Im Get Knock Down but I Get Back Up Again

I Get Knocked Down (Merely I Go Up Again): The Refrain of 2020

This year keeps delivering its hits, and July has been no exception (at least for me). The expert news is that with these blows comes the opportunity to grow and learn. Between a house fire and a laid up horse, I am beingness afforded plenty of chances for growth.

2020 has been a hell of a year. Between multiple global crises and, like, life in general,  we're stuck in this never-catastrophe wheel of suck. As I sit here sipping my coffee and reflecting on the past sevenish months, Chumbawamba'due south 1997 song "Tubthumping" keeps coming to my mind unbidden (also, I was today years erstwhile when I learned the name of the song was "Tubthumping" and not "I Go Knocked Down"):

I get knocked down, but I become up again
Yous are never gonna keep me downward
I get knocked down, simply I get up again
You are never gonna go along me downwardly
I go knocked downwards, simply I get upwards once again
You are never gonna go on me downwardly
I get knocked down, only I get upwardly again
You lot are never gonna keep me down

Truthfully, it was simply that portion of the vocal that kept popping upwardly in my head. When I looked up the lyrics, I was surprised to realize that refrain makes up about half the vocal. Then I realized that the song evenmore plumbing equipment for 2020 because, well, nosotros continue getting hit with wave subsequently wave, right?

(If you can zoom in on the pictures in this Instagram mail service, I recommend it. It's worth it.)

Looking at the rest of the lyrics, they're not unsuited to this year either:

He drinks a Whiskey drink, he drinks a Vodka drink
He drinks a Lager potable, he drinks a Cider beverage
He sings the songs that remind him of the proficient times
He sings the songs that remind him of the best times

Maybe non then much the function well-nigh singing songs, but definitely the part well-nigh drinking. I mean, 2020 has been a hell of a twelvemonth, right?

And just to add together some more whine to the situation, I've had a couple of personal things pop up that are keeping life … interesting. Three weeks agone, my house caught fire. Y'all. My. House. Caught. Fire. On my husband'due south birthday.

The scene when I arrived at my house. Photo by DeAnn Long Sloan.

Fortunately no flames were bursting through the roof, but they did accept to saw into my slate roof to detect the source of the fire. Photograph by DeAnn Long Sloan.

To be fair, other than not having a fire, we are actually truly lucky. My husband, kids and domestic dog were outside in the backyard. I was at the bar like the good mother I am. The kids smelled something and the neighbour saw smoke, and then my married man was able to react quickly by flipping the main breaker (it was an electrical fire) and the neighbors chosen 911 right abroad. Multiple burn departments were training at a park nearby, and so they arrived within five minutes. The burn down was controlled and aught was actually burnt other than some joists and insulation in our attic.

Burnt spray foam insulation and … other stuff. Photo past DeAnn Long Sloan.

But, the burn started in the attic, so to make sure it did non spread, the burn departments did an admirable job of locating the source and dousing it with water. A lot of h2o. And the source was in the attic… above the tertiary floor. The laws of physics tell us that what goes upward must come down, and come downwardly the water did… all the mode to the basement. And then even though not much burned and the smoke damage is minimal, the h2o damage is extensive enough to ensure that nosotros're out of the house for the foreseeable futurity and that a fair corporeality of mitigation, demolition and rebuilding will be happening.

My tertiary floor after some demolition. Photo by DeAnn Long Sloan.

My bedroom after some sabotage. Photograph by DeAnn Long Sloan.

The good news is that everyone is safe and salubrious. Even the cat, who appeared the day after the fire after hiding who-knows-where.

Toothless the Wonder True cat (real name is Moana), safe, audio and clearly thrilled. Photo by DeAnn Long Sloan.

Information technology doesn't seem that we lost anything irreplaceable (and fifty-fifty if nosotros did, it's just stuff, correct?) and we have good insurance. Information technology may have taken a burn to make it happen, merely my basement is organized, my floors will be refinished and someone else is washing and folding all of my laundry (since I have a husband, three young childrenand I'm an equestrian, this is no small matter). I think in that location were even a couple of horse coolers and my chinks that got taken to be cleaned. Silver linings, right?

