Chapter Eighty-Five

Horses and Healing

A/N – Amy continues to get better and the kids are in the zone with school and other activities. There are a lot of things about to happened such as babies and a wedding but I felt that I wanted to recognize both the Journal Storage Room and the Day Care Center. They are a part of the family and company's evolution and growth. As the overall storyline continues I plan to continuing focusing on the growth of the Borden famliy. As we move ahead I am planning on spending a lot of time on the Borden's. Client horse issues for Amy will be shared as well as some tricky surgeries for Ty. Lyndy will get some time as well as the other kids. After we get past some Borden time hold on to your hat. A lot of exciting things happening. Enjoy!

It was nearing the end of the school year and business was booming. The Borden kids were fully engaged in ending the year strongly. Georgie was ready but still had a few weeks left. Steven and the family took up the need to handle the twins who were excited and wanted to spend a lot of time helping their mom. Lying in bed one night Georgie was getting comfortable snuggling into Steven and said, "This Day Care couldn't have some at a better time. Having the two monsters there for a good part of the day is actually a relief. Babe, I love them to death but they have a lot of Maddie in them. They certainly like to hover over me." Steven smiled and held her closely, "Well Georgie they love their new sibling already and the love they have for you is perfect." Tearing up he continued, "I makes me feel so happy when I see the three of you together. And now another child, I never thought my life would be so perfect." They snuggled as Noah and Hannah knocked on the door and came in. Noah spoke in his toddler voice, "Momma, we love you." Georgie smiled and pulled them in for a hug, "Well momma and dada love you but time for bed." After one final family hug they headed back to their room. With Georgie completely out of the picture as well as both Cass and Steven not completely available, Amy and Ty were challenged to handle the normal workload as well as the increase in clients. Katie, Lyndy, Wyatt and Rusty had really stepped up their horse healing work. On the vet front Dr. Ellie started to split her time more with the Vet clinic and Miracle ranch and Dr. Mandy was almost done with her exams and was helping out as much as possible. Scott and Ty decided to bring on a couple of the third-year vet students as techs for the summer. They would be able to handle the routine vet work allowing Scott, Ty, Ellie and Mandy to handle more complex cases and the increase in surgeries as Steven would be limiting his work to new client horse vetting at Heartland and the Miracle Ranch so he could be close to his wife. Cass still had a couple of months to go so she took over training and supervising the new techs. Caleb also had a plan in place so he could be available for Cass and Ben. Clay with a little help from Wyatt would take the lead as needed. Although the plans in place was a band aid solution it seemed to be enough to keep above water.

Amy and Ty were still extremely busy even with the plan in place. As they sat in the office one morning they were comparing schedules for the day and the upcoming weeks. Over the next few weeks, Amy had almost 30 new clients coming. She sat with Ty and decided, based on severity which ones she could give to Katie and the kids. Annie had become interested in the work as well so she teamed her up with Katie so she could test the waters. As they were both going through their emails almost simultaneously they saw one that caught each of their eyes. They called out to each other at the same time and laughed as Ty as always told her to go first. "Ty you are not going to believe it. I have an email from Stuart Forrest's son, Stuart Jr. He has a horse who is a foal sired by Ceasar, remember him?" Ty came over to her and hugged her as she sat on his lap. "Yea, the Miracle Girl Horse, remember that video." She smiled giving him a quick kiss as memories of that day came flooding back, "Yea I believe that day kind of turned you on." He smiled, "I remember that day really made me realize that I wanted to be a vet. Oh and I guess I kind of thought you looked hot and stuff." She playfully smacked his chest, "Really, hot and stuff?" They laughed and she continued. "Anyway, his horse Pharaoh was injured in a jumping competition. He is a nationally recognized champion, I have heard of him. His injury is completely healed but he is hesitant on the higher jumps where he was hurt seems distracted. They are really concerned as the Olympic qualifying events are just around the corner. He wants me to work with him at his father's request." Ty smiled, "Well of course, I know you and he had some issues later but eventually he realized how amazing you are Miracle Girl." He squeezed her tight and she giggled. "Ok enough of the Miracle girl stuff. If I didn't know any better I would say you are flirting a bit?" "He leaned in kissing her neck, "Well I wouldn't be against some miracles tonight, kind of like th other night." She blushed, "Hmm, let me think about it. So what is your email about?"

