Lab Results

Previously on why Tristan is a special snowflake who loves to confound his vet.

Last night at 9:30 pm - bless her - my vet called with the lab results.

Being a vet, she led with "It's not too bad!"

Whew.

What follows will be a somewhat cursory summary; the connection wasn't terrific, and I have not the slightest idea how to spell the actual names of things she was telling me. She will be sending me the full lab report from the pathologist ASAP. (She probably, I don't know, had to go feed her baby or something last night after getting off the phone with me, jeez.) She also has to talk to the pathologist personally, as all she has right now is the report that arrived by email.

Here, have last night's sunset to break up text.

Important takeaways:

- the biopsy samples looked weird because they are weird; still no clear diagnosis
- no cancerous cells seen in the samples, and they were both good, clear samples

There are three possibilities for the lump.

The first is essentially a parasite reaction. Apparently there are flies that burrow under skin and cause lumps. There were no larvae seen on the sample, but the rest of the pathology fits this possibility. She had a specific one she thought was the culprit but I did not catch the name, and could not find it even after an hour of Googling. Way to be obscure, Tris. Solution: intensive worming regimen with moxidectin.

The second is just super-weird granulation tissue (kind of like the world's weirdest proud flesh). I didn't catch a solution to this. I'm not sure there is one other than wait and watch and make sure it doesn't take off. At least it's in an easy place.

The third is a mast cell tumor. These are apparently very rare in horses, and vet thinks this is the least likely possibility for a lot of reasons, chief among them that there were no cancer cells seen on the samples. If it is mast cell, they do not tend to metastasize, so that's good news. Solution: probably just what we did, inserting the beads of cisplastin into the tumor.

At some point today, vet and I will connect so that she can get me 2-3 vials of epinephrine. Apparently as mast cell tumors break down, they can release large amounts of histamine, which will basically mimic anaphylactic shock. So Tris will get an equine epi-pen just in case, and as the vet said, these are just good things to have around a barn. Vet was antsy enough about this possibility to say to me if I traveled with him I should bring a cooler and these vials. Eep. I reassured her we were going nowhere and he would be watched constantly, and then I seriously considered the possibility of sleeping in the barn for the next few weeks. Except, drat, stupid wedding. Hm.

So, keep on keeping on, I guess? Now that our drama seems to be receding (KNOCK ALL THE WOOD), my focus is back on fitness and setting us up for the winter. If we don't have a good base and a good schedule heading into winter, we'll be lost again.