A Baby Boomer Dreams of Arabian Horses Part 13

Scandalous Chance


Part 1

The move in at the horse show was stressful. I didn't really feel welcome and dreaded the possibility of being an embarrassment to the barn. Move in day was long, to say the least.

It wasn't just long because of Shannon Armstong's lack of confidence in me. My youngest daughter, Lindsay, had a doctor's appointment that day as well. She was having her eyes checked because she was having problems with headaches and double vision among other things.

I had tried to make an appointment for Lindsay with our family doctor but he was recuperating from his own illness and wouldn't be available for weeks. I had this sneaking suspicion that Lindsay couldn't wait. I thought about what Dr T would most likely do and decided he would send her to a pediatric ophthalmologist to rule out problems with her eyes.

So with the help of friends I found a good pediatric ophthalmologist with connections to Children's Hospital and Medical Center. If Lindsay needed referrals, I knew for sure I wanted her to end up at Children's.

The soonest I could get an appointment for Lindsay just happened to fall the same day as move in day for the horse show. Since Dave wasn't scheduled to work that day, we decided that he would take her to the appointment. They would meet me at the horse show afterwards.

By the time mid afternoon rolled around and I still hadn't seen or heard from Dave and Lindsay, I was beginning to worry. Then Shannon showed up late at the horse show with a message she had gotten at the farm that morning from Dave . The ophthalmologist had referred them on to another doctor in Seattle AND he had made the appointment for that afternoon. Dave would call when he got a chance.

My heart sank. I knew exactly what this meant. My instincts had been correct but I would wait until I heard from Dave before I even dared to breath the words out loud. In the meantime I went about the usual move in at the horse show routine and tried not to thing about my "baby girl."

When Shannon had the time for me, I got a lesson in the arena on my Arabian gelding. I also chipped in and helped set up and get the other horses ready for their schooling sessions in the ring.

It was early evening before the horse show duties were all wrapped up and I headed towards home. I still hadn't heard a word from Dave or Lindsay and all I could do now was wait. And wait I did for what seemed like hours.

About the same time that Dave and Lindsay walked through the door, the phone rang. There was a doctor from Children's on the phone who wanted to explain to me what was happening with my daughter. He started off with the medical terms, medulla blastoma, but I didn't need him to explain them to me. My dreams of breeding Arabian horses were just going to have to wait, my youngest child had a brain tumor.

To be continued..............

Part 14

Arabian horse Arabian horses horses horse dream horse show gelding