From Lisa:
It is now 5am.….We found Whisper down at about 2:00am and her body temp was dropping again. Called Dr Hannah (who I think was thrilled to hear from us again 
) She jumped in her truck and was here pretty quickly. It was time to try out the newly installed hoist system. Whisper was not bothered at all by the commotion of getting the sling under her body, the noise of the electric hoist and even seemed fairly calm as she was being lifted. Once she was to her feet she immediately began eating again. I took a few pictures with a cell phone and will post those later. It really was quite a sight.…the hoist worked great and Whisper is up again. Thankfully this can be done with 2–3 people instead of the 8 or 9 people it takes to lift her manually. Hopefully she will start to gain some strength soon and will be able to get up on her own.
*****
Well, we found Whisper down again at about 8:00am — her temp was dropping and she was shivering. Poor girl — she had only been up about 4 hours since the last time. So (again) we called Dr Hannah to come out. In the meantime Kier had to go to work — so Valerie came and stayed with me and Whisper. My husband and Valerie got the sling in place before Hannah got here and we were all ready. This time Whisper was not putting any weight on her hind end and was just “hanging” being supported by the sling (and Hannah and Valerie) It took a bit more work this time to get her up, but once she was up she was ready to eat and acting much better. The sling is incredibly helpful — but still a bit unnerving to me, especially if she is scampering when trying to get to her feet and get balanced. Dr Hannah will be back in the late afternoon to give Whisper her next injection. In the meantime it is every couple hours to check on her and make sure she has plenty of food and water in front of her. We are hoping to get her out for a brief walk later today — she needs to build up her muscles. (If only the weather would cooperate)
*****
Lisa I am so incredibly frustrated that I am stranded today and unable to help thanks to my truck breaking down. As soon as Mike comes home with our only snow-friendly vehicle I can come and help. Thank you so much to you, Kier, Valerie, Hannah, and everyone else that has been pulling “night duty” and dropping everything to come and help Whisper. I know we have all come to love that little filly and her incredible spirit and want nothing more for her to recover. I have had at least 4 people now that want to adopt her, but all I can tell them is that its going to be a while before Whisper is ready for a new home. But do tell her that she has a HUGE fan base and hundreds of people are rooting for her (my phone has been ringing off the hook for days now) and willing her to pull through this.
Here are the photos Lisa took of Whisper being lifted by the sling:
This particular sling is not designed to stay on them. It is rubber and will rub and irritate her. Also, we didn’t think we needed that kind because she is fine when she is up, able to walk and bear her own weight just fine — the issue is she gets tired, lays down, and then is too weak to get herself up. We actually want her to be able to lay down for short periods so she can get the REM sleep she needs, but not for hours and not when her body temperature starts dropping to dangerous levels.
*****
From Kier:
Whisper just got some more of her mash buffet style. If she is not pawing at her bowl to knock it over, she is swirling her nose around in it.…you know just incase we didn’t mix it well enough. She was very good for her IV antibiotics and seems very bright eyed, awake, and as energetic as she can be considering her situation. I was sure to tell her of her fanbase and let her know everyone is pulling for her this xmas eve. She sends her xmas wished to you all with a big thank you!
