Wind Dancer (8 page)

The phone rang as Ali finished her tuna sandwich. Her mother answered it and cupped her hand over the mouthpiece. “It’s Dr. Forrester,” she whispered. Ali waited anxiously to hear what he had to say.

“Thank you, Doctor; we’ll see you in a few minutes.” Her mom hung up the phone and turned to her daughter. “The electrolyte levels in both horses have dropped, which isn’t good. And Wind Dancer’s results showed some other troubles too. Let’s go outside and wait for the vet.”

Ali pulled on her boots and followed her mom out to the corrals. She had a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. Misty nickered to them, but Wind Dancer just stood in the corner, his bottom lip drooping. Though they’d just brushed him, his coat still looked dull and lifeless—just like the gelding himself.

Ali spoke softly to Wind Dancer as she ran her fingers through his thin mane. She didn’t get the kind of response she was hoping for, but the gelding did rotate his ears once or twice at the sound of her voice.

The day was beginning to warm, and pesky flies started to appear. She made a mental note to pick up a couple of fly
masks at the feed store. Ali leaned against the fence and wiped the moisture from her brow. A large whiskered muzzle blew warm breath on her cheek and tickled her ear and she jumped.

“Looks like you’ve got a friend,” her mother observed. “I think Misty likes you. She keeps trying to get your attention. Let’s get her water bucket filled before it gets too warm and she needs a cool drink.”

“I’ll get it, Mom.” Ali turned on the hose and crawled through the fence into Misty’s pen. “You keep an eye out for the vet.” While Ali filled the bucket, Misty bobbed her head and turned to nuzzle her shirt. “You’re a lot friendlier than Wind Dancer.” She pushed Misty’s spotted muzzle away.

Dr. Forrester and Jamie pulled into the drive just as Ali was putting the hose away. She walked out to greet him. “How bad is it?” she asked, chewing her lip nervously.

“It’s not as bad as it could be.” He pulled out the test results. “Misty’s blood work is okay, everything considered, but I’m concerned about Wind Dancer’s electrolyte levels. They’re dropping pretty significantly, and that’s not good. If they go much lower, it will indicate that refeeding syndrome might be setting in. I don’t like the looks of his liver function either.”

“What does that mean, as far as treatment goes?” Ali’s mom asked. “Is there something that can be done?”

The vet walked to the back of his truck and opened the compartment that held all the medicines. “Hold these for me while I get the IV drip.” He handed Jamie several small plastic tubes. “Yes,” he said to Ali’s mom. “There is definitely something we can do to fight this. We need to keep their electrolytes up. The tubes I just handed Jamie are electrolyte paste. It can be given orally. I’ll show you how to administer
it and give you a dosage schedule before we leave. If we can get the electrolyte levels back up, that might improve the liver function too.”

He motioned for Ali to halter Wind Dancer. “I’m going to give them a dose of electrolytes intravenously, along with an antibiotic to start with. Have you tried feeding them since they had that big breakfast?”

“No, sir.” Ali slipped the halter over Wind Dancer’s head. “You said to feed them every four hours, and it’s just a little past that since they last ate.”

Jamie picked up Misty’s halter. “I’ll feed the mare while you’re working on Wind Dancer.”

“This won’t hurt much,” Ali said softly to the gelding. She scratched his neck. “It’s going to make you better.” Wind Dancer cocked his ear slightly. Ali had hoped for a bigger reaction, but for now, that was as good as she was going to get.

The vet brought the IV bag into Wind Dancer’s pen. Ali cringed when she saw the size of the needle.

“Just keep rubbing him so he doesn’t pay any attention to the needle,” Ali’s mom said. “Poor Wind Dancer.”

“It’s not as bad as it looks,” Dr. Forrester reassured her. “A horse is a big animal. Their shots are bigger than ours.” He turned to Ali. “It’s going to take at least ten minutes to administer this drip. It’s your job to keep him as still as you can so we don’t have to worry about the needle coming out, okay?”

