As I said Guy was unsure as to whether or not he would use "Stubby" for breeding purposes, but while both birds were still fairly young "Stubby" mated with a Dark Check Huskin Van Riel hen. This little hen was slightly older than "Stubby", and she had clocked a couple of times during the season. Guy thought the situation over and decided to keep the pair and bet on their offspring.
The first born of the young couple was a single hatch that turned out to be a beautiful Grey Grizzle Hen! She was even more physically attractive that "Stubby" had been in his youth! Since this tiny baby was only a single hatch, she was transferred to the young bird loft in seemingly no time at all. This allowed "Stubby" and his young bride to quickly work on another round of youngsters. The first bird was hatched on April 7, 2001. Guy was quite surprised when his 2001 AU Bands arrived from Charles Siegel and Son, he had ordered 100 bands, and in the year 2001 the bands were numbered 01-100! The next pair of babies hatched out on June 5, 2001 and were numbered 65 and 66. They were both White Grizzles and appeared to both be hens.
On the night of June 11, 2001, Guy stayed in the loft until 11:00 P.M. cleaning all three of the rooms in which breeding was chaotically taking place! He did not remember whether or not he saw "Stubby", because the work was difficult and tedious, and his attention was very focused on the job at hand. He took the opportunity to clean the lofts at this particular time as his family had left for Louisiana for a week so this was an opportune time to perform a particularly time consuming activity.
When Guy returned from work at Hill's Drugs in Hardy, Arkansas, where he is the Pharmacist in Charge, he was completely ill prepared to witness what he was about to see! He arrived shortly after 6:00 P.M., as was the usual time, and as he was walking from the truck to the barn, Guy saw "Stubby" walking into the barn. It did not take long to realize that 25% of "Stubby's" body was missing! Guy rushed up to "Stubby" and was appalled to find that one side of his entire chest was missing, and he had a huge, gaping wound that extended all the way into the opposite cavity of the chest! Oh God, how could he still be alive much less walking? "Stubby had dried blood all over his plumage, and when Guy picked him up he discovered that the remaining flesh had a horrible gangrenous smell! This is what made Guy question whether he had been injured that day or the day before that. Whenever the injury was inflicted, there was no doubt that it was the talons of a Cooper's Hawk that had done that much damage!
Guy was nearly paralyzed momentarily as he pondered what on earth he was going to do! He quickly made the decision to take "Stubby" into the house. Once inside of the house he was faced with the same problem; what was he going to do for "Stubby?" What did he have on hand to render treatment, what would he do if he found something with which to render treatment?
Guy quickly reverted back to old behavior and called his friend Gerry on the phone. He described the horrible situation in detail to Gerry, then he said, "I don't know why in the hell I called you, you know as well as I do that I am going to do whatever I think is best!" Gerry tried not to chuckle, because he knew that Guy was very upset, and he also knew that no amount of advice on his behalf would change the situation or the outcome of Guy's decision! As Guy hung up the phone, he suddenly remembered that he had some Tincture of Merthiolate, some Permectin, and that he could make some Normal Saline. He very gently rinsed "Stubby's" feathers off with warm soapy water, and after he had made 200cc of Normal Saline, he transferred 60cc into a squeeze bottle and began to rinse the hardened, putrid, flesh. His thought processes were beginning to flow more smoothly now that the initial shock had worn off, and he began to focus on the critical nature of the job at hand!
