Lainey: 3 Months Post Op

This has not been an easy road...for Lainey or for us!  Today we are officially 4 months out from her ACL surgery.  According to the paperwork, Lainey should be exercising like "normal" and running, jumping and rough play should gradually be introduced until at a normal level.

Unfortunately, she is still not even walking on that leg yet. 

We had another visit with the surgeon last night and he took another set of x-rays (assuming the artificial band had snapped), but everything looks as good as it did the day he placed it in there.  The metal plate is even still in the same spot (he said sometimes it can shift a little). 

He did notice a lot of fluid around Lainey's knee and mentioned that she is in a lot of pain.  He tried touching her knee when she was under anesthesia and she reacted to it.  He said only patients who are in severe pain will react to anything while being "under".

We will be dropping Lainey off at the surgeon's office tomorrow so they can aspirate the knee and get some of the fluid off.  They will then send the fluid to a pathologist to run some tests.

For now, we are back on pain meds and antibiotics.

I JUST WANT MY DOG BACK.....MY PUPPY!!!

I knew this was going to be a loooong process, but knowing that we are 3 months post op and she is healing at about 20-30 days post op is so frustrating.  We have done everything that is expected and it still seems to be one thing after another.

I pray that here is where we will turn the corner....After handling this fluid issue that is around her knee, we will (finally) be headed in the right direction.

No Regrets

I am one of the few women who never wanted children.  I adore my nephews, but even as a young adult I had no intentions of having any of my own. 

But then I met a handsome fella and we got married, bought a house and joined our 'families'.  He had 2 children already (who were teenagers when we met), but I started to want my own. 

Due to the fact that my husband is a paraplegic and I had had cervical cancer, we decided to see a specialist to discuss our options.  Soon after that appointment, the so-called "urge" was gone, so we decided not to move forward.  I enjoy our life and for many reasons I don't care to discuss here, we cancelled all future doctor appointments and have never really discussed the topic since.

But, every year around Christmas I get a little depressed.  I tend to think of all the things I won't be doing this year.  I won't attend any Christmas programs at school, I won't make anything awesome from Pinterest for my child's teacher, I won't be able to play Santa, and most of all, I can't pass along the Christmas family traditions that I grew up knowing and loving.

I've learned that the best way to cure this feeling is for me to spend some extra special time with all the little ones around me.  I've got a special date with one of my nephews tonight and I can't wait!

I don't regret the decision my husband and I made, but that doesn't mean I can't dream every now and again of what it would be like to some day be called "mommy"!

Lainey gets Sirius

Poor little Lainey has a mama that is obsessed with cute dog collars.  I would venture to guess that in a one week span she wears at least 5 different collars.

I've been trying to curb my addiction lately, but as soon as I saw that Sirius Republic came out with a new holiday collar I jumped on it.

Seriously...I just can't get over the cuteness of these sock monkeys!

And not only did she get a new collar, she also got a Sirius Republic snood. It slides right over her head and I can even use it to keep her ears warm.

(You can always tell how tired she is by the redness of her eyes...
On this particular day she had skipped her nap)

Am I the only crazy dog mama with an addiction to collars and/or leashes?

Christmas Cards for Dummies

I have never sent Christmas cards, and this year I really wanted to start.  I originally wanted to get all the pets dressed up in their holiday gear and take a picture, but after Walker passed away the excitement was no longer there!  

We had family photos taken with my in-laws back in November and the same day that the photo disc arrived...so did a coupon from Shutterfly for 10 free cards!  Perfect timing! 

I have used Shutterfly for my prints and have made dozens of photo books, but it never crossed my mind to use them for our Christmas cards!

I'm happy with the end result...what do you think?

(P.S.~ There was a back-side to the card also, but I wasn't sure how to embed that.  I guess I need Blogger for Dummies!)

Wishing You Merry Christmas Card

Customize your Christmas cards this season at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.

http://www.shutterfly.com/

Welcome Home Dasher

During the first four weeks after Walker passed away, my husband kept dropping hints about wanting another cat.  I, of course, was not ready to give my heart away again and was worried that I wouldn't be a good mama to another cat by expecting him to be just like Walker.  We agreed that we would wait until I was ready, but I had no idea how I would know when that time came.  Not to mention, I was enjoying the special one-on-one time I was getting to spend with Tucker.

