FULL CIRCLE WITH BARBARO
 | Cool Slideshows |
by Carole Shaw
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When it comes to staying focused on what really matters, Barbaro's health is first on his true fans' minds. Thursday, Steve Ginsburg - of the United Kingdom's Guardian Unlimited's Reuters - summed up Bobby's life as being a series of small steps. His life's daily struggles and baby steps forward are identical to what is being accomplished for saving horses every time the sun rises and sets.
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As each day freshly starts with " Barbaro's (Bobby's) quest for survival," our own begins with more emailing, updating, and calling Senators' offices. It has become as ritualistic as Barbaro's own forty-five minute, afternoon walks with Dr. Richardson or Michael Matz by his side.
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While enjoying each other's company, there is profound joy in discovering a horse thought euthanized on October 19th at Longmeadow Rescue Ranch was not. Turns out to be an entirely diffierent one called Darlin - all due to a newsarticle mistakenly calling her"Darlin Darla."
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Miraculously, Darla is indeed alive but still hospitalized close to Missouri's Humane Society. Like Bobby, she is off critical condition, stable but no longer seriously guarded with pneumonia completely gone. Though "not out of the woods yet," Darla's joyous survival news made our Thankgiving Day. She also has daily wound cleaning and dressing changes like our hero. And, even better news came.
"The Humane Society of Missouri’s Longmeadow Rescue Ranch and Northland insurance company have finalized an agreement giving ownership of the surviving horses in the horrific tractor-trailer accident on I-44 September 27 to the Humane Society of Missouri. In exchange, the Humane Society will not seek recovery of costs associated with the rescue, treatment and care of the animals. To date, these costs exceed $84,000." (Excerpt from Longmeadow Rescue)
Darla was one of the 23 horse survivors of 41 in that terrible Missouri accident on September 27th. Their original fate of going to slaughter at the Cavel, Illinois horse plant was changed forever instantly, making national headlines.
Thankfully, many Barbaro Ambassadors became horse heros with Bobby's fans sponsoring the most critically injured Willie, including Mortie, Darlin, DD, Sue, Hocks, Princess, Stan, Jackpot, Buckwheat, Momma, Spirit, Frankie, and others. The day we all sponsored a horse was like sponsoring Bobby himself. Those who donated can be found with their special horses on our Ambassadors sidelink of www.campaigningforbarbaro.com .
Thankfully, many Barbaro Ambassadors became horse heros with Bobby's fans sponsoring the most critically injured Willie, including Mortie, Darlin, DD, Sue, Hocks, Princess, Stan, Jackpot, Buckwheat, Momma, Spirit, Frankie, and others. The day we all sponsored a horse was like sponsoring Bobby himself. Those who donated can be found with their special horses on our Ambassadors sidelink of www.campaigningforbarbaro.com .
Figuratively sitting on a roller coaster circling a racing track with Barbaro (Bobby), my spirits were renewed in greater strength just like Bobby's will and heart digging deeper and gaining greater strength. Gretchen Jackson is right in her saying, "I think people saw everybody support and love the horse through its injury rather than discard it. Everything is disposable in society now and maybe people see this as something that isn't disposable. It's valued."
Millions of Bobby's fans desire understanding his struggles through laminitis/surgery setbacks to help their own horses and themselves. Like legendary Seabiscuit in the late 1930's, fans identify with Bobby's injuries similiar to their own physical ailments. A prominent trainer like Mike Rea would forever be interconnected to Bobby himself. Moving beyond despair has helped us and others care and share a deeper concern for and willingness to sponsor needy horses within our own states.
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Life's caring circle seems to demand it of us. "Here's somebody with catastrophic injury and still life goes on...We were all pretty much in shock watching it. It was unbelievable," Mrs. Jackson told Reuters.
Bobby's devastating injuries and surgeries directly parallel with Mike Rea's (Fair Hill Trainer who suffered life-threatening brain stem injuries) and our families which identified even more, struggling to overcome life's tough hurdles. My mother had orthopedic leg surgery identical to Bobby's. She shattered her left leg three weeks after Bobby's Preakness accident. She had screws exactly like him, right down to the titanium plates.
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Hospitalized about an hour from Barbaro in Pennsylvania, she was referred to as "Barbaro's companion room-mate" by the nursing staff. Prior to and following her five-hour emergency surgery, came my three jawbone transplant and sinus surgeries for severe fracture reconstruction.
Bobby's unrelenting will to live somehow just kept our family going no matter what life threw our way - floods, killer tornados, and surgery setbacks - like him, our unwaivering faith is helping us rise up and over life's hurdles. If this horse can survive the odds of five surgeries, by sheer will and love, so can our family.
Through flooding rains and medical bills, like Mike Rea and Bobby, we continued to move beyond pain, suffering and as Mike Rea's family calls it "Beyond Brokenness." Coming full circle with Bobby is part of God's saving grace - His Horsewhisperer's way.
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