FEBRUARY - 2010

SMOKER & ME

Smoke 1-day old <                                        > Smoke 5-days old

He is a Bull Calf, Grey and Blue, I am told highly unusual.

His mother died giving birth in the middle of winter when it was actually 34 degrees in Florida
Without Collostrum he was left to die in an open field with relentless high winds
A neighboring ranch owner somehow heard him moaning, called the remote owner of that cattle ranch
The owner drove to it and found him, normally if another cow would not pick up/feed such a calf, it would die But this time the owner made a call from his cell phone and asked: "do you want a calf?"

In the freezing weather, I was just two months out of recovery almost dying of renal failure in a hospital and after 14 blood tests coming back with Mycoplasma Incognitus/Fermentans and Radiation Poisoning For the first month I was wheelchair and bed bound, could not lift 5 pounds, lost 30 pounds in 25 days, looked like I was a third stage dying AIDS victim, and after two months of being on a special regimen I gained 5 pounds and could walk but not run

When Smoke was brought the owner who gave him away did not expect him to live, he had no antibodies he needed to drink from his mother who was dead - so I became his mama and even though the doctor told me I must be careful not to even scratch my hand, for if I bled a little, my immune system was now so low I would not be able to fight it off,

BUT THAT NIGHT - Smoker needed me, he was shivering and only had one bottle of milk to live on having been left out in the field in the cold for one day. I took four lounge chair pads and put them on the floor chips of the barn and asked to be covered up with two blankets and was left with two bottles of water for myself and a flashlight, Smoker slept on my arm, laid his head down being so weak and cuddled next to my body to be warm.

After an hour in the dark of night I knew I was in trouble, it was very damp and freezing in the barn which was not enclosed. I was getting cold and only had some hay behind my back which was propped against the wood wall which was also cold. My jacket was not what you would use to go out in winter, but I was now alone with Smoke and I did not want to move to wake him, had the use of one arm to take a sip of water every few minutes, it was too cold and uncomfortable to sleep. I prayed all night for him, I begged God that he would live, and I prayed that I would live and not get pneumonia or die myself, someone else now needed me and not just for one night, he would be needing me for some time to come. 

There is much more to this story, Smoke lived through the night, so did I. I took a hot shower until the hot water heater went cold, to warm my bones.

(The first three nights were a test of endurance and commitment, it took all I had to stay alive myself.)

Today he is still alive and so am I. He has had to be taken to the Vet 4 times and has had three plasma transfusions to build antibodies, he is now worth some $3800.00 - people with cattle ranches and the vet said, no one would spend that type of money on a calf, normally they make it or die.

He is now six weeks old and a bundle of Joy. When he hears my voice, he moos for me, runs and bucks when he is in the air. I feed him and wipe his mouth, he now poops without having to wipe his bum as he was so sick he had the runs for several weeks, it was like caring for a dying cancer patient.

The weather finally broke, this was the worst Florida winter everyone has said. I lay down in his pen on the grass and he lays down with me, sometimes we sleep in the afternoon on weekends when I do not have to work. Make no mistake, I've been warned he is going to be 2500 pounds and the type of playing I do with him now, he will kill me or break my bones if I don't watch it - but he is loving and for as long as I can rub his body and have him chase me around, I will not stop for he is too cute and loving and needs his mother, I am he.  But he is getting strong and his head is hard, he almost broke my ribs already, just feeding him is exhausting.

Smoke is not out of the clear, the Vet had some bad news for me recently that his count was still low, and a sample she had sent out to test showed the first plasma bag was good but the second two (he had to be taken back two weeks after the first one) was obtained from a different cow and the company did not check the blood for antibodies. If Smoke cannot make enough on his own, he will need more Plasma.

His name is Smoke, not Smokey. I call him Smokers because he is my little boy and a bundle of joy, a child of nature and peace from the insanity of this world and the hell I have lived through for the last 20 years. I will keep you updated on his progress, I would be broken if he does not make it, he is now family.