What a Monday!!

Busy, busy Monday as I'm sure most folks experience. This afternoon I had another appointment with Dr. McGlamry today for a check of the ole foot. Last visit he said at this next one, "we would see about getting you into a shoe".

Of course, they did another X-ray and compared it to the first one taken post-op. Unfortunately, the wire in the little toe has moved, which means the bone has moved. Remember, the wire is holding that darn little toe together.

So, this means another two weeks with the surgical boot. I just stared at him at disbelief. I was so excited about getting out of that damn boot. My first comment was, "You really know how to disappoint a lady, don't you?". His response, "I do it everyday!". I then asked him, "are you sure about this"? And, of course, he said "yes, I am sure" and then he proceeded to explain to me that the bone needs to regrow and it needs to calicify around the wire, yatta, yatta, yatta.

I almost balled in front of him, I was so disappointed. But as he said, "you surely don't want to go through this again anytime soon, now do you?" My response, "No, I'd rather have a root canal".

Then I explained to him that I had planned a Super Bowl/Burn the Boot party for Sunday and the invitations were already mailed. Of course, he laughed and said perhaps I could do that in a few weeks. So, if you received an invite - the party is OFF!!

I will still be "booted" at least until the 9th of February. I hope and pray at that point that he will tell me I can then progress to a shoe. Hope and pray is what I said (let's all do it together now, shall we?).

And to top off the Monday, I come home to gather a recipe rather quickly, let the girls out to potty, and then run to the grocery store. I left the girls uncrated thinking they would be okay for this very short period of time. But alas, I was wrong. I came home to find the cap to one of my camera lenses in the middle of one of the dog beds. I know who the culprit is as it usually is Ms. Sugar who has a fetish for hard plastic (remember her eating my Clinique compact?). This is a known fact. The thing I ponder is how in the hell did she get the thing off the lens? Unfortunately I hadn't locked the cover to the camera case, but merely closed it, thinking "outta sight outta mind". NOT . . . well at least not with these Greyhounds. The lens had dog slobber on it but appeared to be otherwise unscathed. Again, I beg to ask, how in the hell did she get the cap off the lens?

On another note and to top off the day, I formally resigned from SEGA today (Events, Fundraising, cat testing, photos, etc.) to pursue other Greyhound opportunities, of which I'm sure you will hear about soon enough. That's all I'm going to say at this point but suffice it to say, it was the hardest thing I've done since I quit smoking. Mr. Parker is not pleased with me - not in the least bit but I feel certain they will survive and be stronger for it. I am certainly not the only volunteer in the world or the best volunteer and I'm sure they will find someone who will do an outstanding job.

I can hope and pray.

Motion

Or I should say, range of motion or better yet, lack thereof. Yes, in my previous post about the last foot doctor visit, I failed to mention that I am to do self physical therapy on my foot. Actually only with my big toe.

Apparently when he went in there he found alot of arthritis which had begun to settle in which may have something to do with all the damaged cartilage he found as well. So, to help get things moving again, I was instructed to do a set of range of motion exercises which include bending the toe up and then backward until tears come to my eyes. That is basically what he said . . . "bend it until it REALLY hurts" and, unfortunately, it doesn't want to bend so it REALLY does hurt! Also, human nature tends to get in the way of this activity because it is common to NOT want to hurt oneself. But I digress.

I am trying to be a good post-op patient and do my exercises most every hour which is especially easy to do here at work because I can sit at my desk and do this and no one is the wiser! :) However, it continues to hurt like hell. I guess the ole saying, "no pain - no gain" is especially true in this case.

Toe exercises - who would have thunk it? Vision that one, if you will! :) Off to do my toe crunches!

Brrrr!!

Well, this morning was the coldest morning, thus far, that I've had to endure while doing public transportation. It wasn't all that bad, actually, as I'm in a warm bus, a warm train, or a warm shuttle van for probably at least 95% of the time! So, I can't complain. Tomorrow, though, is forecasted to be much, much colder. See the forecast below from Accuweather.

