Ember Olmo, a 9-year-old Piedmontese cow, arrived at the MSU VMC Large Animal Hospital because she was having some difficulty giving birth. Her owner had noticed that she wasn’t making any progress and brought her to us for assistance. We noted during the initial exam that the calf was not alive, probably due to stress related to birthing difficulty, so our focus at that point was on saving the cow. Ember Olmo, being an older cow, had experienced birth several times before. We were able to deliver the 135-pound calf without having to take Ember Olmo into surgery, but after the delivery, she was unable to stand. This can happen sometimes when cows give birth to very large calves and the calf puts too much pressure on the nerves in the pelvis. Due to her nerve injury, Ember Olmo was unable to bear weight on her hind legs. She was moved to a stall that was bedded with soft shavings to give her a place to rest and recover from the birth. She was also given some medications for pain and to reduce swelling in the birth canal. 

This morning, Ember Olmo was still unable to stand on her own. We made the decision to bring in our float tank system to help her stand. Think of this float tank as a big bathtub for cows! It’s more than that though; it’s also like getting physical therapy. Cows weigh around 1,500 pounds or more. When they are unable to stand, the pressure on their muscles can cause even more injury and make it harder for them to recover. When cows are placed in the float tank and surrounded by warm water, the effects of buoyancy make it easier for them to stand. 

As you can imagine, moving a 1,500-pound cow that is unable to stand presents a bit of a challenge. We had to make sure we moved her into the float tank in a way that was safe for her and all of the people working with her. The float tank comes with a large rubber mat that is like a sled. We were able to roll Ember Olmo onto the mat and pull the mat into the tank with her in a sitting position. Once the seals on the doors of the tank were in place, we were ready to pump in the water. We filled the tank and Ember Olmo stood! There were collective cheers from the students and clinicians! Ember Olmo took right to eating hay from the feed rack attached to the float tank. She was quite pleased with her spa treatment!

I can only imagine what stories my kids tell their friends about what mom does at work! My kids love animals and they love spending time with mom, so when I have a patient in the clinic on a Saturday, sometimes I let them tag along. My daughter came in today to help take care of Ember Olmo. Ember Olmo has been in the float tank for a little under 24 hours and we wanted to drain the water to see if she was able to stand on her own. Sometimes, cows that are too weak to stand on their own will lie down as soon as the water drains out to the level of their legs. Today, though, Ember Olmo remained standing! She was still quite weak so we refilled the tank with more warm water and let her enjoy the cow spa for another day. My daughter, who loves animals and art, will have some great stories to share with her friends!

I just love technology! On Friday, we set up a live video feed so I could keep an eye on Ember Olmo, even when I was at home. We have wonderful technician staff in the clinic 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and they were taking fantastic care of our girl. But as her doctor, it was fun to be able to check in on her via the video feed and make sure she was okay and not have to bother the busy technicians who were taking care of her and all of our other large animal patients! 

Today, we drained the water again to check on Ember Olmo’s progress. She was still able to stand on her own in the tank, but she was tired and needed a little rest. We were able to walk her a few steps from the float tank into her stall! This was a major milestone for our girl who, just a few days ago, couldn’t even feel her feet! We were all very excited about her progress, and Ember Olmo was allowed to rest on soft shavings for the rest of the day.

Ember Olmo was able to stand today without the float tank, but she was still very weak and could only stand for a few seconds at a time. We decided to return her to the float tank for a couple more days of physical therapy. The float tank was located just a few steps from her stall and with some assistance, she was able to walk those few steps into the tank. Once the tank was filled with nice, warm water again, we were able to assess Ember Olmo’s progress and determined that she was starting to get more strength back in her hind legs. She was making great strides towards recovery and was being a model patient!

Ember Olmo has been a favorite in the hospital during her stay at the Veterinary Medical Center. She has had many students and clinicians visit her, including daily visits from our rehabilitation specialist. Her calm demeanor and affectionate nature have endeared her to everyone she has met. She even gives hugs—maybe it’s her way of thanking us!

Today was pretty uneventful for Ember Olmo. She continued her warm-water therapy in the float tank. She loves all the attention she gets while in the float tank and the fact that everyone keeps feeding her! Grain is like candy for cows and this girl has a major sweet tooth.

We drained the water from the float tank today and Ember Olmo was able to continue standing on her own inside the tank. We opened up the doors and let her walk a few steps into her stall. Physical therapy is hard work and she needed some time to rest. She was noticeably stronger today than she was on Monday. After letting her rest for a couple of hours, we came back to her stall to see if she would be able to stand. Remember how fond she was of her grain? Well, we were able to use that to our advantage! With a little encouragement (holding a pan of grain just out of her reach) and one person holding her tail for some stability, Ember Olmo was able to stand on her own. She could now stand on her own, without support, for about five minutes at a time. This was very exciting news for her recovery and it was starting to look like she would be able to go home to her herd very soon.

Ember Olmo continued her amazing recovery today by showing us she could stand up all by herself without any help. She was much more eager to get up if we put a couple of handfuls of grain into her feed pan, though! She spent most of the day today standing in her stall and moving around. She is getting stronger by the day. We have made plans for her to go home tomorrow.

Today is Ember Olmo’s discharge day. I’m sure she’s very excited to return to her herdmates, but I bet she’ll miss the constant pampering she has received at the MSU Large Animal Hospital—warm water bath, all you can eat buffet of hay and grain, and people stopping by to pet her head or scratch her ears. She’s become somewhat of a celebrity in the eight days she has been here and everyone has fallen in love with her. She has been a great patient and a pleasure to work with. Seeing her leave today is incredibly rewarding and is the reason I love being a veterinarian. It’s hard to say goodbye to our favorite patients when they leave our care, but it’s a great feeling to know that we were able to make a difference!