28/08/2026
š Svenās Journey ā A Very Difficult Week, and a Little Bit of Hope š
We havenāt posted an update on Sven in a while because, quite frankly, Sven has had a very difficult week.
This will be a longer update, but after everything that has happened, we wanted to share the whole story.
About a week ago, seemingly out of nowhere, Sven began declining again.
His temperature climbed to 105Ā°F. His glucose levels began dropping. He stopped eating. He stopped staying with the herd and instead spent much of his time lying by himself.
Then came the glucose lows.
And more lows.
And more lows.
Svenās continuous glucose monitor would simply read āLO,ā meaning his glucose was below 40 mg/dL. For Sven, whose glucose we work very hard to keep within a safe range, seeing those readings over and over again was terrifying.
We stopped his insulin, but his glucose continued falling anyway.
We began giving him corn syrup by syringe just to keep his glucose from dropping dangerously low. Vaughn started getting up throughout the night to check him because we simply couldnāt trust that his glucose would remain stable while we slept.
At the same time, Sven developed a cough with what sounded like some fluid or congestion, and with his history, we immediately became concerned that we might be dealing with pneumonia again.
His fever was initially controlled with Banamine, and it would usually bring his temperature down for much of the day. But eventually the fever would climb right back up.
With our veterinarian guiding his treatment, we started with Nuflor for the respiratory symptoms.
It didnāt seem to be enough.
We switched to Draxxin, an antibiotic that has worked extremely well for us in the past.
Still, Sven wasnāt improving.
Finally, with our veterinarianās help, we moved to a stronger antibiotic, Excenel.
And we waited.
Meanwhile, getting Sven to eat became nearly impossible.
For the past week, weāve put seemingly everything we could think of in front of him. Foods he normally loves. Grain. Hay. Treats. Anything that might tempt him.
Most of the time, he would simply stand there and stare into the distance.
He just wouldnāt eat.
That may have been one of the hardest things to watch because anyone who has followed Svenās story knows that this little goat has ALWAYS loved his food.
Last night, we also replaced his continuous glucose sensor.
There was something about the timing of his illness that had been bothering us. His decline began shortly after his previous sensor was installed. We hadnāt done anything differently during the applicationāit was applied using the same careful, sterile process weāve always usedāand when we removed it, the site looked completely clean. There was no redness, dirt, drainage, or visible evidence of infection.
It may be completely coincidental.
At this point, we simply donāt know.
Was there somehow a connection? Is the new antibiotic finally working? Is his body simply beginning to overcome whatever has been making him sick?
We donāt have those answers yet.
But then came this morning.
ā¤ļø His glucose was 129.
For most people, that number wouldnāt mean much.
For us, after spending night after night fighting readings below 40, 129 felt like a victory.
He wasnāt bottoming out.
Then we checked his temperature.
100Ā°F.
For the first morning in more than a week, Sven didnāt need Banamine to bring down a fever.
Victory number two.
He was still lying away from the herd, which obviously concerns us.
But he was chewing his cud like a champ.
So we got him up and offered him some grain.
And Sven ate.
Not because we syringed something into his mouth.
Not because we desperately tried to convince him.
He wanted to eat.
And he happily stood there munching his grain.
After spending a week watching him refuse almost everything we put in front of him, that simple sight meant more to us than we can possibly explain.
ā¤ļø Another victory.
But we also need to share the hardest part of this week.
Last night, for the first time during Svenās entire journey, we had the conversation neither of us wanted to have.
Were we reaching the point where euthanasia was the kindest thing we could do for him?
We have thrown everything we possibly can at helping this little guy. But he wasnāt improving, and we had to ask ourselves an incredibly painful question:
Are we continuing because Sven still wants to fightā¦or because WE arenāt ready to let him go?
Anyone who knows us knows that we donāt give up easily.
If an animal is willing to fight, we will fight right alongside them.
And Sven has fought harder than almost any little animal weāve ever known.
But loving an animal also means recognizing that sometimes the most loving decision isnāt the one we desperately want to make. We will never allow Sven to suffer simply because we arenāt ready to say goodbye.
Thankfully, today we donāt have to make that decision.
Today, we have hope.
Weāre also trying to keep that hope in perspective.
One good morning doesnāt mean Sven is out of the woods.
We donāt know whether the Excenel is finally turning things around. We donāt know whether changing the glucose sensor had anything whatsoever to do with it. We donāt know whether his body is finally winning this latest battleāor whether today is simply a good day in the middle of a very serious illness.
But right nowā¦
His fever is gone.
His glucose isnāt crashing.
Heās chewing his cud.
And Sven ate breakfast.
So today, weāre going to celebrate those victories.
Weāll continue watching him closely, working with his veterinary team, and making decisions one day at a time.
Svenās rare diabetes-like disease has thrown more challenges at this little goat than we ever could have imagined. And just when we think weāve figured something out, another complication seems to appear.
But somehow, Sven keeps fighting.
So as long as Sven tells us that heās willing to keep fighting, weāll be right there fighting with him.
And if the day ever comes when he tells us heās had enough, weāll love him enough to listen.
But today isnāt that day.
Today, Sven ate his breakfast. ā¤ļøš
And today, thatās enough.
Until next timeā¦ keep cheering for Sven. ā¤ļøš
