A Slow But Better Day

                Today was an all-around good day. My colic did ok overnight and went back on grass feedings. We now have a suspicion that she may have a ruptured bladder or ureter, hence every time we try to give her fluids her belly also fills up with fluid. Her impaction was about the same as last night with the exception of being slightly softer.  We scoped the mare’s bladder today with no significant findings observed.  We filled her bladder with methylene blue so that if she did have a leaky bladder, the blue dye could be observed on a belly tap later in the day.  I performed the abdominocentesis again and the fluid was submitted for Creatinine, as well as blood. The mare should hopefully do ok given time for her bladder (or ureter) to heal and her impaction to pass.

The colic mare and her owner today. He brought her nice stalks of clover which she enjoyed eating.

                We did not have many patients today with the exception of half a dozen mules presenting for influenza. Quite some time was spent sticking needles in lymph nodes on the mule with pleuropneumonia today. After being more diligent about having things translated for me today, I learned that pus from a draining abscess was found in the mule’s mouth and an abscessed submandibular and retropharyngeal lymph node was found on ultrasound. Eventually the lymph node was properly catheterized so that saline injected into it would drain from the mule’s mouth. Yum, pus, right? Based on Dr. Gigi Kay’s experience with Moroccan equids, she believes this is a case of strangles, a slightly different presentation than the rest of the world and perhaps a different strain. Hopefully once this abscess heals, the mule will begin to eat normally.

A donkey waits outside the doors of the Fondouk for his other donkey friend to be treated

                 After several other procedures were completed on the in-hospital patients, we were put to work transporting drugs and supplies from the old store room to the new store room at the top of the courtyard, adjacent to a new exam room that was being constructed. We alphabetized the drugs and arranged the other supplies by category. I later learned that Dr. Gigi Kay wanted the new stock room arranged a completely different way and mass reorganization was likely to happen in the near future.

A horse has his feet trimmed by Azami in the farrier station. Note the cute mural on the wall.

The current externs at the American Fondouk.
Doesn't this picture make you think of the jingle
"One of these things is not like the others..."
From left to rightL Terik, Yesim, Me, Ilham, Azziz, and Mehdi.

               The food today was again very good. Ilham made a pasta dish with several different meats, corn and olive oil and one of the other Moroccan students made another Tajine for dinner with potatoes and the chicken and green beans I had purchased at the supermarket on Saturday.  Another thing that is very different here is that food in the kitchen apparently does not belong to the person that bought it. Everything is shared, so when a meal is prepared, the cook opens the cupboards and fridge and selects whatever he/she wants to make a dish. I have come to accept the fact that my groceries will not last as long as I hoped they would since they are now feeding six people. As least someone is cooking decent food to eat and I am attempting to pick up some cooking tips as well. I will have to make another trip to the supermarket this weekend or buy some goods from the markets in the medina. Hopefully I’m not the only one buying the groceries!

                I have just finished preparing information for my presentation tomorrow. I am now presenting on 3 topics: Heart sounds, equine arrhythmias, and P3 extensor process fractures. In additon to me teaching the Moroccan English, I have started asking them how to say things in Arabic and French. One of the students, Tarik, was especially helpful today as we taught eachother new words. Hopefully tomorrow will be free evening in which I can practice my French! Au Revoir!