One Hour At A Time...

I told a good friend today, who is going through tough times of a different sort than mine, "These are the times that we can only survive one hour at a time.  Anything more than that, we'd never make it."  And I was not kidding, either.  It's hard to be in pain and have to do things that violate doctor's orders (like bending over and picking up a 20# sick dog). Or mop up one accident after another from the floor.  (Yes, it is possible to mop with a walker. One skill I'll be happy to forget just as soon as I can!)  BUT as long as you do no harm to yourself, and you survive whatever the situation was, it does give you a very large feeling of accomplishment.  (Or is that Superwoman Syndrome?) 


Weather here was pretty today but we did have our first official freeze. So know what I did today? I equipped my walker and took it down the 3 little front steps and watered my front gardens. I really enjoyed it. There was no one here. Well Cari was, but she left before I came back in. I had my phone. No mishaps other than I overturned my walker right after I went out and had to retrieve it... no biggie. At least I didn't go with it. Everything is SO dry here. I just couldn't stand it any longer. Now that it's frozen, we're supposed to have pretty weather for at least another week. I'm at the point I wish it'd just hard freeze and be done with it so I can quit worrying for the winter. They can't be too dry going into winter, stuff will die. 

I go to the doctor Monday afternoon for staple removal. Oh goodie, can't wait. Staples are absolute torture for me, especially after the last time when it went too many days. It hurt like a SOB.  Like, I was bawling. Anyway after the staples are out, the good part of healing starts, and I'll get better and better. I still am pinching myself that it's really done. 

Ladybug is so much better, improving and getting stronger every day!  Unfortunately Koby now has what she had, and is in very bad shape, in the not-eating phase.  I've spent the better part of the day feeding him a liquid food mixture with an eyedropper. At least he is accepting that, thank goodness.  

Who says you can't be post-op and care for two sick schnauzers? Check out this photo. I just had to snap it. Koby was a terrible mess when he woke up, and I had to give him a bath in the kitchen sink. Here he is post-bath, curled up on my walker, off to the living room to be dried on the footstool in front of my chair.   He is such a good boy.  You can make anything work if you have to! 

And here is Miss Ladybug, who thought it would be helpful if she sat on Koby's back to help dry him off! (Lucky she is very light!)

I'm gonna run now, time to feed the furboy again. I'm doing about every 90 minutes. I have to give him insulin at 2 am, then we are going to catch a nap.  Goodnight, world. 

And The Hits Just Keep On Coming....

I'm one very frustrated little person right now. I can say with absolute certainty that the one thing you do NOT want to do eight days after a hip replacement is break up a dog fight at 1:30 a.m. It is not a good idea, it will not end well, and there will be consequences. I was up being insomniac and decided to fix myself a cup of coffee. Then I decided to put the dogs all out for a quick last potty before bedtime. At the same time, Cari had just come in for the night and thankfully was still up. Not even half a minute after letting them out, I heard the fight break out. Not a fight, an outright attack. SueSue had decided to again attack poor tiny defenseless Ladybug, who is just getting a bit stronger after being very seriously ill.  This was the fourth such attack in the last two months. I thought for sure I had corrected the problem with Sue the last time, as it had been several weeks since the last attack. I guess not. It was just pure reaction, somehow I was out the back door onto the patio, pulled Sue off of Ladybug, put her in the back door, grabbed Ladybug, and then froze at the back door as I realized I didn't have my walker! Apparently I'd abandoned it in the kitchen when I flew into action. I managed to violate three major rules - no lifting, no bending, and no weight bearing - all within about 15 seconds. Nice.

Sue had to go into the kennel for the night and Cari brought Ladybug in to me to check out. It appears now she has some type of injury to her front little foot.

All this happened to begin with because I couldn't sleep. I woke up two hours after going to bed with my hip hurting. The actual incision started stinging and hurting this afternoon while I was out going to my neurologist appointment. Yes, it's red and ticked off on the whole lower third. Probably infected. I have to call the surgeon about that in the morning.

The good news from the neuro was that we can discontinue IVIG transfusions for a while and give my veins a rest. We are going to try some other treatments instead and see how they go.