As Guy peered into the cavity, his eyes met those of "Stubby's!" There was nothing but implicit trust in the little bird's eyes, and he did not struggle or appear to even be concerned about the gravity of his condition! This, of course, made Guy ever more determined to do whatever he had to do to help his pathetic little man! Initially "Stubby" even had flies flying around the wound, and the stench could be smelled twenty feet away! Guy took a cotton swab, dipped the end into a container of Hydrogen Peroxide, and began trying to determine the extent of the wound. Since "Stubby" and his little bride had just had a pair of youngsters, what remained of his crop was filled with what looked like globules of fat. This, of course, was the digested food that was to be regurgitated back into the mouths of his hungry babes. After swabbing sufficiently with the cotton swab, Guy found a bottle of 70% ethanol and used it to sterilize a sharp pocketknife and a pair of forceps. He then used the forceps to pluck the feathers all around the huge wound. The next procedure was to excise some of the rotten flesh with the sterile blade of the knife. Once enough of the hardened flesh had been softened with the Normal Saline he had prepared, Guy very gently began to slice into the flesh. He tediously and carefully excised away the gangrenous tissue without so much as encountering a drop of blood. Now, one must appreciate the courage that was exemplified by the stability of "Stubby" as Guy worked on what remained of his tiny body!
After the superficial cleansing and surgical care was completed, Guy mixed the Tincture of Merthiolate, the Permectin Solution, and a sufficient amount of Normal Saline in a pint bottle with a spray like trigger in lieu of a lid. He swished the mixture around several times, and then he began spraying the pink, stained, liquid thoroughly over the area of greatest concern. When Guy was satisfied that he had properly debrided and cleansed the entire area, he examined the area closely. He decided to use a dropper to see if "Stubby" could swallow water. When he tried to get a dropperful of water down "Stubby's" mouth, the water went down his throat and right out onto his chest! It was at this point that Guy realized that the esophagus had been severed, and "Stubby's" GI tract would need to be repaired or replaced if he were to have any chance at survival whatsoever!
As night fell upon the Ozarks that warm June evening, Guy prepared a box in which "Stubby" could stay with him by his bed in the house. Guy did not get any sleep that night as he worried and wondered about what he should do next. Daylight seemed not to appear for quite a long time, but as the light began to shine through bedroom window, Guy was up and showered, shaved, and on his way to Hardy with "Stubby" nestled in the bottom of a training basket! During the night, Guy had made the decision to leave early with "Stubby" and go straight to the Veterinarian's Clinic.
Upon arrival at the clinic, Guy was met with the news that both Veterinarians were out of town and would not be back in the clinic for several days. Oh gosh, what unexpected and disturbing news this was! Guy had the presence of mind to do some quick thinking, and he asked if they had I.V.'s with D5W and Normal Saline and some suture material, needles, sponges, and anything else the Vet's would use in surgical procedures. He left the clinic with a box full of materials, and took "Stubby" to the pharmacy where he hooked up an I.V. using D5W. By this time "Stubby" was becoming severely dehydrated, and his blood sugar must have been nearly flat! "Stubby" spent the day in the pharmacy with an I.V. dripping slowly into a vein on his thigh. Again, it should not be emphasized enough, how the little bird did not ever fight against the tender care that was being administered!
After work that day, Guy rushed home and again called his friend Gerry! He informed Gerry of everything that had transpired since their last conversation, and he then sprung on Gerry the plan that he had conceived! He told Gerry, "I know this sounds crazy", but you must help me perform an esophageal transplant on "Stubby!" Gerry said, "You are crazy as hell if you think I am going to help you with that!" Guy said to Gerry, "look you "little fart", if you could do micro surgery on a damned Rhesus Monkey, then you damned sure can help me with this! Gerry squirmed around with language that seemed to make sense, but it just rolled off of Guy's back, he knew what he wanted to do and would not settle for anything less! He told Gerry that "Stubby's" father was in the loft, and he would probably be a suitable donor. Gerry said that he had not done anything even close to this in many, many years, and besides, he probably did not even have any suture material or needles or anything of that nature around. Guy immediately penetrated his defensive story by telling Gerry that he had already figured on that, and he had picked up everything they would need while at the Vet's Clinic that morning!
More to Come!
Stubby's Story, page 1 | Stubby's Story, page 2 | Stubby's Story, page 3 | Stubby's Story, page 4 |
