Abi vs. Heifer: She takes it in the teeth. Literally.

Life in the "hinter lands" can sometimes be startlingly swift with it's lessons... and when you work with big critters the possibility for injury is always lurking.

  Well, last Wednesday Abi tried to stop a cow with her face... and got her front teeth forcibly re-arranged... 

 Some of the family were helping the neighbors work cattle, towards the very end a two year old heifer barreled through Abi's attempt to block the runway... poor kid came out of it with a serious hole in her "smile"; the 2 fronts and one on the left were smashed pretty bad. The teeth looked like they had disappeared, but actually were pushed up into her gum pretty far.
  It looked really, really ugly, blood all over, and some significant swelling going on by the time she got home with the Mrs. neighbor.
 
  She was a trooper through it all, and actually said "It doethen't hurt muth!" while we packed it in ice and then went straight up to the "big city".

  Thankfully we've got access to a great doc and his team, who got her fixed as well as possible right away. They got the teeth back down mostly into place, and set a "cast" on them.  Two are broken somewhat, (I can't see them with the cast on, but they looked like less than half is missing.)  Those two will need reworked at some point, (if they all heal back in at the roots as hoped, those poor things were pretty disturbed!) 
  Spent a good chunk of the day in town with that, but Abi kept saying she had very little pain, so that was a blessing!
  Got her home that evening and she was on meds and ice packs for a few days there; will probably have to have one or two teeth rebuilt a little... but it could have been a lot worse! (So I get to do all her chores for a while! )

  We're so thankful to have such a great oral surgeon here... The doc and his team got her right in as soon as we got to N.P. and had her shaped up first priority. What a blessing to have great people to work with during emergencies like this!

 The moral of this story is, as always: bovine creatures are amazingly powerful, and should never be underestimated! 

  Thanks for your prayers everybody, we appreciate them! And yes, she is drinking healing herb teas and doing everything possible to speed recovery in that way. I have been passing on everyone's responses and encouragements to her, and she really appreciated everyone thinking of her!
  
She went back in on Monday for post-op, and they said it looked good so far.
    So time will tell!

 Again, we appreciate all the prayers offered by everyone... and with the Lord's blessing, I am confidant this will turn out well. She is a great kid, and a good-healer; so we'll go forward from here!

  Contrary to "internet requirements", we didn't take a picture... that is the sort of thing Mom doesn't want to see twice. Once was too one too many!