"Well this is kind of amazing. The message is from a vet in Medicine Hat. The have a 4-year-old horse who had a joint trauma to his back end. Both his legs and a part of his left flank was crushed slightly and there are multiple breaks and fractures. To be honest it would be best to put the horse down but the owners are adamant to have anything done to save him. It seems their special needs daughter has a bond that has helped her to improve her life. According to the vet the horse is a member of the family and they are willing to pay whatever it cost. Here look at the x-rays." Now it was her time to join him at his desk and sit on his lap there. Ty called Steven in as well to look them over. Amy was very familiar with horse anatomy and the three of them discussed what they saw and if the horse could be saved. Ty spoke up, "Amy this is really bad, look there are multiple areas that need repair." Steve interjected, "But Ty look, here and here. These breaks are still in good alignment. As long as they keep the horse sedated and stabilized, several of these can be set and aligned. This one and these over there may be more challenging but I feel we can get them set right. This might be a good test for Mandy to assist you with this. I know for a fact that she specialized in bone repair." Ty pondered his view and looked at Amy and she agreed. "Ok, but I think we will do this on Saturday. The remainder of the week is packed so that would be the best day. Let me check with the clinic there and Mandy and we will schedule it then. And before you say anything Steven, you are not coming, Georgie would kill me." They laughed as Georgie stuck her head in the door, "You got that right Weber." As they all laughed, Amy spoke up, "Ty I want to go with you guys also. I am sure the kids can handle themselves for the day." He smiled and shook his head yes. He followed up with the vet and scheduled a call on Friday to go over the logistics. He also asked Scott to be available to participate with Zoom as his opinion would be needed as well.

Amy contacted Stuart Forrest Jr. and arranged for a Friday arrival. She wanted to get him in, have Ty look him over and then spend time with the rider, Stuart, Georgie and the horse. Since Georgie is an Olympic caliber jumper her opinion would be needed. Amy saw an opportunity to gain some more high-profile clients if this went well so she planned to give it a lot of attention. Amy and Ty went about their day which was packed with work but always made time to sneak a kiss or hug whenever they could. At dinner that night Amy filled the kids in on the urgent and high priority horses they each had. The kids of course were excited and wanted to help but she calmed them, "Guys we know you want to help out but these are two very needy cases and dad and I need to take them on alone. Girls if you want to watch me work with Pharaoh you can. I will have him in the round pen most likely when you get home. Annie, Addie and Maddie can you take care of his feed and water, I want this horse to get the Borden touch." She smiled and noticed that Lyndy and Wyatt were whispering to each other so she decided to ask them when they went to say goodnight later. They went to say good night to the kids. Maddie assured them that she would take special care of Pharaoh. Annie and Addie ensured her as well. When the got to Lyndy's room as usual Wyatt was there working with her on a project she had at school. Amy sat next to her and asked, "Ok you two what's up, I saw you two whispering at dinner." Lyndy blushed but Wyatt spoke up. "Well we wanted to ask you something." Ty scooted next to his wife as he continued. "Lyndy and I wanted to know if she could work with you on Pharaoh and I would really like to go with you guys to Medicine Hat to observe the surgery." Amy and Ty sat quiet as Lyndy continued. "Mom and dad, I love dance and school but I have found myself more and more interested in what you do. I figure if I can help it will help me decide what I want to do. You know there is a lot of pressure with this whole legacy thing." She smiled as Amy looked at her and spoke, "Honey of course you can and please don't be pressured in thinking you have to follow in my footsteps, that is your decision." Ty smiled at his two girls and looked at Wyatt. "Wyatt, Amy and I would love to have you with us, as long as you too can be apart for the day." They all laughed as he continued. "It will have to only be an observation as this is a very complex surgery. Dr. Mandy is coming and the vet from the clinic there will be assisting along with Amy. Scott is going to Zoom in so I will need your help with that." They all hugged and Ty gave the 10-minute look as they headed to their room.

