All grown up, and limping along

Well, it wouldn't be life on the Unfarm without at least one thing going wrong with our new ducklings. I think we must attract special needs animals. In this case, Gracie started limping not long after she hatched. Taking her to the vet - multiple times - finally led to a diagnosis: the tendon in her knee had slipped out of the groove it is supposed to stay in, leading her to start limping as the muscle pulled the leg into an awkward angle. 

We did everything we could for her: we tried physical therapy but she decided that she was going to be the first duck in the history of ducks who does not like swimming, which was what she needed to do for her PT. I tried anyway, and I gave her all the recommended medications and kept her from running around on the leg too much and separated her from the boys so no one would try mating with her, putting too much pressure on her body. At one point, she was even wearing a little boot the vet made for her. We even sprung for an experimental knee surgery with our veterinarian: they put pins in her knee to hold the tendon in place with the hope that should would make scar tissue that would hold the tendon in place when the pins eventually had to be pulled out. Spoiler alert: she did not. 

Gracie in her boot, out for a stroll

So where are we now? Well, Gracie is all grown up and still limping, and her leg is bent at an angle so she can't put all her weight on it, and she spends her nights in the house with Minna, our house duck, (a story for another time) but goes outside in a separated run during the day in nice weather. For now she doesn't appear to be getting any better - and I don't expect her to - but neither does she appear to be getting worse. So I make her life as easy and comfortable as possible and hope that she can continue on much as she has been - limping but not uncomfortable - and enjoying the best of both worlds, indoor and out. Fingers crossed she holds steady, as we are, after all, experienced with special needs pets, and I would rather deal with a limping duck than the alternative which would be to have her put to sleep.

Now it's my turn to limp

I was quite a hit today at the dog park. All the dogs kept coming up to me to sniff and then try to lick my knees. Unfortunately it was not because I had smeared myself with peanut butter but because I had smeared myself with Neosporin after having a run in with the sidewalk last night. In case you are wondering, the sidewalk won. We were walking the dogs in the evening and two things joined forces against me: the uneven sidewalk and gravity, assisted by the hill we were walking down. I tripped and before I could do anything my knees were taking most of the force of the fall. 

After hobbling home with blood dripping down my legs I got to spend the next half hour cleaning the scrapes. A shower didn't do the job sufficiently so I had to endure betadine and hyrogen peroxide washes and then cotton swab scrubbing and poking with tweezers to get all the little bits of gravel out. I can't think of a more enjoyable way to spend an evening. Oh wait, yes I can. 

While yesterday hurt I am sure it is only the beginning because as the wounds heal and scab over it will hurt every time I bend my knees. And knees, as we all know, bend often. It's pretty much all they do. Lucky me.

On a more positive note, Scout finally saw a bone specialist and he said that Scout's limp is nothing to be concerned about. Possibly some elbow dysplasia but it shouldn't stop Scout from going on walks or playing at the dog park, much to Scout's delight. At least one of us is on the mend.