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Pam & Her horse "Taproot Spitfire" 03-27-01 -
12-11-01
12-11-01
*UPDATE*
For
3 years now by using the Guardian Mask and Master Jack Feed, we have gone
without Uveitis. I am still very pleased of the success and my horses eyes
are perfectly clear without a sign of any problems and he has regained full
eye sight.
Pam
Blasavage
03-27-01
I
stood beside my beautiful chocolate chestnut Morgan looking into a big pool
of liquid brown eye feeling exhilaration. It is normal!! It is
healed!! Thank you God, I can feel it is true! I knew that
my horse was whole and healthy again and I was compelled to write this
story. It was the least I could do for my hero. But first things
first --he wants his carrot!
Taproot
Spitfire is an imp and he never lost that quality throughout his 4 year
battle with a severe case of uveitis. I will never forget bringing him
in from the pasture one day and his eye was swollen and tearing.
Thinking it was an injury, I immediately called my vet. We treated the
eye with an antibiotic for a period of time and it cleared up.
"No problem now" I thought, and went on with life as usual.
Two months later the same eye swelled and the vet told me on the phone to
examine the eye and if the pupil did not respond to light and was smaller
than the other to let her know before she came out, that we may be dealing
with a larger problem than previously thought. Sure enough, with a
sinking feeling, and with a voice in my head saying "hang on Pam,"
I observed just the condition she had described. I still didn't
know why or what to call it but I was full of dread.
She
arrived in 20 minutes, examined his eye and pronounced that we were dealing
with Uveitis as if she expected my knowledge of horses to include that term.
Well it did not, and when I asked her to explain, her next words were
"moon blindness". "What's the big deal" I
wondered, I have a friend with a horse that has it and I never saw any
problem. She went on to explain that it is an autoimmune disease and
that the body sees the eye as a foreign object and rejects it. This
causes flare-ups and eventual blindness. Then I saw the problem but, being
an optimist I knew that this would probably be the last time this happens as
she said some cases are less active than others.
She said it is
usually seen in older horses and although many do go blind, they are usually
past their prime and into old age, I thought, "Fire is only 5 and
very healthy so it certainly wont be a problem." I was not
prepared for what was to come.
 Fire's
eye was treated 4 to 6 times a day with a steroid ointment and Bute twice a
day. When the treatment period was finished he was weaned off all meds
and I was relieved to get that over with! Now on with life again.
Right? Wrong!!! He soon had repeated flare-ups and the vet said he
needed to be on steroids every day for the rest of his life. At
this point after consulting with the vet we decided that he should go to
Tufts University in Mass. for an examination by an ophthalmologist.
So,
off we went, my friend and I , and little did I know that this
"Journey" would be much more extensive than a couple of hours in
the trailer. Both eyes were examined by the wonderful staff there and
I was told that his left eye was definitely active but his right eye was
also involved. He had never had an active flare-up in the right eye
but there were changes indicating that the disease was there.
"Face it" The vet said kindly, " he will eventually go
blind" Every nerve in my body screamed "Oh no he won't"!!!
I
calmly accepted what the Dr. was telling me but inwardly I knew I was not
going to let that happen at any cost. Not my beautiful Morgan that had
been my buddy since he was 8 months old.
The
"Journey" that I eluded to earlier had begun. I started
reading everything I could about this curse. It had become the enemy
and I was at war!
My
thoughts "naturally" turned to alternative medicine and I called a
dear friend that is a trigger point myotherapist for horses. My intent
was to support him and help balance his immune system. She found
several places in his body that were blocked and we set up
appointments on a regular basis. She told me about a homeopathic
doctor from another state that works over the phone and had helped her
horse. I called him and set up a program with him that would also
support my horse and we worked together with every flare-up, giving Fire
homeopathic remedies.
I
believe that if the body is given a chance it will heal itself. I
called another vet that does chiropractic and acupuncture. She worked
with him on a regular basis and at times worked with the myotherapist.
