almost with full extension....

 

there were so many things i wanted to do and planned to do.  between Ivy's knee and mine it just hasn't been a very productive week.  quite annoying really.  happy to be able to watch her progress and happy that i am finally feeling like i am seeing progress as well. 

she would love to fly.  she is Ivy Rose.  we walked into the bog yesterday.  today i'm battling a headache.  

below is from when i took Tusker in to the bog.  he has a few cracked toe nails, which i suspect he will need to be sedated for removal and then have down time for a week and then wear booties...he should probably just wear booties henceforth since he seems prone to these. poor guy. 

supposed to return to work tomorrow night.  my knee is improving  but i am currently still very exhausted just from the little walking i am doing with Ivy.  i take her out 4 x/day, short stretches.  at least work would mean no stairs.  here i have stairs. 

my extension is improving these last few days. the other morning i was able to dangle my leg over the side of the bed and use the bonger to work on the one super tight muscle on my calf.  amazingly, the pain wasn't as bad as it had been and i was able to finally get that muscle to relax.  whew!!  i felt quite triumphant.  that and one muscle going up the outer aspect of my thigh had both been so tense.  i was having to walk all twisted, which of course, pissed off many other muscles.

so i am nearly totally upright, which really helps the other parts of my body.  my pace is speeding up.  nursing is not a job where you can hobble about. the last time this happened was in the early stages of the Covid and it seems to be a repetitive injury. last time i was getting up and down from a chair all night, which caused the inflammation and pain, this time i was jumping up and down from the floor.   

the PA at the ortho clinic said he believed it was a combination of tendonitis, bursitis and arthritis. 

yesterday i braved the tub.  often with these sorts of symptoms, my knee joint feels puffy and swollen, i can get in the pool and use the kick board. it does amazing stuff to decrease the swelling in the joint.  now that i have both vaccines getting back in the pool is a great plan.  it wasn't until yesterday that i felt safe enough to get in/out of the tub...well in truth, i didn't feel entirely safe.  could i get in and could i get out again were real questions i had. so i did fill the tub and did some range of motion exercises.  

Ivy's incision is looking great so far.  the fb tplo site has many dogs that end up with infections, many require the hardware to be removed later.  i am always nervous about hardware. my friend, SH, works the IV team and it sounds like they often put in picc lines for long term ab's related to infections like that....so that is the last thing i want to put my girl through. she is doing really well at this time.  walking great. 

i honestly do not think i could put her through this again, or myself, or my friends!!  she will have one good leg when this is all done, hopefully.  we shall see. maybe it's like they say about childbirth and you eventually forget the pain of it all and jump back in.  

would have been much easier without the knee issues of course. sometimes i think my knee issues are preventing her from going too fast or too far.  i may be tempted to bump up her exercise if my knee was at baseline so perhaps the Gods work in mysterious ways. was great to see her on an actual trail.

it's easier to do the street walk without Tusker though i'm finding.  i need to focus on her.  he is a puller on leash so i had left him off, but then he poops in someones yard and that causes issues as i risk pulling her places she probably shouldn't go to pick up the poop. besides, the worry is always some off leash dog or other animal comes along.  i really just need to focus on her.  the hope is that i can do two to three walks with her and then take him out for a real walk, giving us both a break. i did that 3 days in a row but it was honestly just too much for the moment for me.  

my knee was hurting and i was wiped out.  so thankful that LS has picked up Tusker a few times this week.  today we are taking a break, though i am tempted to just take him for a short stretch and perhaps pick up some groceries.

my baby/dog cam showed up yesterday so i set that up.  i was able to peek in on Ivy anytime i woke up last night without having to get out of bed.  this will be nice for work as well.  i know, not sure what i would do if anything were happening from work but i suppose if she were in real trouble there are plenty of dog lovers at work and they would probably even let me run home.  

as i said, not sure the leg will be ready in the next few days for 12 hour shifts.  another good reason to maybe take Tusker for a little walk today myself.  walking is how i can assess how i am doing physically. it's what i generally do every day of my life.  these past weeks i have had step counts under 5000/day. i am rarely under 10,000 and often over 15,000.  once we get up to speed with all these dog walks i'll be back up there. 

