The part that’s not unexpected: “Sophie’s mother, Sharon, said that getting Hazel properly diagnosed was a long, difficult and stressful process. For months, they struggled on their own to understand the mysterious symptoms.” Such a familiar refrain.
But for the fact that Hazel is a horse.
Equine Chronic Facial Pain?
“This was a hard conversation for our family about whether to proceed,” she said. “We told Sophie, ‘We don’t know if this is going to work, and this is a large investment.’” Ultimately, they went forward with the plan and “…in May 2016, Hazel became the first horse in the world to receive an electrical stimulation unit implant to reduce the symptoms of TN.”
I’ll just say what everyone is thinking. There’s a good chance that Hazel was treated with more care and compassion than many of her human counterparts.
Also, I wonder if they considered ketamine, a drug used for nerve pain management in humans whose most common use is as a tranquilizer…for horses.