Amy and Ty got in bed they held each other talking about their day and the plans for her client horse and his surgery. Ty laughed, "It was funny how you picked up on their conversation at dinner. I missed it completely. It is kind of cool that they want to experience it with us. I really think the Wyatt is considering being a vet. That would be really great." She nuzzled into his neck, "Well if he turns out a vet I know that would be awesome." "Mrs. Borden are you flirting with me." He whispered. She laughed kissing his neck, "Just getting you back for the flirting earlier. You know what that does to me." She continued to kiss him moving over his chest and then his lips. "How am I doing?" He brought her on top of him as she continued the onslaught. As things progressed they were startled when they heard a knock on the door. JT was asking to come in and seemed to be upset. Amy and Ty quickly got dressed and went to get their little boy. Amy opened the door and a crying boy jumped into her arms. They took him to their bed and calmed him down. Ty rubbed his back and Amy held him tight. "He asked, "Hey buddy what's wrong, why are you upset?" He tried to gather himself and Ty noticed he would not let go of Amy. "I had a dream and talked to Grandma. She said hello but was concerned about something. She told me to tell you to be very careful with the new horse. She said she would be watching too and said she loved all of us very much. Mommy, I am scared, you need to be very careful. I don't want you to get hurt." He started sobbing again and Amy held him as tears came to her eyes too. Ty talked to their son, "Well Lyndy is now going to help to so we will make sure that everyone keeps a close eye on this horse. Buddy we will be very safe, we promise." They sent the next half hour calming him down and he fell asleep. Normally they would take him back to his room but they decided to let him stay with them. Amy kissed Ty good night and whispered "Raincheck" in his ear.

The next morning Amy and Ty went over the plans for the next couple of days. Lyndy and Wyatt had the afternoon off of school so they would be home at lunch. They shared JT's story so Wyatt and the girls knew of his concern. Lyndy assured him, "JT we will be very careful for sure." He blushed and smiled. "I also have a question, "Mom and Dad, what does raincheck mean?" Lyndy and Wyatt choked on their food and the other girls were quiet, looking down at their plates. Ty bravely answered, "A raincheck is when you are supposed to do something or buy something and you can't. So a raincheck lets you get it later." Amy immediately changed the subject and talked about what the other kids would be doing tomorrow while Amy, Ty and Wyatt were gone. Of course JT was going fishing and Lyndy was going to go on a ride with her sisters and some friends. Lisa was having them over to Heartland for lunch but Amy reminded the younger three that Lyndy was in charge. As they walked out of the house JT whispered to Lyndy. "I bet the raincheck was for kissing. When mom said it she was kissing dad, kind of gross." Wyatt laughed, well sometime people in love like to kiss, want me to kiss Lyndy?" He looked at the two of them with disgust. "Please not in front of me or I may throw up." They all laughed as Amy and Ty listened on. He leaned into her, "You know it is going to get harder and harder to hide our kissing from him." She quickly kissed his cheek, "Oh well I think we will manage." The kids headed off to school as they walked over to the office. They were having a meeting about the arrival of Pharaoh and then Ty had a call with the Medicine Hat Clinic lead Vet along with Steve, Mandy and Scott. Wyatt and Lyndy got home at lunch and joined her parents for a quick bite. At 1:00pm sharp, a large Forrest Farms truck and trailer pulled into the Ranch driveway. The four of them along with a very pregnant Georgie headed out to see them. Steven joined them as well since Noah and Hannah were at the Day Care. Amy walked up and surprisingly saw three people get out.