Ali nodded. She stroked the horse’s forelock and spoke softly to him. But Wind Dancer acted like she wasn’t even there. He barely even flinched when the needle went in. Ali reacted for him, grimacing and turning her head. Misty nickered to her friend, but Wind Dancer just stood there.

“How often will we need to do this?” Ali’s mom asked.

“Well, if you guys make sure you feed him that paste, this one IV might do it,” Dr. Forrester said. “I don’t think he ate that much this morning because his appetite is still off. But his electrolytes are down from what they were yesterday, so something is affecting him. It could just be that he was down so far that even this small amount of food is causing problems. We’ve got to do everything we can to reverse that trend. We’ll continue on with the feedings as usual, but we’ll need to keep giving him extra electrolytes.”

When they were done with the treatment, Jamie brought in the gelding’s feed. “Here, try to get him to eat some of this.”

Ali shook her head and pushed the bucket back to him. “Could you please do it this time?” she asked. “You’re really good at getting Wind Dancer to eat. We can’t take any chances. I’ll stand here and hold him while you try.”

Jamie nodded and tucked some alfalfa into Wind Dancer’s mouth.

Ali spoke to Wind Dancer. “You’ve got to eat some of this and get your strength up,” She rubbed his neck. “You need to be strong like your stablemate. Misty is getting better by the hour. You want to be able to buck and play with her again, right?”

“Keep talking,” Doctor Forrester said. “He’s starting to eat. I think he likes the sound of your voice.”

That lifted Ali’s spirits. The more Wind Dancer chewed, the better she felt.

Jamie managed to get Wind Dancer to eat half his ration of alfalfa. “I was hoping his appetite would be a little better,” he said as he hung the bucket on the fence. “But at least he’s still eating.”

Dr. Forrester handed Ali and her mom some of the tubes.
“You need to follow my instructions carefully,” he said. “Too many electrolytes can cause just as much trouble as too few. Move the plunger to this mark.” He showed Ali the dosage. “You can give it to them at feed time. Just insert the tube into the side of their mouths—like you do when you worm a horse—and deposit it on their tongues. They’re too weak to fight, so you shouldn’t have any trouble giving the dosage. I’ll be back in the morning to take another blood sample.”

“How will we know if he’s getting worse?” Ali’s mom asked. “Are there any symptoms that we should look for?”

“Yes,” the vet said. “If his electrolytes start to drop again, his muscles will get weak. You might see him stumble or maybe lie down and not be able to get up. If he’s really bad, he might even have a seizure. If you see
any
of these symptoms, call me immediately.”

“Thank you, Doctor. We’ll help Ali keep watch tonight.” She turned to her daughter. “I’d better write all of this down to make sure I have all the details we need. Your father and I will take over your feeding duties while you’re in school tomorrow.”

Ali had forgotten all about school. The horses were her responsibility. She didn’t want to leave them when Wind Dancer was this bad. “I haven’t missed any school this year, Mom. And I’m getting good grades. Can I please stay home tomorrow?”

“I could bring you your assignments, if your teachers are okay with it,” Jamie volunteered.

Ali’s dad joined them. From his expression, he hadn’t had much success with Danny. “How’s it look, Doc?” he asked. “Are they going to be okay?”

Dr. Forrester picked up his medical bag. “We’re going to have to watch them closely, but I believe we can get a handle
on it. I’ve given your wife and daughter their instructions. I have faith that these horses are in good hands.” He smiled at Ali and her mom. “If anything comes up, no matter what time, just give me a call and I’ll come over immediately.”

Ali thanked Jamie and Dr. Forrester, and as they packed up, she went into the house with her parents. “Please, Mom and Dad?” she begged. “Please let me stay home from school tomorrow. The horses really need me and I’ve got to make up for what happened this morning when I overslept. Besides,” she added, “you two never had horses before we got Max. I don’t mean any disrespect … but I’m kind of the only real horse person here. I might be able to see important changes in their behavior quicker than you would.”

Ali’s dad chuckled. “Hey, are you trying to say you have more horse sense than we do?”

Ali smiled. “Yeah, I guess I am,” she teased him back. “I just couldn’t think of a good way to put it.”

