Thanks
for checking in!
If you have adopted a horse from ASAP, please send your own "farm
updates" to Susan at
asapinc@mwt.net
ASAP will have its next board meeting at 7:00 pm on Tuesday of
next week.
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January
6,
2003
Happy New Year!
Once again this
note to you comes during my lunch break at school. I have my oatmeal
bread, with a slice of low-fat cheese crammed in between the slices,
some Kashi crackers, raisins, and skim milk! This comes after
the holidays, as I was very generous to myself in eating anything
I could find within my sight! Now I must pay the Piper, I guess...sigh...
I want to give a
HUGE praise report and tell everyone that my eye is healed! I
went to a specialist on Dec. 18, and he prescribed ibuprofin every
four hours and steroid drops to be taken every two hours while
I was awake. My SED rate was 122, up to six times what a normal
rate is, and doctors were concerned that I would need to be referred
over to a rheumatologist for investigation of dreaded disorders
such as Lupus, Arthritis, or Lyme's Disease. AS I started reading
about SED rates, I became increasingly alarmed at the possible
causes of my episcleritis....up to and including inflammatory
bowel disease, Krohn's Disease, and even CANCER! The fear began
to set in, and I found myself crying on my way home from school.
The next day I saw no change in my eye, but by Friday I had made
a conscious decision to remain hopeful and pray a lot. On Friday
after school, I was headed home with my gifts from the kids at
school and feeling the spirit of Christmas. I started asking God
"why" questions, though, and wondering if I would really
be healed of this eye problem. All of a sudden I felt goosebumps
envelop my being from my arms up to my head and down my body,
and I was overcome by emotion. I felt as though God was performing
a miracle right there in the car on highway 35 as I drove down
the Mississippi Great River Road! When I got home, I ran to the
mirror in the bathroom, and lo and behold! My eye was better!
Not immediately clear, but better. By evening, my eye had completely
cleared, and has remained clear ever since! That is the best Christmas
present I could have gotten, and I thank every one of you for
being there for me and keeping me in your thoughts and prayers.
I did have a little scare when I woke up Sunday morning after
wearing my contacts all day on Saturday ... and saw my eye slightly
red. I continue my steroid drops 2x per day and am totally off
the ibuprofin, as it was tearing my stomach to pieces!!!!! Remember
me if you think of it - so that my episcleritis never returns
again!
Christmas was great
and busy - too busy - and I had too much of that "Martha
spirit" that pastors preach about, and that I have been accused
of having. I want everything to be right everywhere, and so my
works and performance exceed my ability to be able to just "chill"
- sit down and enjoy everyone despite a mess. I am working on
this!!!!! EVen in the barn - if my husband takes out a bale of
hay and opens it on the floor in the barn and leaves part of a
bale in the shavings, it bugs me to death. I pick up the hay,
throw the bale outside the barn doorway, and quickly rake the
hay remnants outside the barn. It drives my husband crazy, but
I simply cannot stand a mess! Is this some awful disease? It must
be my European upbringing - why, we have friends who even put
linoleum down on the floor of their garages and wash the linoleum
every time there is one drop of oil or antifreeze or coolant on
it! Now, I know I'll never be like that!
We were able to
drive to South Dakota for a few days after Christmas, thanks to
the support of one of our great volunteers, Andrea Hanson, and
her sister(s). Andrea did chores for us each day - filling water
tanks, separating horses out for special feedings, feeding, cleaning,
and showing horses to potential adopters. WE love you, Andrea!
Bryan and Kim kept the updates going, and Lorraine did the small
animal care in the house so no one was too lonely or too hungry.
Recently, volunteer Adrienne De Master agreed to foster two geldings
for us which are returning to the program - Ultimate Sam and Touch
of Greatness. She weathered the ice and snow on Saturday with
her stock trailer to come and pick up horses to free up space
for incoming horses from another foster farm in Illinois. Special
thanks to Adrienne and Lisa Goodman of Waukegan, who has generously
provided free foster care for five of our horses recently who
needed a "lay-over" between Illinois and Wisconsin -
what would ASAP be without all of you?
We are thankful
to Sally Watt of Illinois for the gift of money we received -
she is a faithful supporter of ASAP and race owner and previous
owner of Friendly Explosion! Also, Dale Lamminen touched my heart
with a gift of a custom-made headstall which I received in the
mail a few days ago. It has a silver piece on the brow band -
with a cross and the Christian fish symbol - wow - the most beautiful
horsey gift I have ever gotten! It replaced the new bridle I just
bought in Belle Fouche, South Dakota at the Broken Spur Tack Shop
... a beautiful dark brown headstall which somehow never made
it back to Wisconsin, or if it did, was lost when unpacking our
suitcases from the truck? Or perhaps it is still buried in the
snow somewhere between Mitchell and Sioux Falls, SD ... we didn't
make it home last Wednesday night due to a snow storm that extended
from Mitchell to Rochester, MN. We were forced to stop our truck
en route and stayed in Sioux Falls until Thursday morning, when
the interstate once again became suitable for travel. I missed
my first day back to school on Thursday Jan. 2 due to the storm,
and felt horribly guilty about it, but what could we do?
South Dakota was
warm every day - the first day of our trip on Dec. 28 the weather
was so warm that we stopped in the Badlands and climbed the rocks
around us in short sleeves. People around us wore shorts! The
trip home on Jan. 1 was not as pleasant, as temperatures dipped
in preparation for the impending snow storm. Still, it was good
to be back at our other "home" out west and see friends
and just spend time doing nothing!
Thank you to Kellie
Magsamon (are you proud of me for getting it right, Kellie?) for
being our new Promotions Coordinator and getting those demos and
expos set up and writing newsletters for horse publications. She
is so thorough in her role and so "on fire" that it
is exciting to see and I hope I can keep up with the enthusiasm!
We haven't slowed
down in terms of referrals and placements - this is the time of
year that we need to keep the applicants rolling in, so continue
to let people know about ASAP and the wonderful horses we serve,
and keep in touch!
Susan
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past farm updates
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