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.

Bella - Removing the Leg Cast

At last, all the parts of the machine came together and Bella was unceremoniously shoved into the pick-up once more for the four hour journey to the clinic, this time to have the fiberglass cast removed from her hind leg and an orthotic brace fitted.

The poor girl was drenched by the time we arrived at the clinic. The heavens remained open for the entire day, offloading enough rain for the entire summer and the passing trucks ensured that Bella received a soaking through the side of the stock crate every few minutes.

There aren’t many vets around who have accrued more than a handlful of hours on camelids, especially those working on the fringes of society. The nearest clinic wouldn’t even look at a llama! Even so, Bella had the full attention of two terrific young ladies from NVAHS, which caters for large animals and were happy to tread this unknown territory. Despite the obvious pain and discomfort, Bella remained on her best behaviour throughout. I can think of one or two animals in our Llama herd that wouldn’t have been anywhere near as obliging and might have served up enough spit to put these people off camelids for life!

To get out of the rain, we parked under a barn and attached a hoist to a roof truss. Bella has been wearing a full body harness that we made a while ago to facilitate lifting her on the occasions that she cushed with her injured leg under her. She was lifted and secured in a standing position and apart from offering a few worried looks at the noisy machine that appeared to be amputating her heavy white leg, she didn’t flinch. Incidentally, she appeared to go into shock on the journey home and we feel that her ‘apparent’ leg amputation might have had something to do with it! I’ve never had need to wrap a llama in a blanket before, but together with a sprig of spruce, it stopped the severe shivering and settled her.

Some swelling around the knee was apparent. We had expected there to be some ugly cast sores given her unwillingness to cush or move around, but only a couple of small sore spots were evident. However, a lot of chafing had occurred on the back of her thigh, which obviously hurt like hell and a thick fleece pad was used to stop the brace from rubbing this spot further.

The surgery wound had healed neatly and the two dozen staples were deftly removed.

The fun part was unraveling the bundle of straps and pads that made up the orthotic brace, the cute little bone motifs indicating that the manufacturer (http://k-9orthotics.com) are more used to treating dogs! This was their first ever llama orthotic and a big thanks to them for taking the job on!

The luxating patella was caused by a rupture of the patella tendon, very close to the tibia. This presented very little muscle to tie back to at the tibia and it’s anticipated that the orthotic will be necessary for at least a couple of months to prevent extreme flexing of the tendon, possibly rupturing the repair.

The biggest concern for us at the moment is the extreme swelling of the knee that is now bulging out of the brace and spreading down the leg. The cast has prevented the swelling from occurring and now the fluid is collecting rapidly.

Homeopathically, we have treated her with Arnica 200 for the pain and bruising. This is a really important remedy to have to hand, especially after surgery. We also gave her several doses of Rhus Tox 30 for the swelling. Had the swelling been accompanied by heat and possibly by rapidly changing symptoms, then Belladonna would have been more appropriate. There has been no improvement in the leg swelling, so we shall have to find another remedy, since continuing to administer a remedy that isn’t working may eventually lead to ‘proving’.

I also raided the flower garden for a dozen marigold flowers. The petals were spread onto a small square of muslin cloth and rolled into a sausage. The sausage poultice was then dipped in warm water and strapped around the inflamed knee. Marigold is probably the best herbal remedy for skin problems and swelling. The poultice has to be kept moist, but only time will tell if this old magic still works!