I just finished my striped vest a few minutes ago. It looks too small to me. If it actually fits I'll probably faint. At any rate, I do like the design. Horizontal stripes in back and vertical in front. Pictures soon! All in grays/blacks/whites with sequins here and there.

Well, off to bed before anything else goes wrong! Night to the world.

Wham!! But It's A Good Thing...

How did I manage to not write here for over two weeks? I've no idea... I do know I was somewhat frantically trying to get ready for surgery the 10th. Because the surgery was postponed four times, I kept telling everyone, "I'll believe it when I see it."  I was still saying that to myself when they gave me the happy drugs in pre-op! Even then, I was afraid I'd wake up and they'd tell me they had to cancel for some reason or other.  But no... it was done. I had everything in the house as ready as it could be - not for everyone while I was gone, but for ME when I came back! I remembered the last homecoming from hip surgery in March all too well! When I went in the bathroom to check out the new elevated toilet seat, it fell off to the left and I nearly crashed to the floor! One of the clamps had not been fastened. I remember nearly having a heart attack at the time.  That was the one really good thing about having the same surgery twice - I knew exactly what to expect and could avoid many of the mistakes from the first time. The last time, it was two days before I actually found a comfortable place where I could sleep. This time, I had the bed fixed up correctly and the covers turned down. I was ready. Here I am the night before the surgery, petrified, but hopeful.

The two things I was not prepared for were the pain and immobility. It's a lot like childbirth. You remember you were in pain - a lot of pain - the first time, but the physical memory of it fades somehow. I believe God planned it that way - otherwise there would be no second children! I knew that I would wake up hurting. I had discussed my special pain management situation (because I'm a chronic pain patient, things have to be done differently) with my surgeon. Everything was perfect. Except for the Hospitalist, that doctor who doesn't know you from Adam and decides to reinvent everything. This lovely doctor decided I did not need ANY pain meds - including my normally scheduled ones - unless I asked for them! I had an amazing nurse, Carol, who kept me "off the ledge" for several hours that first post-op night until the doctors could be bothered at home, orders revised, and drugs ordered for pain. In short, it was Hell.

And that is the "Wham." You go from survival-in-constant-pain mode, which is one thing... and postop hip replacement, which is "back to square one" in an instant.  The next morning, things were better. From the last time, I knew that I would have to stand up, walk to the bathroom with my walker, and take a shower sitting down.  Did that. Dressed in a shorts outfit (required attire at "Joint Camp").  Soon it was time for lunch, a picnic affair served by volunteers. At Joint Camp, every patient is on virtually the same schedule. Everyone gets operated on Monday. Everyone stands up Tuesday morning and gets their IV out (unless there's an issue, like me). Everyone goes to lunch together. Everyone goes to PT together. It's a well-oiled machine and brilliant in its efficiency and simplicity, in my opinion.  After lunch, back to the room for a quick nap. Then it was time for PT, back in the same room we had lunch in. After another quick nap, 6 pm and time for dinner. After dinner we could enjoy our only real free time of the day.

Wednesday is a big working day. Lots of PT and another picnic lunch with a different menu.  On that day, those patients who hadn't been through it before learned how to climb stairs, how to step in and out of a shower stall or bathtub, and how to get in and out of a car.  They have a car simulator right there that you actually climb in and out of! After afternoon PT and nap, it was time for gourmet dinner - this time with a guest  (We made our meal selections well ahead of time).

On Thursday morning, physical ability tests are passed (or not) and decisions are made. In order to go home, one has to be able to get in and out of the car, climb the same number of stairs one has at home, do the bathtub thing, walk 50 feet with the walker, get up and down unassisted from the chair, and dress oneself head to toe including shoes with no assistance.  If a person can't do any of those things, s/he is sent to a rehab unit where they stay until they can care for themselves. I went home.

At home, more drama awaited.  My Miniature Schnauzer, Ladybug, had gotten desperately ill the Thursday before. She was dehydrated, had ear infection and two types of worms. I gave her all the medications and nursed her through the weekend, but on Monday morning at 0600 I had to be out the door.  My daughter Cari took over Lady's care at that point, and did a damn fine job of it. She took her back for her follow-up appointment at the vet, and at that point she was still refusing any food. They gave her another medication to encourage her to eat and a prescription for special recovery food. When I arrived home Thursday afternoon, she had just eaten for the first time - a hard boiled egg. I knew the worms had to be dead by then, so it had to be the ears. My son John's girlfriend Janette and our friend Heidi both came over to spend the evening, so I got one of them to hand Lady to me so I could work on her ears. I pulled hair until her ears were spotless. Or hairless:) Then I put in the antibiotic drops, and spent the rest of the night feeding her eyedroppers of Pedialyte. I did take a nap on the couch for a couple of hours but was too uncomfortable (and worried) to sleep much.