Thursday, Jan 15
High: 40 °F RealFeel®: 29 °F
Sunny most of the day, breezy and colder

Thursday Night, Jan 15
Low: 12 °F RealFeel®: 2 °F
Mainly clear and frigid

I believe their terminology "frigid" pretty much sums it up. It is frigid, for sure. My quest tonight, however, is to locate a hat in my closet that won't scrunch my hair. Yes, I'm gonna be vain even though I don't want to freeze to death!! I do believe I have a black felt hat of some sort that will certainly suffice.

Unfortunately the cold snap is going to be with us throughout the weekend. And that means we will be enduring some cold temps on Saturday during our annual field trip to the Birmingham Race Course. We take a group over every year about this time to tour the kennels and watch some races. This year we've got 90 folks going! Yep, it's the largest group in the history of SEGA. I hope everyone dresses warmly!!

Oh, I have to add that thanks to my Zune, I am back to having a stress free commute. Last night I loaded my new Lady Antebellum CD and listened to it on the way to work this morning. They write their own songs and music! What a talented trio they are. Truly talented!

There is also something very "warming" about listening to Jimmy Buffet when it's 20 degrees outside. It does put your mind in that tropical mode, you know? Beaches, margaritas, sun tan lotion, salt water - ah, just thinking of all that warms me up! :) Hey, don't laugh. Even if it actually doesn't warm me up, it certainly does put a smile on my face! Love that Jimmy Buffet!!

BTW the Zune is working fabulously!! Life couldn't be better!

The Progression of Frankenfoot

Well, as you can see I finally am bandage free!! Yeppie! I immediately went home after my doctor appointment yesterday and took my first full shower since December 26th. It was marvelous darling, simply marvelous! I could have stood there all night!!

I am still in the walking boot for at least two more weeks though. My next appointment is January 26th at which time the good looking doctor tells me, "we will see about getting you back into a shoe at that point". He mentioned taking x-rays again to see how the little toe is doing. You see, there is a wire embedded in the darn thing that is really holding it together. He wants to see how it is mending after two more weeks. I fear the wrath of Dr. McGlamry if I even attempt to wear a normal shoe because I know he will be able to see that wear and tear from the x-ray.

But it does look good, doesn't it? There is some peeling going on and there are still some stitches there, most notably on the ends of both incisions. The darkness you see along the incision line is the ink from the pen he used to draw where he would make the incision. It will wear off in time - all in good time. And there is some swelling still. The nurse told me to expect that as it will continue for several more weeks. I am to ice it down at night if I feel the need to do so. Interesting, when I awoke this morning, it damn near looked normal again!! But I'm sure it will be swollen when I get home again this evening.

So, on tap tonight is a pedicure. A home pedicure. I'm a bit apprehensive about going to a nail salon at this point, not until I am completely healed. If I were to try that, I imagine with my luck I would develop a God awful infection that would then require a foot amputation. After all this, it just ain't worth it!

The Dehydrating Weekend

My friend Heather pulled out the dehydrator she'd had for years and dehydrated treats for her Greyhounds . . . liver to be exact. Of course, I thought this a fabulous idea so I immediately went online and purchased my own dehydrator. It arrived and I finally unpacked it and went shopping for "things" to dehydrate.

My first venture was apples. My girls love apples! I started these Friday evening. They turned out yummy! I think this is the first homemade treat (besides the marshmallows) that works for both canines and humans!

Then I decided to try bananas. Below is a before picture and an after picture. The girls absolutely love the bananas! Yum, yum! They love these new treats. They are very healthy for them (and me) . . . so who can refuse?

Next I'll try sweet potatoes and then eventually, I'll try liver!! Of course, they will love both of those, I know. There isn't much my girls won't eat so I really can't go wrong!

Once again, they think I hung the moon!

Glory Be The Lord!!!

Yes, the impossible has happened. For those who have been following on Twitter, I have been dealing with my commute (and everything else) on public transportation WITHOUT my Zune. If these people only knew what torture it has been riding the bus and train, having to listen to everything and everyone around me, day in and day out - it was horrible!

You see, before the holidays, I attempted to download and install a mandatory firmware update, just as I was updating my playlist with my favorite holiday tunes. Unfortunately the firmware update corrupted the unit and there was no fixing it on my end as I diligently tried for several days. Thank goodness it was still under warranty.

