East Texas

[Goat Whisperer]

Howdy! I know I've been MIA and I apologize. I've been keeping up with Devonviolet, and I'm assuming she's kept y'all in the loop. So here is my mini novella.
Kid 2 was sick before we left California. We assumed since he had no fever it was allergies or a cold. Arriving in Texas he felt no better - didn't have a fever, was feeling lousy, but not complaining too much.
On Feb. 13th took him to the local clinic, because he had spiked a fever and was generally acting off. The doctor at the clinic suspected meningitis and sent us to the local emergency room. We spent several hours there where he was diagnosed with what they believed was a sinus infection; gave us prescriptions and sent us home. The following day (no fever) he got up and went to school.

Mid morning, the school calls to tell me kid 2 has had a seizure of some sort in class and they'd like me to come get him. I ask them to call an ambulance, and tell them I'm on my way. I get there, and once again, we head back to the ER. New doctor sees him, runs tests, and tells us that since his blood tested positive for THC he believed he had a reaction to synthetic marijuana and once again sends up home. Mind you - kid 2 swore up and down that he hadn't smoked anything since arriving in Texas. We knew he was smoking in California which is one of the reasons he came to Texas with me rather than staying in California with his dad (dad is selling our house and business and moving here ASAP). We drive the 20 minutes home, and just as we're pulling into the driveway - kid 2 has another seizure - lasting more than 2 minutes. I call 911 (again), and once again we head back to the ER.
When we get to the ER I throw a big ole hissy fit, and tell them we are NOT leaving until they figure out what the HELL is going on with my kid. The doctor agrees and schedules an MRI. Meanwhile I've been on the phone with Dad and he is desperately trying to get a flight out from California.
Kid 2 is stabilized and because it's now close to 9:00 and Kid 1 and Kid 3 are home alone, I leave the hospital. I came home and fell into bed. 12:30 phone rings and it's DH saying he's at the ER and Kid 2 has an infection on his brain and they are airlifting him to Children's Hospital in Dallas. I get in the car and drive like the devil to get to the ER. 30 minutes later they are transporting Kid 2 and Dad to Dallas via lear jet. I get home, fall into bed about 3:00 AM, and then am up to get Kid 1 and Kid 3 to school at 6:30. Once they're off I drive to Dallas where Kid 2 is now in ICU following brain surgery.

Two days in ICU and they move him down one floor to the neuro unit, because Kid 2 has lost all use of his left side! Physical and Occupational Therapy start as well as Speech. He has two more seizures while on the 10th floor. They assure us this is normal as the swelling on his brain hasn't gone down yet. They can not give us any idea of how long recovery will take, or if he will regain use of his left side. EVER.

In the middle of this the hospital starts billing our insurance in California. California declines to cover, because Kid 2 has been enrolled in a Texas school and even though we've been in Texas less than 30 days and can't yet apply for coverage here in Texas, they tell us they are not responsible for his care as he is no longer a resident of California. Swell.

We speak to a social worker at the hospital is assigned to help us, and she tries desperately to figure out a way to get Medicaid to cover at least some of the costs associated with this hospital stay which by this time has surpassed ONE MILLION DOLLARS.

Fear not friends, Kid 2 was able to come home from the hospital last Saturday and is at almost 100%. Thankfully we haven't yet been thrown in debtors prison.

To add insult to injury - my friend who was planning to move onto the property with me, and help me run the ranch tells me once we're home that the deal on her house fell through and she's trying to figure out a way to get here, but it isn't looking good so far. The agreement we had was that I was going to buy the land and this house and she was going to buy another house to put on the land and pay for the infrastructure to get us going.

Because Kid 1 and Kid 3 have more or less been abandoned children for more than a month (and before I realize we have a MILLION DOLLAR hospital bill looing over us, I agree to sign Kid 3 up for 4-H and cheerleading, I put eggs in the incubator and hired somebody to build me a beautiful 10x10 chicken house and two 8x8 breeding pens. I called him midway through the hospital stay hoping he was going to say he hadn't started work yet, but nope - he's more than half way done.

My mantra is "It's all going to work out". Hopefully by the time Kid 3 needs a goat I'll have a pen built and the money to pay for a show quality mini Nubian. I have managed to get 100 feet of fencing in, somebody gave me a Guinea Fowl and bantam rooster for the LGD's to protect (they're doing a great job there), and I'm sure God will provide in due time.

DH is hoping to be here by 6/1 and the sale of the house and the business will at least put a dent in the MILLION DOLLAR hospital stay.

In the interim, I am thankful everyday that I can sit on my back porch and drink coffee listening to the sounds of my rooster, guinea and dogs - knowing that I have 3 healthy kids and that things will work out.

Oh my goodness, I don't know what to say! I am SO SORRY y'all are going though this.
Hang in there
How terrifying. Thank goodness you pushed the way you did!

 

[Ferguson K]

Stay strong @tressa27884

 

[Poka_Doodle]

X2
Keeping you in our prayers.

 

[Latestarter]

Wow Tressa... there are no words... So glad that your son seems to have recovered and I hope you don't have to get a lawyer involved with the insurance coverage... But you might have to... Good to have you back.

Does the goat "have" to be a mini nubian? Just as an aside, I don't think (but don't know!) that there are goat shows that accept mini anythings... They pretty much have to be registered as pure or grade in a breed. Hopefully someone else can chime in with actual knowledge (@ragdollcatlady or perhaps @frustratedearthmother or @OneFineAcre ) Of course in 4H I believe you can pretty much use any goat as it's all about showmanship and learning about the animal.

I don't know if there's anything I can do to help you... I don't have any money and little time, but I'll do what I can if I can.

 

[ragdollcatlady]

So sorry for the issues with kid2! I am so glad it is all OK for now.

