In early spring of 2002, shortly after beginning her show career, our
Appaloosa mare, "Shift-Te Secretary", affectionately known as "Angel", was
diagnosed with "squamous cell carcinoma". Several weeks before, a small growth
was noticed in the corner of her left eye. Upon veterinary examination, the
growth was determined to be a cancerous tumor. Surgery was scheduled to remove
the tumor and everyone was optimistic that this would be end of the
growth.
Little did we know then,
that this would be the beginning of a year-long battle to save her eye, and
ultimately her life. Just weeks after her first surgery the tumor was back.
And once again Angel underwent surgery. When the tumor came back the third
time, we knew that she was in danger of losing the eye. For a barrel horse,
this was a potentially, career ending situation. But despite the repeated
surgeries, Angel continued to hold her own on the open show circuit. Earning
point after point, in barrel racing. Even competing and winning, after losing
her eye.
Over the next few months,
Angel made three more trips to the vet. And each time it got worse. The tumor
eventually invaded the eye and she became partially blind. In an effort to
prevent the tumor from reaching her brain, the eye and surrounding damaged
tissue were removed. The stitches were to come out in a few weeks and we
hoped that the battle was over and we had won. We were wrong.
By the time the stitches
were scheduled to come out, the tumor had come back, faster and much larger
than before. So large, it was tearing the incision apart from the inside.
Angel had to go back for a fifth and final surgery. If the tumor wasn't stopped
this time, she would have to be put down. There were a lot of tears shed
on the horse trailer that day, as we hugged Angel tightly, and prayed she
would come back to us.
There was little left of
her once beautiful face to cut away, but our vet did everything he could
to make sure none of the tumor remained this time. When it was time for her
to come home, we were warned by the veterinary staff not to be shocked when
we saw her. She had a hole in the side of her head large enough to put a
fist in. There was no skin left to cover the gaping hole, so it had to be
covered with a liquid bandage. We were so glad that she was alive, the damage
to her face was the least of our concerns. However,our happiness was short
lived.
In December, just a few
weeks after the final surgery, the tumor was back, bigger than ever. Angel's
health seemed to be deteriorating. Despite never losing her appetite, her
weight began to fall. She was listless and looked terrible. We had already
discussed the possibility of having to put her down. But it was so close
to Christmas, we couldn't bring ourselves to let go of the horse we all loved
so much. A horse that ironically, had come into our lives five years earlier,
as a Christmas present for our oldest daughter.
During that time we each,
in turn, spent a lot of time in the pasture with her. Desperately clinging
to each moment we had. Although we had nearly given up hope, Angel was a
fighter, and apparently had other plans. By the first week in January 2003,
she was starting to gain weight, and that horrible tumor was shrinking. By
March the tumor was gone from the outside, and her face had finally
healed.
Once again, our happiness
was short lived. The tumor, now unseen, had started to grow under the skin.
By August the tumor had caused noticeable swelling to Angel's head. It was
time to go back to the vet again. This time a decision was made to do exploratory
surgery, and if the tumor was found to have spread to her brain, we had all
agreed to let her cross the Rainbow Bridge.
The phone rang not long
after I had gotten home, and I had to let her go...
Cherokota Ranch
Shift-Te Secretary 