I sent it in for repair, I believe sometime around the week of my birthday which was December 15th. I gave it a few travel days (via FedEx compliments of Microsoft) and it arrived at it's Repair Center in McAllen, Texas (of all places) on December 22nd. They immediately turned it around and shipped my unit back to me on December 23rd. It arrived in Atlanta on December 31st. Actually it arrived in Kennesaw at the FedEx hub there. Then on the truck for delivery at my home January 2nd. Unfortunately Microsoft required a person to person signature. I found this out when I arrived home that day, at which time I immediately called FedEx to arrange for a redirect to my work address on Monday, January 5th. Well, FedEx came that day to work and still no Zune. I called FedEx again that night to inquire about the redirect. They didn't have it in the system. Again, the next day, no Zune appeared at work. Again, I called FedEx to inquire about the redirect. A male twerp, uh customer service rep, tried to tell me that only Microsoft could issue a redirect and that the unit was probably on it's way back to them but that I had a package from DirectTV (probably a remote, he said) to be delivered that day. "No", I told him, "I don't have DirectTV." He assured me I would be receiving a package from them that day. Of course, he was wrong and no such package from them has arrived as of this writing.

Nonetheless, this whole time the FedEx delivery guy made three attempts to deliver the Zune to my home. He called my cell phone the first day and didn't leave a message. The second day, I was able to answer and explain to him that I was not home but was at work, therefore, I couldn't sign for the unit. I begged him to leave the Zune on the doorstep and he said he couldn't, that Microsoft required a person to person signature. I don't know why he attempted delivery the third day.

Anyway, it sat in Kennesaw for a few more days and finally made it to the Atlanta hub where it was put on the delivery truck and, indeed, was delivered this very morning. Amazing, I say, just freaking amazing that it took nine days for me to receive it. If not for the extra help and attention provided by "Yvette" at the Kennesaw hub, I seriously doubt this would have happened. Thank you Yvette!

They actually sent a brand new replacement for my corrupted one. Upon opening the box, I immediately plugged it into my laptop at which time it required the firmware update which it did successfully install. Right now, it's loading all my albums, playlists, pictures, and video and is at 90% complete.

Suffice it to say, I will never use FedEx again, not if I can help it. UPS is much more customer friendly, consistent and dependable.

As I sit here marveling at my new Zune that is now almost completely loaded with my music, pictures, and videos, I am confident all is well in the world (big sigh of relief).

Where Is It???

What you ask? I'm searching for my brain, of course. I seem to have misplaced it somewhere and no, the pain meds have not affected the brain, at least not today. I haven't had anything but aspirin for two days now and that seems to be working okay, for now.

Anyhoo, let me explain why I truly think I've lost my mind . . . ESPECIALLY today (as you can imagine, I have this feeling often but DEFINITELY today). What happened, you ask? Well, this morning I had loaded the car with the essentials for my hour+ drive to work. Just to break the mundaneness of commuting on the bus and train, I usually drive on Friday, plus it gives me a chance to run a few errands!

I was about halfway to my destination when all of a sudden I realized and then looked down to confirm and, yes it was true, I had left home without my left shoe!!! I had put my walking boot in the car and everything else I needed, walked back into the house in my "stocking feet" to set the alarm and then I jumped into the SUV, opened the garage door, and was on my way. I had decided to drive today without my boot since yesterday (had to drive then because of a dentist appointment), I narrowly missed causing a rear-end wreck because the boot was stuck on the gas pedal and the brake pedal. Lesson learned - do not drive with God awful boot on foot.

So, of course, I had to turn around and go back home to retrieve my shoe. What is normally an hour+ commute turned into 2+ hours. UGH - I hate it!! As much as this was a pain in the "patooty", I just thank God I wasn't on the bus as there is no turning back on that thing. Can you imagine how that would have ended?

Anyway, happy Friday everyone - it's got to get better from here, don't you think?

The Drugs

I just have to post this as it sort of astonished me a bit. As you know, I have been taking Percocet for the pain from the foot surgery which is diminishing daily, thank goodness. Yesterday I didn't take anything but aspirin and today I've had some aspirin, as well.

