We’ve come a long way baby! The addition of that anesthesia machine brings a dream of many years to fruition. Dr. Mettee has always said that “we would make it work if all we had was a bucket and a two-by-four.” That’s about what we had! Here is where we came from - this picture was taken a few months ago before the old building was demolished. We managed to do a tremendous amount of good work with very little in the way of resources.

Rehab working space in the old MLC

And here is where we are today - with lots of dreams and plans about what we can do now that we have the space and the tools!

The new sea turtle clinic

X-ray machine and digital processor

Sea turtle surgical suite

Thank you to the folks who put in lots of hard work, donated money, or time, or equipment to make this a reality. Cheers to you!

Our surgical suite is now complete and we are a fully functional sea turtle hospital with our latest acquisition, an anesthesia machine. Deb secured this equipment from a veterinary medical company called Highland Medical Equipment. The only procedures that we will need to go off site for are MRI and CT scans. Many thanks to Deb and Highland Medical Equipment!

You may recall that surgery was performed to remove damaged bone from her wound. Unfortunately she did not recover from the surgery. A subsequent necropsy revealed that she suffered from a fatal condition called egg yolk peritonitis - which is a severe infection caused by loose egg yolk in her body cavity. She was carrying eggs which were likely broken by the boat strike. The broken egg yolks provide a fertile breeding ground for bacteria. Sea turtles and other reptiles are not the only animals that can get egg yolk peritonitis - birds can as well. Sadly, and unbeknown to us, Thea was very sick before we performed the surgery - it was only a matter of time.

Below you can see the fully developed eggs in the lower part of the picture and eggs that are still developing on the left side. Dr. Mettee is pointing at the liver which was covered with film from the broken egg yolks.

Thanks to Caela for the photo

Jonah is currently being tube fed 50 cc’s Eukanuba Maximum Calorie and is beginning to show slow improvement.

Jonah

Arlington is on oral Baytril for a skin infection, receiving daily chlorhexidine scrubs, and is showing improvement.

Shimano has recently been moved to a larger tank and receives daily therapy - he swims against a current for several hours each day. 

Eartha is finishing her last dose of Amikacin today. She is doing really well.

Petr continues to improve. The wound on his right front flipper is healing nicely.

Petr

We currently have about a dozen loggerhead hatchlings. They should be released within the next week or so.

Looking Through the Window - Someone’s Looking Back

This was release week at the Loggerhead Marinelife Center. Bunny was released by the FWC a little further north of us on Monday and our beloved Voxy was released at the Center on Thursday. Voxy has to be the cutest little sub adult loggerhead we’ve ever seen. Look at Voxy’s photos below and see for yourself! Bon voyage!!!

Dr. Nancy Mettee surgically inserted an esophageal feeding tube into Jonah on Thursday, July 3rd. The hook, wire leader and weight were removed previously and he has been on antibiotics, but Jonah still has not eaten and appears to have some signs of paralysis - he is not able to open his mouth or blink. We are encouraged because he has motor control and can breathe on his own. He is back in his tank today.

Jonah is currently being fed 20-30 cc’s through the feeding tube every other day. The food he is getting (Eukanuba Maximum Calorie) has a high caloric content, is high in protein, and is easy to digest. He will stay on this feeding regimen until he begins eating on his own.

The tube was inserted into Jonah’s esophagus through his neck. The tube is affixed to his carapace with a plastic tab and is plugged with a syringe stopper. 

Adjusting the feeding tube

Suturing to secure feeding tube

This week we had our new x-ray machine installed. This is medical (human) vs. veterinary x-ray equipment that will help us take x-rays with less turtle handling and therefore less stress to the turtles. The table “floats” in 4 directions which makes it easier for us to take images of the entire turtle without repositioning the turtle for each shot. Thank you to Gordon and Pat Gray and Family for the donation that made this possible.

We would also like to thank A/C X-Ray and Del Medical for working with us to find the right system for our needs and donating a portion of the cost.

The Rehabilitation Director of the Loggerhead Marinelife Center, Sandy Fournies, was released in an official ceremony that took place at her going away party at the Center last night. She was measured (we decided not to weigh her), tagged (Hs0801), and then transported to the beach and carried to the water for release. She was a good sport (as she always is), dove into the water, and came up for a breath just like our other “patients.” It was sad to see her go but this is one “patient” we hope returns often!

Just in case you didn’t get to attend, DJ Jef was the official DJ for the party and had us rockin’ as always. The very talented Chef Moira ran the grill and volunteers and staff provided the food, beverages, and fun! The staff lead by Jessica and Brandon put together a poignant slide show recapping Sandy’s work and patients here at the Center. Back by popular demand was the hilarious movie about what happens when volunteers don’t show up for their shift. We wrapped it up with some heartfelt words from Sandy and a ukulele sing-along to “I Get By With a Little Help From My Friends.” As Sandy said, “the sea turtles are the face of the Loggerhead Marinelife Center, but you [the volunteers and staff] are the heart of the Center.” 

We’ll miss you Sandy!!!

The Tagging

Transport to the Beach

Run for the Ocean

Ukulele Sing-Along

Thanks to Chris for the photos!!!

Shimano underwent surgery yesterday at Harmony Animal Hospital to remove his right front flipper. As you may recall, the flipper was wrapped tightly in fishing line and he was found dragging a fishing pole. The flipper was gangrenous and had to be removed in order to save the rest of the turtle from systemic infection.  The surgery went very well and he was awake before we left the hospital. We were able to remove the Ambu bag while enroute back to the Loggerhead Marinelife Center because he was already breathing on his own. He was dry docked overnight and will be placed in a tank today.

The only piece of equipment we are currently waiting on to fully outfit our on-site surgical suite is an anesthesia machine. We have one lined up thanks to Deb. We are in the process of acquiring it now. Hopefully our next surgery will be performed on-site!

Removing the Flipper

Suturing

Recovering with Dr. Mettee

The New Shimano

Our old home is in the process of being razed by the county. In spite of all its faults it was a great place with lots of great memories!

The front door…

the back door (that’s the trailer in the foreground).