On Friday morning, I managed to cook her some hard boiled eggs and she ate those with relish. She was starting to turn the corner. We stayed with the eardrops and warm packs to the ears and just nested for the day in what I call "survival mode." I crocheted, worked on websites, went from one activity to another as I felt like it. Lady was drinking huge amounts of water and, unable to hold it, making huge puddles everywhere. (If anyone ever asks you, it IS actually possible to mop while walking on a walker with an IV in your arm. Just don't ever tell anyone - they'll expect you to do it!)

That day, we had the big breakthrough.  I opened the can of prescription food Cari had bought and here comes Lady from the living room, investigating the great smell. I put the tiny dog, who by now weighed less than 7 pounds, in the kitchen sink with the open can of food. She went crazy! Devoured every single bite.  Later on I made her two eggs and she ate almost an entire carton of yogurt. She was hungry!!  That afternoon the nurse came to do a transfusion at home, and sadly she was unable to use the IV we had left in from the hospital. Luckily though the new line only took two attempts and the whole thing ran like a charm.  (The Thursday before, it took eight hours, four nurses and seven IV starts to get it done).

On Saturday morning, Ron helped me get out onto the patio and stayed there (to supervise all the dogs around me) for about 20 minutes. It was wonderful to be outside and the weather was gorgeous.  On Sunday morning, she started wanting to go outside with the other furkids. Fabulous! She still made a few puddles today (Monday) but nothing like she had been. Thank God, because I was so worried about her possibly having become diabetic. She has definitely improved 100% and barring any complications, all we have to worry about is getting the weight back on her.

When the family started arriving home around 5, I managed to shower and get clean clothes on which was heaven - always is. Tossed my wet hair into braids and got comfy for another long night - which it was.

I still can't believe the surgery actually happened. There were so many things that could have gone wrong. But this time they didn't, and I am so grateful! I got through the surgery with zero complications. I know from experience that every single day (unless I overdo it) I will feel a tiny bit better and get a tiny bit stronger. I know I'll have a lot of awkward helpless moments but at least this time I'll know in advance that the ridey-cart will NOT clear the "handicapped" restroom at the 72nd Street Walmart!  Basically, all I have to do is work hard, not work TOO hard, try to eat, (I don't want to) and keep a really good attitude - if I do all that, I will be rewarded by a leg I can actually stand on without a knife sticking up my groin and another one stabbing me in the knee (that's where hip pain refers to). I'll be back to the good-old-days where all I had to deal with was failed back surgeries, back pain, stiffness, being  half blind in one eye, having a neuromuscular disease that makes me have to have frequent transfusions, a clotting disorder that can wreak dire havoc in any part of my body, and arthritis that could decide to attack another joint any time it wants.  Whew! I say all that tongue-in-cheek... although it's true, I don't CARE.  I'll deal with it. The right hip started giving me problems over 10 years ago. The left hip showed its ugly head with cruel timing, just as the right hip started to feel a lot better after the first surgery. SO not fair.  Point being, I've endured a lot. I'll continue to endure a lot... but it's one less VERY huge thing.  And right now, that's hope. And hope is everything.

Walnuts, Walnuts Everywhere!!!

I have never SEEN so many walnuts in all my life! It's been a bit windy off and on the last couple of days and it is just raining walnuts! We have a number of walnut trees here and they must have had a bumper crop, because I don't recall it being like this last year! They're quite the hazard, covering the steps, driveway, everywhere!  Poor Ron's been shoveling them up by the garbage bag full, filling up one after another... and it still hasn't made a dent! He had to shovel them up twice just today. We have been warning all our visitors to watch out for stepping on them! 


On my next door neighbor's encouragement, I cracked one open and actually tried it... and it was yummy! Now I want to save some of them, but it would be SO much work picking all those nuts out. If only there were a market for them!


