really tough time recently. One of the most common problems associated with hospitalization is infection and it seems Bella picked up an infection in the clinic. Her temperature gave no indication of this so we dismissed this idea, but monitored her temperature daily.

Recap

We had assumed the reason she was in so much pain and not wanting to put any weight on the injured leg was cast sores, thus we rushed the manufacturer to complete the orthotic brace so the cast could be removed. When finally all the pieces came together, Bella was hauled the four hours to the vet and the cast and staples removed. The wound had healed nicely and surprisingly, the cast sores were minimal. The brace was fitted and we dragged the poor girl back home again.

The following day the knee was badly swollen and gradually the swelling spread down the leg into the toes. The next day the post surgery swelling was so severe that the brace had to be removed and the leg bound with bandages and duct tape to prevent flexion of the knee.

Stoicism

Llamas are incredibly stoic animals and it is sometimes said that the first appearance of illness in a llama is a dead body. Bella however, was flaked out on her side in the paddock and she groaned low and long at the slightest touch of her leg. Her temperature was up to 40 degrees, so without further delay we gave her a shot of penicillin and decided to spend the night under the stars with her. About ten hours after the injection, Bella struggled to her feet, at least for a few seconds, before tumbling down the hill and landing against a fence – I just managed to roll out of the way to avoid being squashed under 400lbs of woolly beast!

We have learned, the easiest way to get Bella back on her feet is to lay our special llama lifting sling against her back, then roll her right over so we can reach the handles on both sides of the sling and gently lift her back end. Once on her feet, Bella roamed off to find the bean pile and then started grazing at 3am! Her temperature was back to normal, even though the leg was severely distorted from the swelling.

Feeling pleased with ourselves at having dealt with this little crisis, continuing the programme of penicillin injections then caused extremely dry and irritable skin as well as constipation. At the risk of creating penicillin-resistant microbes, we stopped the injections and she was soon hopping around the paddock and grazing normally – happy to be part of the llama herd once more.

After a few days the swelling reduced sufficiently to remove the bandaging and refit the brace, but without the compression of bandaging the swelling resumed, although nowhere near the previous level. She still cannot bear weight on the leg and to top this episode off Bella has cystitis as a further side-effect of the antibiotic injections.

What Benefit?

We have to ask ourselves - the pain that we have put her through – was corrective surgery the right move? If her leg had been amputated, as was the alternative, she could well have been back to ‘normal’ by now. Decisions are hard enough to make concerning our own health, but deciding for others introduces so many more factors, responsibilities and emotions.

However, we always try to turn our focus to the positive end of the spectrum and there is every chance that these problems will dissipate and Bella will go on to lead a long life with four fully functional legs. She is such a calm animal that we would love for her to breed and carry this trait on in her offspring……but we will have to wait and see.