VN June 2021

Vetnews | June 2021 35 Story One such colleague was Frank Freeman, who had a practise in Ceres. He was also no mean breeder of thoroughbreds, on his own farm there. The first request for help came from him in the light of a continued mortality rate among the sheep on a large fruit farm in the district. Arriving on the farm I was able to see and examine several cases which were showing rather strange, yet specific signs. They would suddenly start running with their heads held high, sort of goose-stepping. Later they would go down showing convulsions and other nervous signs like opisthotonus. Some 100 animals had died already, over a period of time. Fortunately I had read about this condition and was able to make a diagnosis and apply an effective treatment. The condition, knownas cerebrocortical necrosis or CCNwaswell described in Australia and New Zealand but no cases had been reported in SA yet. On post mortem the cerebral cortex would be largely thinned out. Later we would use a fluorescent light which would show up the affected areas. However, the treatment was so effective that applying an intravenous injection of thiamine would actually reverse the symptoms in all but the severest cases within a half an hour, which pretty much confirmed the diagnosis. The goose-stepping and head held high, I discovered very soon was due to blindness and was the first sign, almost pathognomonic. Later on we came across several other outbreaks even among buck. The problem was preventing the condition as feeding thiamine didn’t seem to help. The underlyingcause appeared tobe some factorwhichcaused thebreakdown of thiamine in the rumen or the prevention of absorption. OnceIleftthelabIlostcontactwiththecases.Thiswasoneofthefrustrations of working at the Lab, that there was no room for further research at that level. I have not had to dowith a case for 40 years so I have no Ideawhat has developed since that time. One day I had a call from Frank asking for my help with something which had nothing to dowith the lab function. He had a young stallionwhichwas a rig and it appeared the retained testis was intra-abdominal. I was happy for an excuse to swing out to Ceres to stand by as his assistant to encourage and offer back-up for Frank, whowas an accomplished surgeon. In the light of the modern equine hospitals, remember that almost 50 years ago we were still operating outside on a grass patch, with plenty of straw, having to anaesthetise and cast the horse and secure him on his back. The operation although requiring some skill, proceeded without any hitches and after a splendid lunch I couldheadback into the setting sun towards Stellenbosch, with my appetite even more whetted for the coming return to private practise. We had loved living in Swellendam, which was a sleepy rural village, but arriving in Stellenbosch offered so much more. In the 70’s it was largely still a University Town with a tendency for there to be a bit of a separation between the Varsity “intellectual staff” and the ordinary locals, which we often joked about. There was a co-op shop in Plein Street, the main street, where the wives would introduce themselves as Mev Professor, Dokter … to the staff as they made their purchases. Much to the amusement and irritation of the staff. Lifewas really laid back compared to a big city yet with the advantage of having easy access either here or inCapeTown, just 60 km away, to all the topmusicals and drama productions. Living near the centre of the town we would often stroll in the evenings up through between the old oak trees into the bustle of the village centre and on into the campus, buying an ice-cream to lick on, as wewalked, watching and listening to the activities of themany students. Often as we passed one of the many night spots the door would swing open spurting out a rather loud and unsteady group of young people. Everything then was so open andwemingled easily, experiencing the vibe of the young people. Deep down in my heart there was still a quest that was simmering. One which had been stirred up through my contact with Joseph several years before in Heidelberg. The old ex-railway worker, who would spend every lunchtimedevouringhisdog-earedbibleandwasforeversharingpassages which he had read, that had special meaning for him. So one of the things I had undertaken to do was to find a church where I could become more involved and perhaps discover some of his delight in the Lord. There was one English church which was very popular at that time in Stellenbosch, with a bulging Sunday school, that I decided to attend. My dear wife, Emily was not really interested. Somemonths after I hadsettled in I hadavisit fromtheminister,which really delightedme. I explainedmy enthusiasmtohimand said I was looking for a way tobecomemore involved in the church activities. He spent a bit of time pondering what I had said and then came out with a bucket of iced water which he pitched over my head. “I think you should join the Rotary club”, he said to me, completely damping any suggestion of something deeper in his church. That was just a step along the way and exciting things were lying in wait for me just over the horizon as 1975 drew to a close and my resignation loomed. I was sad to leave the lab “family” but really so geared up with expectancy for my new life that I was looking forward eagerly to in the new year of 1976. v