Yesterday was a terrible, very bad day. I had to say goodbye to two amazing lives.
My Grandpa passed away yesterday. He was at home and went peacefully in his sleep surrounded by family and people who love him. Grandpa lived a wonderful, long life. I remember him taking my sister and I for walks to the ice cream shop for ice cream. I remember how he could talk for hours about books and chemistry. I am so very glad that I got to spend time with him when I was home in the states this past summer. I got to see him and tell him how much I love him. I got to ask him where his favorite places to travel were, how his life was when he was my age, and what it was like to be married to his wife for 65+ years. Grandpa died at 89. He served in the Coast Guard and fought in WWII. You can see his obituary here.
At the barn one of our horses got very sick. We were holding a dressage clinic and the barn was very busy yesterday morning. We held half of the clinic while still treating Essa before I looked into Essa's eyes and knew. Everyone had to leave immediately. Essa was dying. Everyone who could have been there to help was there. The Japanese vet, all the Japanese employees, the owner, and all the American instructors were there to give Essa every attention. Everything that possibly could have been done was done. We made sure he was pumped full of pain killers so he could be as comfortable in la-la-land as he could be. He was humanely euthanized after fighting colic for 4 hours. He was exhausted and ready. It was a very emotional 4 hours for everyone. We fought so hard to keep Essa fighting for his life, but there comes a point where continuing the fight is doing more damage than good. It absolutely broke our hearts to see Essa's life slip away, but we were all relieved when his pain was over. I will miss this amazing lesson horse.
My Grandpa passed away yesterday. He was at home and went peacefully in his sleep surrounded by family and people who love him. Grandpa lived a wonderful, long life. I remember him taking my sister and I for walks to the ice cream shop for ice cream. I remember how he could talk for hours about books and chemistry. I am so very glad that I got to spend time with him when I was home in the states this past summer. I got to see him and tell him how much I love him. I got to ask him where his favorite places to travel were, how his life was when he was my age, and what it was like to be married to his wife for 65+ years. Grandpa died at 89. He served in the Coast Guard and fought in WWII. You can see his obituary here.
At the barn one of our horses got very sick. We were holding a dressage clinic and the barn was very busy yesterday morning. We held half of the clinic while still treating Essa before I looked into Essa's eyes and knew. Everyone had to leave immediately. Essa was dying. Everyone who could have been there to help was there. The Japanese vet, all the Japanese employees, the owner, and all the American instructors were there to give Essa every attention. Everything that possibly could have been done was done. We made sure he was pumped full of pain killers so he could be as comfortable in la-la-land as he could be. He was humanely euthanized after fighting colic for 4 hours. He was exhausted and ready. It was a very emotional 4 hours for everyone. We fought so hard to keep Essa fighting for his life, but there comes a point where continuing the fight is doing more damage than good. It absolutely broke our hearts to see Essa's life slip away, but we were all relieved when his pain was over. I will miss this amazing lesson horse. 
1 comment:
So good to talk to you today Sweetie. Times like these, family just means more than anything. Lots of love.
Post a Comment