She did a double take as an older gentleman stepped up to her, "Well hello there Miracle Girl." Amy replied with a surprise in her voice, "Stuart Forrest, oh my it is so good to see you. I thought you lived in Europe at your farm over there?" He laughed, "Well I do but I have been in town checking in and seeing my grandkids so when Stu told me what was up with Pharaoh, of course I recommended you. This is my son Stuart Jr. but we call him Stu." Amy and the others shook his hand and Amy introduced Lyndy and Wyatt. Georgie stepped up and shook their hands as well as Stuart gasp. "Oh my looks like you are having a baby, like soon." Steven shook his hand and introduced himself, Yes in a matter of weeks." They all laughed as a ruckus was heard at the back of the trailer. Stu spoke up, "Well that is Pharaoh and he is a live wire. Let's see if his handler got him out alright." And then for Amy came shock number two. A women was haltering a beautiful horse their way. When she looked at Amy she responded, "Brianna is that you? The two women went to embrace as Amy was overwhelmed. After she showed her father that she didn't have the desire to show jump, they stayed in touch but after she left for college they had disconnected. "Brianna, it is so good to see you, how have you been?" Stuart laughed, "You mean since you talked her out of being a show jumper." Brainna jabbed him, "Stop dad. Well at University I decided to become a teacher and met my husband. We live in Winnipeg and have 2 children. And dad, thanks to Amy I was able to realize what my path was, so there." She continued, "Well I am in town too, kind of a family reunion and whey I heard they were coming to see you I couldn't resist. And I heard you married this guy and have 5 kids and this amazing business, are you kidding me." Amy smiled as Ty put his arm around her, "Yes on all counts and I would love for you to meet our kids. Is your family here with you?" She smiled, "Actually they are coming in tonight for long weekend. We have school off Monday and since dad was coming we decided to visit. We don't get to see him enough." As she hugged her father. Stuart stepped in, "Well we need to have you all over Sunday for a BBQ, does that work for you guys?" Amy answered, "Of course." Stu laughed, "Ok enough mushy stuff let's get to work."

Amy looked over Pharaoh and ended at his eyes. He was a troubled horse, she could see it in his eyes. She also saw fear and thinking of what JT had told them she made a comment that anyone who worked with him would need to be on alert. "Stu, his eyes tell me that he is scared and extremely touchy. Look how he reacts when I try to touch his muzzle, it's like a defense mechanism." He looked on and commented, "You know I have noticed that but not as much. He is very familiar with his rider, me and the rest of the staff who works with him. Many have mentioned that he seems to settle only when you greet him and he hears your voice." Ty and Steven were taking mental notes. Amy continued, "Well Ty and Steven will look him over, so let's go to the house and talk about what happened. Ty can you come to the house when you are done?" He smiled and kissed her cheek and headed with Steven to the exam room. As they walked to the house Stuart commented, "Amy, you and Ty have an amazing place her and I have done some research on your company, do you really have an onsite Day Care for employees?" She smiled pointing down the road that led to it. "Well I have to say you and the young man that yelled at me have really done well." They headed into the house and Lyndy got drinks as they sat around the dining room table. Wyatt pulled a more comfortable chair over for Georgie. Brianna spoke up as they sat, "Well we all know who Georgie Weber is and I am sure this is your daughter but who is this chivalrous young man. Amy smiled proudly, "This is my oldest daughter Lyndy and her boyfriend Wyatt. Wyatt actually lives with us." She hesitated and looked at him, "His family lives in the states so until he is 18 we have guardianship responsibility. His parents died years ago and we all just lost his grandma. She was an amazing lady and she raised him since he was young." Brianna looked up smiling, "So you are telling me that you oldest daughter's boyfriend lives with you? Really." Lyndy and Wyatt blushed as Amy shook her head yes.