Tusker will have to have booties on of course. may have to drop him off on my next stretch off for sedation for these two nails.  

the cats visit Ivy and they nuzzle with her between the bars.  Covid Cat has  brought her his cat toys a few times and played between the bars as well, essentially pushing the toy in for her to play with (destroy) a few times. 

i've mostly watched mindless tv/played games.  i'm either taking care of the pets or exhausted and elevating the knee. 

these are from a walk in the bog with Tusker.  it was short but beautiful with all the hoar frost.  a bit of snow last night.  i take my boots off and on several times a day.  even with temps near 0 i mostly just toss on a sweatshirt/cap and gloves and head out.  the walks are short. 

watching the impeachment stuff a bit. day one on the constitutionality was a slam for the Dem side. watched the Trump lawyers...it was rambling and then yelling.  of course, in the end, all but 6 just voted party lines.  i do want them on record with all this.  

today it's the Dems.  so far i think again, they have done well. i think the most telling part was how little Trump did during this.  never checked on Pence, i believe it was Pence that got the National Guard to respond as despite all the many calls for help, Trump didn't do.  he watched with glee from many reports as his most cultish followers carried up his battle to overthrow the election results.  

it was on ongoing thing....built up over years really.  he made it clear he would never accept the results of the election long before the election ever happened.  i do suspect some will wake up and be distraught that they allowed this fool to lead them so far off their moral/ethical bases.  

Ivy is no longer wearing the cone or the leg cover.  she'd slipped it off a few times and the last morning it was partially off and i feared she would trip over it and cause more damage or just pain. 

one night she did get up and screamed in pain.  my heart broke and i feared a repeat of that.  have seen that many other owners have experienced this and it terrified them as well. 

the last thing you want to have done is make things worse for your sweet charges. 

snowmanhenge.  someone has been very busy in the bog.

Ivy with her visitors. 

she has enjoyed the human visitors as well.  

i think this was a morning that i woke and did Ivy's cares and then returned to bed. i was so exhausted.  i woke to this beautiful sunrise.  i do miss being out in nature.  the above hoar frost walk was very good mentally for me. 

Ivy's pen in the living room. 

i have gotten the pfd filled out and i did manage to speak to someone about the retirement stuff so just getting started.  was thinking of seeing if there is a retirement for dummies sort of book that i can pick up and work on.  

sounds like i have to figure out how to deal with health insurance.  how it works if i go part time at some point.  so many things to figure out.  it is great to have some vision of the ending of this career.  could i just pick up some other job part time for health insurance coverage for the years between retiring from Prov and totally retiring.  

tempted to just go back to working at a Vet clinic.  end my career back with animals. 

the log book.  someone had suggested it.  i was happy i did this at the beginning.  i was such a mess. i kept reading glasses there as well.  i feared in my pain induced state i would overdose poor Ivy.  so many times i was worried i'd given her the wrong med.  it was a pretty stressful week that first week.  i even lost track of what day it was.  the pages are looking much more organized now. 

i'm figuring out a medication routine that will hopefully carry us through the next many weeks.  she just needs to be kept calm for weeks.  allow the bones to heal up completely.  then they will take xrays again on March 22 and we will know from there about further activity. i really hope she can be allowed access to the dog door, if not the stairs yet. 

the cats have found places to sleep near me down stairs. 

sundog as seen from the vets clinic on Ivy's recheck day.  GT was kind enough to help get her to/from the vets again. 

she's been an outstanding patient and as i said, she is highly motivated. 

a few times she has begun to buck like she wants to take off on a full run.  we are not there yet.

Tusker gets outside tennis ball time when i can. 

Ivy is enjoying the distraction of the snuffle mat and other things i found on line to keep her busy when she gets restless.  most of them require food so that is a bit of a bummer.  i need to be careful to not let her gain a bunch of weight.  i don't want to gain a bunch of weight either. 

many of these dogs sleep like this post surgery. it must be comfy. looks cute too.

Tusker often stays close to Ivy as well. 

i need to do some work education stuff.  perhaps tonight i will have some energy for that.  i had my work evaluation this week.  nice to know i won't have too many more of those. i'm feeling more and more ready to book.  i think many nurses are ready to hang up the stethescope as it were. this covid crap has really drained us all.

neighborhood dogs barking....Ivy still sleeping.  i'm watching her.  loving this new camera.  wish i'd bought it before. feels better being on the computer without feeling obligated to get up repeatedly to check on her.  same with sleeping.  just peace of mind. 

my other knee was feeling it a few days after i did the 4 Ivy walks plus the Tusker walk in the contorted motion.  the crutches are no longer needed and i haven't used the walking stick for the little neighborhood walks these past few days.

hope is on the horizon. 

have painted a few rocks.  an outlet for creativity in my time of confinement.  just wanted to post an update.  overall, much better.  

thankful again for A.  friends who have really made it possible to survive these past few weeks.  B.  that Ivy is doing so well.  C. this little Ivy cam.