Cows - more than just milk and meat
This is one of my favourite photos - a boy dreaming of farming one day while the cows look on. It’s already several years old; our son is now 12. Still dreaming of farming one day.
We almost lost this dear boy of ours; he spent his first few weeks after birth literally fighting for his life in BC Children’s Hospital’s NICU. Born at full term by c-section like all of his siblings, all seemed well at first, but within an hour after birth he was struggling to breathe, his lips and extremities were turning blue, and his blood oxygen saturations were dropping dangerously low despite being placed under an oxygen tent.
He was flown by helicopter to Vancouver. They nearly lost him on the way - twice. (We only heard this later, as we were taken to the city by ambulance.) Once in the NICU and intubated, he stabilized somewhat and the doctors scrambled to figure out why he was having such difficulty getting enough oxygen. Three times in the first 24 hours he received doses of BLES, or surfactant - a substance that coats the insides of the lungs (the alveoli actually for those versed in human physiology). It was such a relief to watch his saturation numbers climb after each surfactant dose! After many tests and exams, doctors determined that he was suffering from Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension of the Newborn, which is quite rare in full term infants. Basically, it means that the blood vessels in the lungs have not expanded enough and so most blood bypasses the lungs and does not get oxygenated. With the help of medications administered through his ventilator as well as orally, he turned the corner and we were able to bring our little guy home after three weeks spent in the hospital.
We’ve always been so grateful to his team of doctors and the amazing medical equipment and facilities at Children’s, but what we didn’t know until some years later is that we also owe our thanks to....cows! Yes, that’s right! These wonderful bovines were also instrumental in saving his life. It turns out that the surfactant - BLES - comes from cows’ lungs!
In short, while we are all aware that cows give us milk and meat, there are so many other ways in which they help us! It’s both humbling and awe-inspiring. Without cows being used for meat and their various by-products, it’s very possible that our energetic and loving and humorous 12-year-old wouldn’t be here with us today. We’re so so thankful that he is.
Some of you might remember that when we started to share our farm life almost a decade ago, we periodically had conversations (that might be using too mild a word; while some interactions were friendly, most were not) with animal rights activists who believe that animals should not be used by humans - not for food, but also not for their by-products. If these people had their way, babies like our Levi would have much less of a chance of thriving or even surviving. As of now, there are no synthetic alternatives available, although various research firms have been trying to develop alternatives for decades. Definitely food for thought.