“Okay, as long as it’s all right with your mother, and as long as you get your homework done,” her dad relented. “Your mother and I will do the just-before-dawn feeding so you can sleep in a bit.”

“Can I ask one more favor?” Ali bit her bottom lip, knowing she was pushing the envelope. “Could I sleep outside tonight? That way I don’t have to keep tromping up and down the stairs.”

“I don’t know, Ali,” Mrs. McCormick said. “You know we’ve got coyotes here.”

“Cara and I have slept outside in the tent before,” Ali pointed out. “We didn’t have any trouble. Or you could park the truck right next to the corrals and I could sleep inside it. Then I could blast the horn if something happens.” She pulled a bottle of water out of the refrigerator. “Dr. Forrester
says I need to keep a really close eye on the horses for the next few days. I can do it better if I’m out there with them.”

Her dad looked to his wife. “She has a point. She
has
spent the night in the tent in the backyard. I’ll let you make the call on this one.”

Her mother thought for a few moments, then answered. “Danny’s window is right there overlooking where you’ll be staying,” she said. “He’d hear you immediately if something happened.”

“So, does that mean yes?” Ali asked.

“Oh, I suppose,” her mother said. “Your father and I will check in on you throughout the night. We’ll be there if you need help.”

“Thanks, Mom and Dad!” Ali ran to her room to finish her homework. Maybe Cara could pick it up from her in the morning and take it to school.

Ali made her way downstairs for dinner. She heard Danny coming just as she sat down. The repeated sound of his crutch thumping on the floor was followed by his remaining foot hitting the tiles. It was a slow, labored cadence.

“Is it okay if I eat my dinner in my room tonight?” he asked, not even looking at Ali. “I’m not feeling that great, and one of my buddies from Afghanistan is on Skype. He’s not online very often and I’d really like to see how he’s doing over there, along with the rest of the unit.”

“Is that Jeff, the boy from Nebraska?” their mother asked.

“Yeah.” Danny looked over the roast beef, broccoli, and sweet potato casserole that were already on the table.

Their mom and dad shared a glance. “I think that will
probably be okay for tonight, son.” Their dad grabbed Danny’s dinner plate and began filling it with food.

“I’ll follow you up with your plate and a glass of milk. But Danny?” Their mom gave him one of her I-mean-it stares. “No more missed dinners unless you are truly ill. Understand?”

Danny nodded, then turned and made his way back up the stairs. Ali followed him with her eyes. Did he really intend to talk to his friend in Afghanistan, or did he just not want to sit at the table with her? She pushed the broccoli around on her plate, promising herself that next time she’d think first before opening her mouth.

“Ali, you’ve only got a few days before you’re out for the summer,” her mother said. “So no more talk about missing school after tomorrow, kiddo. Your father and I will take over during the day.”

Ali grinned. “All right. Thanks for tomorrow.” She started clearing the table, but her mom shooed her out of the kitchen. “You go take care of those horses.”

In the corral, Ali prepared the feed buckets. Once again Misty ate all her food and begged for more. But Wind Dancer ate less than he had earlier.

“Come on, boy,” Ali murmured. “You’ve got to eat some more so you can get better.” She fetched the electrolyte paste she was supposed to administer. “I’ve got something here that’s going to help you.”

Misty nickered like she thought Ali had a treat for them. “I’m sorry, girl.” Too bad she couldn’t give the mare some tidbit—a piece of apple or a small bit of grain, especially since the mare seemed to be doing so much better than her stablemate.

Misty tossed her head a couple of times and Ali felt a tug
on her heartstrings. If she didn’t get these horses better and find a new owner for them soon, she was going to be in deep trouble. “I’m sorry, girl, but I really can’t,” Ali said, turning away.

She concentrated on giving the electrolytes to Wind Dancer. “Here we go,” she said as she inserted the tube in the corner of his mouth. Wind Dancer wrinkled his nostrils like he didn’t really like the taste, but he swallowed several times, then accepted a few small bites of alfalfa from her palm. “That’s it, big guy. You’re getting the hang of it.”