Mega Update

I must be the worst blogger in the PNW. Soooo many updates, where to begin! This is going to be a bit of  backward post - most recent first :)

When I last posted, I was frantically trying to plan out the logistics for Ben's trip to WSU for the nose-weener removal. I had finally committed to an April 28 appointment, and made plans for hauling - and every time I started to blog about it, I broke down in tears - I was so sure I was going to lose him, I just couldn't write about it. So I pushed it out of my mind, which included avoiding this blog too.

But here we are - May 2014, and I can assure you Ben is fine! In fact, he's better than ever. He spent a week at WSU, during which his nostrils were scoped and it was determined that his nose weener was in fact an old injury - a tear to the false nostril that created a pocket that filled with tissue - plain old scar tissue. So the surgeon hatched a plan to use an electro-cautery device to remove it - which would cut down on the bleeding and not require any stitching. His surgery was done standing, and on local anesthesia and sedative. All told, the nose-weener was the side of a man's index finger.

Pre-op nap :)

Ben never skipped a beat - he was in high spirits from start to finish. He was a great patient, and by doing so saved us a bit of cash (minimal use of sedatives!). Speaking of cash his total bill for the 1 week hospital stay, diagnostic, surgery and drugs was less than $900. Icing on the cake!

 Bright & chipper (and looking for treats) the day after!

So where is he now? Ben is hanging out at my friend's place in Eastern WA for the month. While he's free to be turned out, he can't exercise in earnest for a few weeks - really just to prevent the nostril from flaring and potentially bleeding.

Speaking of work...I never did post about the result of Ben's 2013 show season. As it turns out, Ben ended up being the Standardbred Performance Society Grand Champion High-Point earner! I couldn't be more proud of my boy!  Just before he left for the university, my friend and I cleaned up up and did a mini photo shoot :) I was kind of dreading it, as I felt it was kind of morbid considering I might lose him...but now I'm glad we did it.

Modeling his Grand Champion Ribbon

And then we added all of his high-point and champion ribbons too :)

In terms of 2014, I'm not really sure what we'll be doing. It will really depend on when he gets back home, and how easily he'll resume work and conditioning. I'm excited to have him back, and even more excited that he'll be feeling his best!