Taylor and the farm need your support

Taylor and her farm have been a place of peace and healing for so many - humans and animals alike. But life has taken a scary turn for Taylor, that is leaving her without income for 3 to 6 months as she recovers.

On May 15, she was rushed to the hospital. While there, she and her family discovered awful news - her aorta was rupturing, her chances of surviving the surgery were low, but there was no other choice.

Here are Taylor’s words on the ordeal:

“So a little more detail since I’m feeling a little stronger. Since March, I have been having weird intense pains about once a month. A visit to the hospital in April left them unsure of what it was and thinking kidney stones.

Fast forward to Monday night and the weird pains started again while I was at fire hall. A friend (thank you Graham Toth) drove me home since I wasn’t able and then drove Don back to hall to get my car. I tried to have a shower as the warm water often helped in past espisodes, but we ran out (which might have saved my life). Desperate for relief, I asked Don to drive me to my parents so I could shower there. I tried to ride out the pain but quickly realized I couldn’t. I told don to take me to Henderson instead.

After an x-ray and a CT scan, they transferred me to the General because something seemed wrong with my aorta. At the general, I got the scariest news of my life - my aorta had an aneurysm right near my liver. My parents came to the hospital. Don stepped out to park the car legally. The doctor came back and explained things in more detail - which did not make things better. My aorta had a swelling the size of a baseball where it was supposed to tie into my liver. It appeared to be infected. It had ruptured or was going to. And they couldn’t do the surgery at the General. It was specialized surgery that had to be done in Toronto.

They were going to open me up from my underarm, under my breast and down to my belly button. They were going to deflat my lung and move it out of the way. They were going to fillet me like a fish so they could follow the lengthy of the aorta and fix what needed fixing. They weren’t sure what was needed, but if it was an infection, they would need to reconstruct my aorta. The surgery carried a lot of risks and death was very much on the table. Not a distant possibility, but instead a very real one.

I tried to be strong but was terrified. Don and my parents tried to be strong but were terrified. Even the doctor had tears in her eyes - her empathy heart felt, but also bringing the reality of the situation home.

I quickly went over what I wanted to happen with my animals if I died on the table. They all assured me it wouldn’t be a fight and they were all in support. Do you know how surreal it is to make a will in a moment like that?

Don and I got loaded into an ambulance for the drive to Toronto. Always trying to find ways to laugh, we found joy in the bouncy ride as it pounded over railway lines with us catching air inside. We laughed at the roller coaster ride we were getting to enjoy.

At the Toronto General, I met the amazing team of people that would be responsible for my body for the surgery. They told my family it would be up to 10 hours. As I said my goodbyes to my family and I was wheeled into the OR, my anxiety spiked. I might not wake up. I had never truly been in a situation where death was this real. I have had cancer scares. I’ve had bad falls off horses, or while skiing. But in all those situations, there was always the feeling of some control. Of being able to fight and rally and make it through. In this situation, I was completely at the mercy of others. My life was literally in their hands and they had made it clear that this was not a guaranteed surgery. Waking up wasn’t a promise or even a good odd - it was unknown what they would find inside me as it was so unusual in someone my age who wasn’t a IV drug user.

I made peace with the fact that I may close my eyes and not open them again. I made peace with the fact that my last memories might be those of love and support and compassion from my family. And that is how I went into the surgery not shaking like a leaf. Because if I didn’t wake up, my last memories would be beautiful and I could be satisfied with that.

But I did wake up. My surgery only lasted 7 hours and the surgeon called Don and my mom to give them an update at 930 that night. She said she expected me to regain consciousness late morning or early afternoon. She forgot to tell me that. I woke up at 2:30 am and from the pain I was feeling, I knew I wasn’t dead. I was frustrated that my mom took my phone and I couldn’t call them to tell them I was awake. The staff were amazing though and called through to Don for me so I could let him know, scaring the crap out of him because he had been told no news was good news and I wasn’t out of the woods yet. He thought it was the hospital calling with bad news, not me calling to say “I’m not dead yet”.

I called my mom at 8 am, waking her up and telling her I wanted to see her.

The doctor came in and explained what they found. My aorta was healthy. There didn’t appear to be any infection. It had blown out in one spot and had ruptured. They cut away the blown out section and patched the quarter sized hole. It was a simple repair compared to what they thought they were going to find. She asked if I had ever suffered a trauma from a fall off a horse and I told her that I had 2 chips and a crack in my T11 and T12 from a fall I took 20 years ago.

Looking back, so many of my symptoms can be linked to this aneurysm that has been slowly growing over the last 20 years. It is crazy to think that I have been walking around with it. Crazy to think that I was one more trauma away from it rupturing more violently. Crazy to think that I almost didn’t go to the hospital because “it was just kidney stones”.

I am so blessed to live in Canada. From the time I walked into the hospital to the time I received emergency surgery including transfers, X-rays, cat scans, antibiotics, pain meds, and rides in ambulances and OR prep time was less than 12 hours. The cost to me was zero. I never once needed to worry if my insurance covered it. I just listened to my doctors and spoke with my family and came up with a plan that saved my life.

The after care has been just as good (except the food - ewwwww!). I have a physiotherapist, a pharmacist, my surgeons come see me daily, an RN, PSW and all the other people that work behind the scenes to keep the hospital running. My pain is being managed. My wounds are being cleaned. My spirits are being kept up.

It looks like I have a few months recovery ahead of me. But after that, just imagine what I can do with this aneurysm repaired?

Thank you to the staff at Henderson and the Hamilton General for recognizing the seriousness of the issue and getting me to the specialists. Thank you to the specialists at Toronto General who made me feel safe. Thank you to the EMTs who drove me from hospital to hospital. But mostly, thank you to Don for being a rock and allowing me to be in a place of complete trust that you have everything under control on the farm. I have never had faith like this in someone to care for things at the farm and I am so grateful to you. And thank you to my mom and dad who haven’t left my side for 2 days, putting up with my crankiness, my befuddled brain and bringing me edible food. It’s moments like this that let you know how blessed you are! And I don’t think I could be any more blessed. Love you guys to the moon and back! ❤️”

Taylor is on the other side of the surgery and now facing a long slow recovery. She continues to share her experience through posts on Facebook, hoping to help others going through similar ordeals. She misses her animals tremendously but is too vulnerable yet to go home to them. And she is scared about how she will pay the $10,000 in supplies and rent fees for the animal's hay that needs to be cut in the coming weeks. She is scared for how she will cover the $25,000 hydro repair that was started in February due to the bad weather this winter, or the $15,000 culvert repair that washed away during the spring floods.

2023 was already looking to be more expensive than she had planned for, but she made plans to double down over the good weather in the summer months and offer more riding lessons and more healing retreats. She was going to work hard and make the extra money she needed. Now, she can’t work at all. And by the time she is well enough to do those things, the cold weather will have set in again.

Let’s help Taylor and her animals. She needs our help now more than ever. If they can’t afford to cut the hay now, it can’t be done later. If you have ever experienced the healing energy of the farm, the animals and Taylor herself, please help them in this year of difficulty.

***** Attention please "DON SMITH" will be accepting and applying all donations to the farms trustee while Taylor is in recovery. We have had some challenges setting up this page ! Please ignore the caption that "Don Smith" is the beneficiary.