Everyone should have a hero.
Mine is James Herriot of the All Creatures Great and Small book
and television series. If you’ve ever
thought of being a veterinarian, you probably read these books or watched the
shows; it is practically mandatory. I
gained a great deal of knowledge from them.
Now I don’t want to say I learned more about being a veterinarian from
James than I learned in college, but it's probably pretty close, and I strive
to be like him- the hero in almost every story.
I’m afraid, though, I may have turned out more like Tristan, James’
partner’s not-so-bright, trouble-making, “goof off,” younger brother. Most of my co-workers would probably agree
with that.
Life
is full of stories. Some end happily;
some do not. That is part of the
adventure. Veterinarians’ lives are like that.
My other columns have been more of the fact-filled, “do this, do that”
format. This time I wanted to try
something different. Here is my attempt
at an educational, and true, “James Herriot” story.
It
was a perfect October day. The air was
clear and crisp, and the trees were in their autumn glory. My patient was a “down” Angus cow at the far
end of the pasture just in front of a woods.
From afar, the cow appeared to be dead, but as my truck bounded across
the grass toward her, I could see that she was breathing. The closer I got, the more agitated she
became; she was now paddling her legs in wild convulsions. When I got out of the truck and approached
her, she threw her head at me in an aggressive manner.
What
I have just described are the classic signs and presentation of a cow suffering
from hypomagnesemia or “grass tetany.”
This is a metabolic condition that arises from low blood magnesium
levels. “Grass tetany” is commonly seen
in cows, and sometimes in sheep, that are grazing lush grass pastures, usually
in the spring or the fall of the year.
The rapid growth of the grass along with cool weather conditions results
in decreased uptake of magnesium into the plants, making the plants deficient
in this nutrient.
My
assistant for this call was an extremely thin and elderly man who lived in an
old house at one end of the pasture. The
owner of the farm had told me on a previous visit that this old man was deaf
and could not speak. Nevertheless, he
proved to be a very capable helper. I
placed a nose lead, a tong-like device, in the cow’s nose to keep her head
still, and my assistant held the rope to which it was attached. I then administered a bottle of a calcium/magnesium
solution intravenously, being careful not to give it too rapidly as this could
kill the cow. My friend did a good job
of keeping just the right amount of tension on the rope, thus preventing the
cow from thrashing about. I would ask
him to do things, and he seemed to understand, but I’m sorry to say that I
couldn’t understand any of the sounds he would make in response.
Following
the intravenous bottle, I gave the cow a second bottle of the same solution
under the skin on the side of her ribcage.
With our treatment completed, my assistant gently removed the lead from
the nose, then neatly wound the rope around the tongs and handed them to
me. I reached out to take them, pinching
his fingers between the metal pieces in the process. It was at this time that our communication
problem ceased. “Ow…you got my finger!”
was spoken as clearly as I had ever heard anyone speak. I apologized profusely and thanked him very
much for his help.
The
occurrence of grass tetany can be prevented by increasing the consumption of
magnesium during the critical pasture seasons.
The recommendation is two ounces per head per day for cattle and one-third
ounce per head per day for sheep, either incorporated into the grain mix or in
molasses-containing blocks.
A
few minutes after our treatment, the cow gingerly arose and headed into the
woods with her calf. After making
certain my new friend’s finger wasn’t badly damaged, I thanked him again and
was on my way.
Author: Dr. John Jones
Image courtesy of Mister GC at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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