Originally from: Sue Burton
                        
Hello Everyone,

Thank you all so much for your time and trouble in writing down your thoughts regarding our sick sheep – EMMA. I fully appreciate your efforts.

TODAYS UPDATE

X-rays could not get through her fat and therefore showed nothing
Scan showed nothing
A blood smear showed new white cells indicative of infection but is that infection along the lines of pymetra or is that a foreign body which is causing infection?
She is definitely showing signs of abdominal pain. The laminitis is much improved but she seems to be weak on her back end ( yet she wasnt a week ago) She reacts to having her spine pinched or pressed hard but nothing has happened to her to suggest pelvic or spinal damage.
Her bouts of pain are intermittent and can be so intense that she pushes her head against the wall. These periods of pain though last 30 seconds to a minute and happen probably once or twice an hour. Sometimes the pain is such that she will push against the floor to lever her body off the floor to release the pressure.
Our Vet like us, is running out of ideas. On the presumption that there may be an infection of some sort he has changed her antibiotic to baytril and she is now on finadyne painkiller which is more effective in abdominal pain. He wants to try this for a few days and give it a chance to see if it does help her at all. Otherwise he is thinking of doing an exploratory laparotomy on Thursday.
The rest of the time Emma is content. She is eating her hay well, chewing the cud, is responsive to human company, her droppings are normal and she is weeing ok. Everything seems fine except these episodes of severe abdominal pain and the low white blood cell count. She tested negative for ketosis(?). Nothing showed up in her droppings.

Another sleepless night this end I fear!

Thanks everyone

Sue