But, over the weekend I needed something and didn't want to take the Percocet (it makes me so so sleepy) so I looked at the bottle of pain pills I had left over from the finger surgery I had, oh what was it, like four months ago or something like that? I didn't take them all and had just kept the bottle for whatever reason. So, I looked at it and looked at the name on the bottle. It is a generic name so I didn't recognize it. I looked it up on the Internet and lo and behold, I have Vicadin. I guess that is a lesson in and unto itself - always look up your medications BEFORE you take them. There is nothing wrong with Vicadin, mind you, but it would have been nice to know that that is what it was before I took any! Who knew? Of course Vicadin is a Schedule III narcotic. According to Wikipedia, "Schedule III drugs are classified by the U.S. government as potentially causing moderate or low physical dependence or a high psychological dependence if abused. There is a high inclination for abuse of this drug."

And then we have the Percocet. Wikipedia states, "Oxycodone is a Schedule II controlled substance, i.e. it must be given by written prescription which cannot have refills, nor can it be called in to a pharmacy by a physician."

The astonishing part to me is that these doctors so freely dispense these type of painkillers but I honestly don't know if there are better alternatives. I would assume if there were, then they would have prescribed that instead, knowing the dependency factor of Vicadin and Percocet.

Don't get me wrong, I am very grateful to have had the pain relief. (And yes, they are totally out of reach of the Greyhounds or anyone else for that matter!)

Actually, it seems I'm on a roll here so I'm contemplating what type of surgery I can schedule next. Wonder what that doc would prescribe? Just kidding!!!! I'm done!

A First Tonight . . .

And I hope a last! I gave the girls each a piece of dehydrated lamb lung as an after dinner treat. Lucy ate hers fine, Sugar almost took my finger off getting hers but she ate hers fine and Remi grabbed hers rather like a lady. I've been working with them on this and they are all doing much better, except for Sugar.

Anyway, I could tell within seconds that Remi was having trouble with her treat. It appeared it was stuck in her throat and she couldn't chew it. I was afraid it was cutting off her air supply which it probably was. My gut and first reaction was to reach in her mouth and grab the thing and pull it out. This was after chasing her from dog bed to dog bed as she continued to attempt to choke it up and as she continued to get more distressed and more distressed. I finally caught up to her (walking boot, bum foot and all) and I reached in and grabbed it. Sure enough, it was stuck in her throat like a potato chip. Pretty darn disgusting but my dear Remi is doing well as I write this. Never a dull moment, is it?

Frankenfoot Unveiled

I truly am beginning to feel like Frankstein's bride, especially after seeing my foot today for the first time since the surgery. Actually, I can't complain though as I've only had issues with one finger and my feet. And after all these years of living, that ain't too bad, if you ask me!

Anyway, the doctor visit today went well. We took more x-rays and he changed the bandage and gave me a new prescription for the ole Percocet (which is working now, I think it just took a bit to get into my system). I wish I had taken a picture of the x-ray on the computer screen. There is a before and after shot. The after, of course, was cool as it shows the wires he put into the bones. Pretty cool, really.

So, here is my foot after I took off the top wrapping the other day. The bruising of the toes I could actually see through the wrapping. By the way, my toe nails aren't really yellow (ugh, how ugly), that is Betadine. Of course he slathered another layer on today before rewrapping it. I don't think I'll ever get that stuff off!

Here is a picture without the bandages. It really does look good. I'm going to have two very long scars but hopefully they will fad with proper care. Oh, the writing you can barely see in the middle of my foot is the doctor's initials. The nurse wrote "yes" on the foot to be operated on and "no" on the other foot. He then came and initialed the "yes" foot so that we were all clear on which foot was to get the knife. I also made it absolutely clear to him that "yes" meant "YES" and "no" meant "NO"!

Dr. McGlamry is quite pleased with how the healing is progressing. I am, too, however, I did ask when could I get the thing wet. His answer was, "that's a sign you're feeling better, that bathing as you are now doing is an inconvenience." Well, heck yea it is, it's a pain in the ass but I do bathe and wash my hair daily as difficult as it is. Anyway, he said it'd be about two weeks from now. UGH!! I hate that and can't remember the last surgery having such a long recovery time. Oh well, I'll just have to deal, I suppose.

All in all, we are well on our way to a full recovery. I, personally, can't wait to give this walking boot "the boot" and schedule a much needed and well deserved pedicure!!