As they waited for Ty they went over the entire story of what happened along with all of his accomplishments. Stu provided Amy with a number of videos of his accomplishments and the accident. He also had the medical paperwork from his recovery to give to Ty. Amy spoke up, "Well this is all great information and I agree he is an amazing horse. Has he always had the same rider? Stu confirmed that he had and is a top ranked jumper but he was out of town. As they continued talking Ty and Steven returned. They both kissed their wives cheeks and greeted everyone. Brianna laughed, "You guys sure do kiss a lot." Everyone laughed as Ty began to go over what they found. "You know physically he is great, actually better than that. He is built to be the perfect jumper. But we noticed something. He seems to have delayed reactions to motion and sound. Now that could just be from the trauma of the accident but it could be something else." Looking over at the thumb drive in Amy's hand, "Are those videos of him jumping." Amy confirmed and also mentioned there was one of the accident. "That's good, Steven and I will review them and we have already consulted with your vet team and set up a consultation. I have seen trauma do strange things to horses but this is definitely something we can't ignore." He looked at Amy, Lyndy and Georgie. We think you guys need to be alert at all times and Georgie don't even get near him. Guys he is not dangerous on purpose but he is skittish and unpredictable. If our beliefs are confirmed we can rectify this but we will have to do more test early next week." The Forrest's agreed and Stu said, "Whatever it takes guys, he is a champion but is a part of our family and we want him to be happy and healthy." They set up a schedule and Stuart reminded them of the BBQ invite. He looked at Georgie as well to let he know her family was welcomed as well. Georgie laughed holding her belly, "Well we will see what this one thinks and to warn you we have twins under two years old and to be honest, they are a handful." Brainna laughed again, "What is this place a baby factory?" Amy laughed, "Why do you think we built the Day Care." They hugged and said their goodbyes.

The next morning was a little busier than a typical Saturday. After an early breakfast that included Dr. Mandy, she along with Amy, Ty and Wyatt loaded up to leave for Medicine Hat. Jack showed up for JT and the girls got ready to their trail ride that would include lunch. Jack invited the travelers to Heartland for dinner and the gladly accepted if they would be back in time. The surgery was scheduled a little before noon so the team headed out a 7:30am for the three-hour ride. On the ride Steven and Ty talked about the surgery and Mandy asked Amy, "So is breakfast always like that at your house?" Amy laughed, "And lunch, dinner and almost everything else we do." She just smiled in disbelief. They pulled up to the clinic as the local vet greeted them. They headed in to see a very sedated horse and after they checked on the setup, they all scrubbed up. After a review of the most recent x-rays and a final surgical process discussion they were ready. Amy and Wyatt would be there for support but Ty, Mandy and the local vet would be doing the surgery. Wyatt had Scott on Zoom and he moved in and out so he could see the procedure. Ty and Mandy first started on the clean breaks on the hind legs. As expected they aligned well and setting them was successful. They then moved to the left rear leg joint and repaired a more difficult separation fracture. Ty used a piece of bone from the horses femur bon and screw it in place securing the joint. Scott had done a similar procedure before and talked them through it. Amy made it a point to step out in the waiting room to update the owners on the progress. She was able to answer their questions and was happy when their daughter gave her a big hug. She knew they were trying to help her best friend. After taking a short break they began to work on the final and most difficult part of the reconstruction. The hind end had multiple areas that had been crushed and severely damaged.