Not sure where the weekend flew off to. The day after my sister left, my hip was totally "out" and spent a couple of days in dire pain. I started feeling a bit better on Friday but a nearly hour-long wait standing in line at the DMV fixed that. Did manage to get to the store for a few things, and picked up Koby's food for the month. I also picked up some yarn from Hobby Lobby for the vest I'm working on designing right now.  I fell in love with this yarn they had, "Bamboo Spun," in the color "Naturals." It's a mix of taupe, brown, gray and black and the feel of it is amazing. It will have to merit its own whole project in the future, for sure. For now, it's a stripe in the vest. 


My bff Sally has spent the past week in the hospital. I am just devastated that I cannot be there with her. I'm supposed to be having this hip done a week from Monday and I just cannot do anything now except work on getting over this infection and getting stronger for the surgery.  I know she understands, just like I understood when she was too ill to come be with me in the hospital. It just stinks that we have to live so far apart, and when one of us is sick it's really bad.  To make it worse, she is facing a very long hospital stay followed by a stay in skilled nursing rehab for wound care. Lots of prayers needed there for sure. 


Went out today and planted the spider lilies I received from a garden friend. At least they are safe in the ground now. I dug up a few plants to send her, but don't have them packaged yet. 

Well, guess that's all the big news for today. Fading fast...  Here is a picture of my granddog Winnie in her new 'My Little Pony' shirt that Grammy had to get her at Petsmart! I adore this little girl. 

What A Happy Weekend!

Well, the last six days since getting out of the hospital have been a big, happy blur of activity! I had a burst of energy on Friday and cleaned, getting ready for my sister Celia's visit. She is a hairdresser with her own salon and she came up to Council Bluffs to attend a big hair show. Then she took some time off and came over to spend Sunday through this morning with me. Spending time with her is such a gift! Long story short, I didn't eve know Celia until I was about 30... I had been adopted as a baby and she and I were raised separately. We met once when I was 10 and she was 5... but we lost track of one another for many years. Once we were reunited, we instantly bonded and became best friends as well as sisters.  She had some new toys from the hair show - my daughter and I had fun being "guinea pigs" for her new "bling strands" and instant hair color, which is awesome to hide that gray stuff in between hair colorings!  The bling strands are just pure fun. You tie them into the hair like extensions and they stay there indefinitely. As you may know, I pretty much love anything that sparkles! Anytime I get to have her mess with my hair it's a huge treat for me. She taught Cari how to put in the strands so here she is doing Celia's hair.

Yesterday we had a ball at the Goodwill store! She and I both love thrift store shopping. She found a great sweater for me and I found a pretty silk blouse for her. After a nap and a spaghetti dinner, we had a girls' night out last night and went to see "The Help," which I thought was awesome. It left me with a kind of bittersweet/sad mood, but still a very good movie. It'll probably get added to my permanent collection eventually.

Sis left early this morning and I overslept! I woke up late, in a lot of pain from the long time of inactivity (arthritis makes you "rust in place" when you are not moving for a long time).  It's going to be just a bad day. That's ok, if I overdid it a bit it was worth it.  Hopefully on October 10 I'll get a new hip and I won't have to deal with days like this anymore.

Off to catch up on email and probably crochet for awhile. I'm working on a lap afghan for myself out of all the white fancy yarns I have left over from the scarf project last fall.

Still Mending!

I always expect, when I have some medical crisis happen, that once everything is figured out and treated or fixed, I should bounce back right away and be able to "hit it."  Meaning, be productive.  Today I woke up sore all over and feeling like warmed over death, and just could not get going. The worst of this is the chills. Just can't shake them. We don't have the heat on yet and while it's not actually cold in here, it stays in the low 60's. That along with chills is just misery. I can't get warm no matter what I do.

The nurses called and said they wanted to come this morning to do my IV and I actually said no.  Not for at least two hours anyway!  Finally around noon I managed to get myself cleaned up and dressed and put on my face for the first time in a few days.  That in itself felt a lot better!  Got the dishes done, tidied up the house just a bit, and by 2 I felt strong enough to go outside and get some fresh air for a few minutes.

