Translation Please!

                My third day at the American Fondouk started out good. The colic mare did well overnight again and was very bright this morning. I took her out for a graze after her morning meds and she ate vigorously. She was passing normal feces but rectal exam revealed the impaction was about the same as last night. We decided to start her on oral fluids again. We placed a nasogastric tube and administered 2 liters of isotonic fluid every hour. She did fine for a few hours before she became depressed again. Abdominal ultrasound showed she was accumulating peritoneal fluid again so we decided to tap her belly. A liter or more of yellow fluid ran out from the needle but the fluid contained no neutrophils and had a normal total protein. We discontinued oral fluids and stopped her feedings. We will see how she does over night. 

The donkey with the mass on the side of his face.
 It was pretty ugly inside but I did not get a good picture

              Early in the day a two year old donkey presented for a mass on the side of his face. Oral exam showed several pedunculated masses inside the mouth at the same site and the tumor appeared to be a squamous cell carcinoma. The donkey was hospitalized with plans for cisplatin bead implantation. The beads needed to be ordered and would probably not arrive for several weeks.

Two mules presenting for nasal discharge. One is being restrained with an
ear twitch so he does not kick while is tempurature is taken.

            Today we again had several mules present for cough and nasal discharge. There is an influenza epidemic going around the equids of the area and every day we have seen at least 3 animals presenting for the same signs. The animals are given banamine and sent out the door with 5 days worth of TMS. I don’t believe vaccinating is a common practice in this country, especially in the working equids.

                An owner of a grey mule who had visited the Fondouk over a week ago came back in to discuss how he liked the snaffle bit that was given to him to try. They owner, talking to the tech in Arabic who translated to Dr. Gigi Kay in French, explained how he liked the bit and designed his own leather chin strap to go under the bit.  It now worked mechanically similar to the traditional bit but was much less severe on the animal’s mouth. The traditional bits compress the tongue and many donkeys eventually loose feeling in their tongues permanently, resulting in them hanging out the side of the animal’s mouth. Dr. Gigi plans to have a local metal worker make these snaffle bits that she will give away to owners. With time, the hope is to educate these people about the damages the traditional bit inflicts on their animals and give them an alternative bit for free. I think it is a great idea and I hope to see changes if I ever visit here again.

A traditional bit, basically a ring with a
 metal plate on the bottom for leverage.

The grey mule displayes his new snaffle bit.
The owner made the chin strab with rein attachements so it more
 closely resembled the machanics of the traditional style bits.
Note that the damage to his tongue has already been done.

Everyone gathers around around the new ultrasound

                On another down note, the mule with pleuropneumonia continues to worsen. He ate grass this morning gingerly but refuses to eat hay, grain, and drink water. His PCV and TP remain high and IV fluids only minimally lower these values. He has transient tachycardia and an irregular heartbeat. His lung sounds are improving but the rest of him is not. We did extensive additional exams today to try to find a cause for his failure to improve. These exams included abdominal, thoracic, and pharyngeal ultrasound using a new ultrasound machine that just arrived today, an echocardiogram, endoscopy of his upper airway and trachea, and an oral exam. The only thing found was some minimal pathology in his mouth which should not be contributing significantly to his poor state of health. The underlying cause(s) and prognosis for this mule remain a mystery.

                The above findings are observations that I made visually or were actually translated to me. Much discussion about different cases, ultrasound technique, anatomy, etc was discussed today, however all completely in French or Arabic. Being the only one of two people that speaks English as their first language and the only person who does not speak either French or Arabic is very challenging. Today I felt like a mute most of the day as conversations continued without translation and I hated interrupting to ask for a translation. I am not sure if people forget I don’t speak French, or think I understand enough to follow, or simply don’t care that I am not involved in the conversation. I guess I am going to have to be a bit ruder and start interrupting more often so that people remember that I do not speak French. This is out of character for me so it will be difficult. I hope next week will be more in English when my classmate, Michelle, arrives.

                On a better note, I enjoyed some good cooking today. The visiting Moroccan students and doctors made a large lunch today consisting of pasta this time consisting of appropriate spices, and an egg dish mixed with tomatoes, spices, and tuna (they called this BMW), Moroccan bread, corn, yogurt, and Moroccan coffee. For dinner, they prepared tajine, the traditional Moroccan meal, and I had a glass of Moroccan tea, so sweet sugar precipitated at the bottom. Luckily I find I like Moroccan cuisine and can’t wait to try more! Bon Appétit!