Making sure the horse was still stable they began. They successfully made the incision and removed the skin when the fractures were. Ty and Scott were confident that it would be able to be returned once competed so they kept in a solution that retained the viability of the tissue. When they opened up they realized the extent of the damage. Scott immediately spoke up. "Ty and Mandy we need to repair the areas that we can and use mesh and surgical glue for the rest." Mandy spoke up, "I actually sat in on a similar surgery on a dog and you are right Scott. If we repair the damage and use the mesh and glue we should be able to stabilize the entire hind end. Thank goodness no vital organs are damaged so if we are successful and get him closed up, nature will do the rest. I remember after some time the dog fully recovered." So the three of them continued for almost two hours and completed the work. After the last suture was placed on the tissue they sat back satisfied with the result. They cleaned up and went over the aftercare with the staff. The horse would need to be kept in a sling for several days. Since horses recover quickly, Ty and Scott recommended that they try to get him back on his feet on Tuesday. They set up daily zoom calls so they could check in on the horse's progress. When they were ready, Amy lead the team out to the waiting room. Amy introduced the team except for the local vet whom they knew well. The owners were ecstatic and the young girl hugged all three of the doctors, Amy and even Wyatt. She laughed, "You are cute, do you have a girlfriend." Her parents looked at her sternly but Wyatt responded. "Well yea I do and actually it is their daughter. But I can definitely be your friend." Amy and Ty were overwhelmed with his kindness to the young lady. She smiled and hugged him again. The visitors left to another round of hugs. The ride home was very upbeat and they arrived just when the late dinner was starting. Ty and Mandy went over the details of the surgery but not the gory part. Colton came as well and hugged Mandy tightly, "I am so proud of you." Amy told Lyndy that she had some competition as the family laughed and joked about it and talked about the kids day as well. It was good to be together but Amy, Ty and Wyatt were very tired. It was an early bedtime for everyone.

The next day after breakfast Amy and Lyndy went to spend time with Pharaoh. They decided to lunge him and Ty decided to watch along with the kids. JT was on edge and quietly watched his mom and sister work. They stood together in the middle of the round pen but Amy took the lead. Lyndy was responsible to intently watch the horse as her mom worked. Soon, Georgie, Steven and others joined in watching the high-profile horse and the Miracle Girl interact. Amy spoke to the horse as Georgie narrated for the group of people. "See there, Ty I think you and Steven are right. He is the most skittish horse have ever seen. Did you see that, Amy positioned herself and his reaction was delayed. You guys know this but horses sight, hearing and smell are well above what we can do. That horse was genuinely startled." Amy looked over and smiled in agreement. She didn't want to lose her focus. The join up continued for over an hour but Amy and Lyndy were steadfast. They were giving this horse all that they had. After an hour and a half a tired horse seemed to be calming a bit. The join up was never achieved but progress was made. After they went to the office so Georgie could sit down. Steven spoke first, "I have to think that the accident did some damage to the ear and possibly eyes. It's like that he doesn't hear or see as well as he should." Amy agreed, "Every time I approached him it seemed he did a double take and when I spoke to him I had to repeat myself often." Ty added, "Well Steven and I will do some research. And let's talk to Cass, I know she did a research paper on the sensory design of a horse, I bet she can give some guidance. Wyatt stabled the horse and they all headed home to relax. Georgie had decided to go to the BBQ at the Forrest's place as long as the Borden girls promised to take care of the twins who were well into the terrible twos a little earlier than expected.

The BBQ was a lot of fun and the family's catching up was great. All the kids got along well including Stu's two little girls. The family was excited to hear that Amy and Lyndy had already spent some time with Pharaoh. Being horse people as well their questions were a little more challenging, in a good way, for the Miracle Ranch team. Stuart was very pleased with the progress so far but was a bit overwhelmed with all of the kids and how great they were getting along. He laughed, "You know Amy when you laid me out about Brianna I finally realized that family trumps championships and ribbons. Seeing these kids here makes me feel that the change I made was well worth it." Everyone smiled in agreement. Ty and Steven sat with the adults and went through their preliminary thoughts. Ty also brought Cass onto the phone to share some her expertise. The Forrest clan completely understood and agreed with the thoughts they had. Brianna asked if Cass wanted to come over as well. Cass joked, "Well like Georgie I am pregnant as well and am a little out of sorts today." Brianna just put her hands up in the air, "Really you all are crazy." Ty then detailed what they were considering from a surgical point of view. Amy then went over what she would need to do after the surgery was successful. Everyone agreed and enjoyed the rest of the time together. After the kids were in bed Amy and Ty laid close talking about Pharaoh. He smiled, "You working with Spartan was the reason I fell in love with you. Every time you work with a horse I fall in love with you again, even more." They both knew it would be a while before they fell asleep.