I
wanted to rid Fire's body of any additives and toxins and was led to a
company that developed free choice vitamins and minerals. I made them
available to Fire along with feeding him corn, oats, and barley instead of
the commercial grain he had been fed in the past.
With
my vet's approval we started taking blood and running titers instead of
vaccinating every season. I stopped giving him deworming medication
and instead have stool samples run every couple of months. He
has been parasite free for 2 years.
About
a year ago I ordered a mask called Guardian that had been developed for
horses with eye problems. It is a wonderful mask with removable eye
cups. The cups include an 80% UV ray protection, a 95% ray protection
and a leather patch that can be inserted when total darkness is required.
He wears the 95% cups every day during daylight hours. If he has a
flare-up I insert the leather patch which protects his eye from light while
he is turned out in the pasture. I have been very pleased with this
mask and I believe it has played a great part in our success with this
disease.
A.B.C.,
the company that I buy his vitamins from has developed a feed called Master
Jack for horses with Uveitis. After reading the literature on it I
decided that it would be the perfect feed for Fire as it has
everything in it to support the immune system. He has been fed Master
Jack for 4 months now. Considering all the steps I had taken to
support this horse, this seemed to be the one last thing I could do to
perfect his regimen.
The
full moon on the winter solstice occurred on Dec. 22, 1999. It was the
brightest moon in over 100 years. Spitfires eye flared up on Dec. 21st
and it continued for 7 days. He had never been in so much pain and I
could do nothing except treat it with anti-inflammatory and antibiotic drops
because along with the flare-up he had a tiny ulcer. I could not use
his steroid drops as they would prevent healing.
And
now for our miracle!! Yes the introductory paragraph is true! On
New Years Day 2000, I wondered if his ulcer was healed and I could continue
with the steroid drops.
Not
only was the ulcer healed, but a miracle had happened. The thick white
line of scar tissue that had formed across his pupil through the years,
obstructing his vision, had completely disappeared!!! His eye
looked 100% normal and he seemed to have normal vision in it. I
started laughing and crying and hugging his neck. He seemed to
understand as he nuzzled me. We had done the impossible and saved him
from a life of blindness.
When
I started writing this it was September 3, 1999. I woke up at 3am that
morning and had a compelling urge to write Spitfire's story. I
got up, made a cup of coffee, and started writing. I started the first
paragraph with the happy ending that I could only dream of at that point
because he was still having severe bouts with Uveitis. My purpose was
to record for my own records all the methods of treatment I had used.
 Deep within me I must have known that I could finish the story this way,
proving that if the body is only supported and believed in , it will heal
itself. I believe that with answered prayers comes a
responsibility. If I ask for a healing and it is given, then I want to
share it with all the countless horses and their people that are suffering
through this disease. When I was making all the changes in his
life, I did not really see the pattern. It was not a plan, it just
fell into place as I learned. If Spitfire's experience can help
just one horse we will be grateful.
March
17, 2001. I would like to update you on what has happened since I
wrote this story. I was not feeling comfortable about claiming a cure
to the world until I had some proof. Well, I have it!! An
ultrasound of his eye that is completely normal, I was told by the
veterinarian that read it that if he did not know he was looking at an eye
with Uveitis he would never have guessed! He has gone one full year
and 3 months with no bouts of the disease except one very slight one in
November of 2000. After 4 years of bouts every 5 or 6 weeks.
He
still wears his Guardian mask every day from 5 am until it is dark. I
use the 95% shades all the time to protect him from the intense light. I am
confident turning him out no matter how bright. He will always wear a
Guardian Mask -- the work Guardian says it all!!! Thank you Sid
for being there with your wonderful mask.
I
pray with this story I have given some insight and hope.
Pam
Blasavage
Naugatuck,
CT
Taproot Spitfire is looking great! Thank you for sharing your
wonderful heartwarming story Pam, we are very pleased to hear from
you, even more so to hear of the positive progress.
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