For our 4-H, when the kids show dairy goats, they have to be registered and at this time in our area, minis aren't accepted as ADGA and AGS aren't registering them. There are mini registries, but our county fair only allows ADGA and AGS papers. Our kids showed nigerians and our nubian and even for being a full sized goat our nubian is really easy to handle.They are "super chill", easy going goats. Our nigerians range from easy to a bit more animated. I love and highly recommend both breeds.

 

[Baymule]

Howdy! I know I've been MIA and I apologize. I've been keeping up with Devonviolet, and I'm assuming she's kept y'all in the loop. So here is my mini novella.
Kid 2 was sick before we left California. We assumed since he had no fever it was allergies or a cold. Arriving in Texas he felt no better - didn't have a fever, was feeling lousy, but not complaining too much.
On Feb. 13th took him to the local clinic, because he had spiked a fever and was generally acting off. The doctor at the clinic suspected meningitis and sent us to the local emergency room. We spent several hours there where he was diagnosed with what they believed was a sinus infection; gave us prescriptions and sent us home. The following day (no fever) he got up and went to school.

Mid morning, the school calls to tell me kid 2 has had a seizure of some sort in class and they'd like me to come get him. I ask them to call an ambulance, and tell them I'm on my way. I get there, and once again, we head back to the ER. New doctor sees him, runs tests, and tells us that since his blood tested positive for THC he believed he had a reaction to synthetic marijuana and once again sends up home. Mind you - kid 2 swore up and down that he hadn't smoked anything since arriving in Texas. We knew he was smoking in California which is one of the reasons he came to Texas with me rather than staying in California with his dad (dad is selling our house and business and moving here ASAP). We drive the 20 minutes home, and just as we're pulling into the driveway - kid 2 has another seizure - lasting more than 2 minutes. I call 911 (again), and once again we head back to the ER.
When we get to the ER I throw a big ole hissy fit, and tell them we are NOT leaving until they figure out what the HELL is going on with my kid. The doctor agrees and schedules an MRI. Meanwhile I've been on the phone with Dad and he is desperately trying to get a flight out from California.
Kid 2 is stabilized and because it's now close to 9:00 and Kid 1 and Kid 3 are home alone, I leave the hospital. I came home and fell into bed. 12:30 phone rings and it's DH saying he's at the ER and Kid 2 has an infection on his brain and they are airlifting him to Children's Hospital in Dallas. I get in the car and drive like the devil to get to the ER. 30 minutes later they are transporting Kid 2 and Dad to Dallas via lear jet. I get home, fall into bed about 3:00 AM, and then am up to get Kid 1 and Kid 3 to school at 6:30. Once they're off I drive to Dallas where Kid 2 is now in ICU following brain surgery.

Two days in ICU and they move him down one floor to the neuro unit, because Kid 2 has lost all use of his left side! Physical and Occupational Therapy start as well as Speech. He has two more seizures while on the 10th floor. They assure us this is normal as the swelling on his brain hasn't gone down yet. They can not give us any idea of how long recovery will take, or if he will regain use of his left side. EVER.

In the middle of this the hospital starts billing our insurance in California. California declines to cover, because Kid 2 has been enrolled in a Texas school and even though we've been in Texas less than 30 days and can't yet apply for coverage here in Texas, they tell us they are not responsible for his care as he is no longer a resident of California. Swell.

We speak to a social worker at the hospital is assigned to help us, and she tries desperately to figure out a way to get Medicaid to cover at least some of the costs associated with this hospital stay which by this time has surpassed ONE MILLION DOLLARS.

Fear not friends, Kid 2 was able to come home from the hospital last Saturday and is at almost 100%. Thankfully we haven't yet been thrown in debtors prison.

To add insult to injury - my friend who was planning to move onto the property with me, and help me run the ranch tells me once we're home that the deal on her house fell through and she's trying to figure out a way to get here, but it isn't looking good so far. The agreement we had was that I was going to buy the land and this house and she was going to buy another house to put on the land and pay for the infrastructure to get us going.

Because Kid 1 and Kid 3 have more or less been abandoned children for more than a month (and before I realize we have a MILLION DOLLAR hospital bill looing over us, I agree to sign Kid 3 up for 4-H and cheerleading, I put eggs in the incubator and hired somebody to build me a beautiful 10x10 chicken house and two 8x8 breeding pens. I called him midway through the hospital stay hoping he was going to say he hadn't started work yet, but nope - he's more than half way done.

My mantra is "It's all going to work out". Hopefully by the time Kid 3 needs a goat I'll have a pen built and the money to pay for a show quality mini Nubian. I have managed to get 100 feet of fencing in, somebody gave me a Guinea Fowl and bantam rooster for the LGD's to protect (they're doing a great job there), and I'm sure God will provide in due time.

DH is hoping to be here by 6/1 and the sale of the house and the business will at least put a dent in the MILLION DOLLAR hospital stay.

In the interim, I am thankful everyday that I can sit on my back porch and drink coffee listening to the sounds of my rooster, guinea and dogs - knowing that I have 3 healthy kids and that things will work out.

Big hugs girl. Prayers for you and family.

 

[Baymule]

And on the bright side, Kid 2 is worth ONE MILLION DOLLARS!!! Hope it doesn't make Kid 1 and Kid 3 feel like they aren't worth as much $$$.

leave it to me the be the smart aleck in the bunch......

 

[Bruce]

 

[tressa27884]

So...

And on the bright side, Kid 2 is worth ONE MILLION DOLLARS!!! Hope it doesn't make Kid 1 and Kid 3 feel like they aren't worth as much $$$.

leave it to me the be the smart aleck in the bunch......

..who wants to buy Kid 2? Infrastructure issues would be all taken care of.

 

[Baymule]

spewed sweet tea........