So, every bit my family and I have been navigating the fire and everything it entails, a pre-existing concern became more of an issue. Mac, my six-twelvemonth-old off-track Thoroughbred (JC Rightful Goddess) had come up in lame the week before the fire. Seeing some diagonal lameness (right forepart to left hind), I put her on stall rest. To make the case interesting, there was no obvious swelling or heat, but I put a continuing wrap on the right forepart anyhow, rubbed downwards her hind stop with some liniment (as the issue appeared to be up loftier), gave her some Bute and chosen the vet. The vet couldn't make it out to do a full lameness examination until the following week and, as it wasn't urgent, I continued the course of activity I was already taking and waited for the vet.

Over the course of the next few days at that place was some small-scale improvement (the hind end lameness subsided and the front right lameness appeared to be in the human foot), but my horse certainly wasn't sound. So in she stayed, with a continuing wrap and hoof wrap in case it was a really bad abscess. My mare is not known for her stoicism, so it was non out of the realm of possibility that an abscess would crusade this extreme of a reaction.

Hoping for an abscess. Photo by DeAnn Long Sloan.

Then the burn happened (read to a higher place), my friend and barn manager took over my mare's intendance for a couple of days while I regrouped, the same course of action ensued and I waited for the vet.

What seemed like an eternity later (but information technology was really merely a week and some), the vet made it out. Even though I had made an date with the intention of doing a full lameness work up, it was quite apparent that the issue was in the right front. After blocking the foot both medially and laterally, the lameness became less pronounced but did not get away. So, non an abscess. Damn.

Mac, sedated and playing a balancing game on the wooden blocks following her x-ray. Photograph by DeAnn Long Sloan.

Let me dorsum upwards: I don't typically call the vet every fourth dimension I call back my horse has an abscess. Normally I treat it similar an abscess (liberally apply an epsom salt poultice to the pes, diaper it, vet wrap it and duct tape it,) mayhap talk to the farrier and movement on later it drains. Still, this year has been marked by a lot of small-scale issues that have kept my mare laid upward mostly. I decided to exist done with information technology and just practice a full piece of work upwardly. Notwithstanding, that was batty by the obvious issue with the front correct leg during this vet visit. Afterward all, you tin't do a total lameness work up if in that location is an acute issue that needs to be addressed in the moment.

Anyhow, dorsum to the event at hand. Following the cake, we sedated Mac and took radiographs (I say "nosotros," but let's exist honest — my vet did all the work while I held a atomic number 82 rope and watched). My dorsum was turned away from the reckoner when my vet pulled up the films on the screen. I heard her say "Well, that'south interesting."

That'south never a practiced sign.

The X-ray indicated that Mac has a hairline fracture in her front end correct pastern. Great.

There's the fracture… Photo past DeAnn Long Sloan.

The good news is that it is a fracture and information technology will heal with proper rehab. More adept news is that there seems to exist piffling damage to the ligaments and tendons. I had my vet practise an ultrasound to make certain because if there is extensive soft tissue harm that will impact our futurity more profoundly than a fracture ever could.

So, for now, Mac is on stall rest with a no-bow quilt and vet wrap on the correct (fractured) leg and a no-bow and standing wrap on the left leg for support. Equally of right now I haven't wrapped her hind legs because her incessant stall walking keeps her from getting stocked up. She's on anti-inflammatories and all the hay she can eat. The vet volition be doing a recheck in a few weeks and we volition move forward from there.

As I navigate my mode through my mare'due south rehabilitation, I will be offering regular updates with some burn down drama thrown in for good mensurate. And, lest I seem similar I am feeling too distressing for myself, let me say that I am very aware of how fortunate I am. My family and pets are safety and mostly salubrious. I have been afforded the opportunity to Actually organize my house and purge information technology of unnecessary stuff (of which there was a lot), examine what is necessary and what is not and to rethink my arroyo to my goals with my horse.

I get knocked down, but I get up again…

Maybe it'southward fourth dimension for the Whiskey drinkable or Vodka drink. Onward and upward.

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Source: https://www.horsenation.com/2020/07/22/i-get-knocked-down-but-i-get-up-again-the-refrain-of-2020/

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