I turned on the water and picked up the garden hose to water the container plants and the new babies in my 'out my window' garden, and promptly sprayed myself right in my newly-applied face full force with the hose. Well, that really woke me up, I suppose!  I watered kind of in a daze, kept twisting up the hose and doing awkward things.  I quit and went indoors and the nurse arrived right after that. She asked me to do my blood sugar and it was only 53!! No wonder I was out of it!  Luckily Heidi had just arrived with fresh baked white chocolate chip macadamia nut cookies... so that fixed me right up. I have no idea why my blood sugar went so low, but it got by me - I had no idea. Not good. I'll have to keep a closer eye on it. Maybe it's the infection, the antibiotics, who knows.

Was a bit miffed today when the nurse asked if I could just take out my own IV after the infusion was done. I mean, I've dealt with ports and picc lines but IV's kinda creep me out.  For an $8,000 visit, not the greatest level of service.  'm-I bad? I did it anyway but just didn't like it.

Koby is doing so great! I really need to weigh him again. I'm sure he's up near 20 pounds. He really has his routine down! He's like a little alarm clock.  8:45 am he starts "moo-ing" for his breakfast.  6:45 p.m., same thing.  He cracks me up. Lately he has decided he likes to take a little nap in his kennel after he eats. (I put him in his kennel to eat so the other dogs won't eat his food).   I read tonight about a friend's cat who was not able to get insulin for three days due to a flood, and despite heroic efforts, died today. So sad.  I just hate illness. In dogs, in people... it is always so unfair.

I'm so sad to see the first tinges of color on the trees. Fall is going to come early, no two ways about it. There's a frost advisory out tonight for our adjoining county to the north. I need to get the plants indoors for sure this weekend or it's going to catch me unprepared.  Always hate that, it's such a mess and makes things more crowded indoors for the winter. But I can't leave them out, no way am I going to lose them! Last year I brought in two pots of Gerbera daisies and I was so thrilled when they made it through the winter and bloomed again outdoors this summer. This year I'll have to try and save the geraniums Ron got me, and the mimosa trees I grew from seeds in the pots (here are both, together), and of course my bougainvillea must come in... I have a gorgeous Lantana that got just huge and I've never tried to save one of those. Sigh. I know one thing, with all the transplanting I've done this summer, I will have some beautiful gardens next summer as they all mature!

My sister Celia is coming this weekend and I'm so excited! I haven't seen her since about May, I guess, when I went down to visit her for the weekend. That was the precise weekend my left hip (the unreplaced one) gave out. I'll never forget that Sunday morning. Things are much better now and hopefully that hip will finally get replaced on Oct 10 as scheduled this time! I refused having a new port or picc line put in just for that reason. I don't want ANY avoidable cause of potential infection to interfere with this surgery again! Three postponements are more than enough.

On The Mend!

After a long day with no coffee (who cares about food!) I finally got word just after 3 that I was headed to surgery to remove the port. They just wheeled me in there in my own bed, draped it all up and went to work. Nice dr and two helpers. When he removed the dressing he was shocked and told me the port had actually eroded through the skin and was exposed to the air! That's so incredibly dangerous for infection!

So after a bit of iv sedation and a local, he went to work removing it. That was the easy part, I guess. It took him over 30 minutes to close the incision because my skin was so thin and there wasn't enough to stretch. Damn prednisone. He finally got it to work, telling me, "You sure made me sweat there!" It had been hurting a lot before, and while it's been pretty sore after, the deep icky pain has gone.

Now that this infected hardware is out, my body (and Cipro) can start killing off all the nasty bugs and get well!

Sitting outside, it's about 60 and pretty breezy, but for the first time in a couple weeks I don't have chills, so it's almost pleasant. I've spent so many nights over the past year roaming deserted hospital corridors and parking lots thst I've lost count. I think it's about enough already! I'm really hoping they'll let me go home tomorrow. I can hear my container plants gasping for water from here!

Last night Ron brought Koby up here so I could give him his insulin. That was awesome to have some doggie time! Koby's totally blind. I "shhh'd" Ron and just put my hand up to Koby's nose. It confused him for a second before he figured out it was me, but them he wiggled and wagged like a happy puppy! I love that boy so much.

Well, time to head inside hopefully for another nap. Night all...