There was a big cat adoption event scheduled for Saturday & Sunday last weekend and my husband really wanted to go, but knew that if I wasn't ready he wouldn't force the issue.  I knew we weren't going based on the fact that a week prior, I had stopped into our local Petco and there was a small local group doing an adoption event.  As I entered the store a small, black kitten made eye contact with me and I broke down in tears.  I wasn't even 5 steps into Petco and I was crying.  After explaining my tears to one of the girls working the event, I left the store totally humiliated.  I got to my car, buried my head in my hands and cried. 

Periodically, I log onto petfinder.com.  I like to keep tabs on the pit bull counts at our local shelters so we can donate needed items, visit with them and be the best ambassador for the breed that we can be.  Last Thursday, I was doing just that, when I found myself doing a search for black cats in my area.  I scrolled through dozens of cats (mostly kittens) when I stopped on the profile of one particular cat named "Six".  I stared at his profile picture for what seemed like an eternity before I opened it.  Unfortunately, there wasn't much information listed.

I quickly realized what I was doing and reminded myself that I'm not ready for another cat and exited the site immediately.  But, as the afternoon dragged on I could not stop thinking about this cat named Six. I knew that even if I was ready for another cat, that I would want it to be a kitten and Six was clearly not a kitten from the looks of his profile picture.  This didn't stop me from obsessing over him for the next couple hours.  Before I knew what I was doing I was on the phone with the animal shelter. 

I was told that Six had been in the shelter since April 1, 2011 and that nobody had showed any interest in him the entire time he had been there.  They take him to every adoption event, but have never had any luck finding his forever home.  She explained to me the stigma around black cats and gave me some numbers on the percentage of black cats that are adopted in the US and my heart broke.  I told her my story of Tucker & Walker and explained my love for black cats. She said Six was about 2-3 years old, very friendly and would get along great with other pets.

Mere seconds after hanging up from her I called my husband and told him about this cat named Six and how he already had a piece of my heart.  I cried over the thought of any animal living in the shelter for that long.  My husband I agreed that we would make a trip to the shelter over the weekend and pay Six a visit.  

Ironically, my husband I both had the same idea.  Within a 1/2 hour of hanging up from him, I left work and was in the car headed to the shelter.  I called him when I was about 20 minutes away from the shelter and told him what I was doing.  He laughed and explained to me that he was already at the shelter and holding Six in his arms!

I arrived at the shelter and met my husband in the parking lot.  I was talking a mile a minute and asking a million questions about the cat.  I was still nervous about the thought of another pet and my stomach was in knots.

Long story short....We adopted Six the very next day!  After 20 months of living in the shelter, he is finally HOME!

The name "Six" was not suitable for us and the shelter said with that many cats living together at the shelter that he didn't answer to that name (or any name) and we could change it if we preferred.

Meet Dasher (named after Santa's reindeer, of course)

And here is Tucker and Dasher meeting for the first time.  They were rubbing on each other and my heart melted.  Another confirmation that we did the right thing by bringing "Six" into our lives.

A.K.A. Debbie Downer

I really hate to be a Debbie Downer, but I feel like I'm overwhelmed with every aspect of my life right now.

I am freshly coming off a 9 day vacation and I don't feel any better today than I did 2 weeks ago.  Is that normal?  Don't most people come back from vacation feeling refreshed and ready to face the world?

I don't feel like thinking long enough to write in paragraphs so you are getting bullet points!

• I'm tired!!!  No matter how much sleep I get....I am still tired!  And not necessarily tired like I need to take a nap, but more like I need to sit down and just relax
• My job sucks!!!  Yes, I am thankful to have a job....but that doesn't mean I can't hate every minute of every day that I am there.  I am over used and under paid and it's taking a toll on me.
• I'm sad!!!  The loss of Walker is still affecting me.  And watching Tucker mope around the house doesn't help!  I wonder if I will ever get rid of the guilt I feel over the whole pill incident.
• I'm broke!!!  Between all of the money we have spent on Lainey and her chiropractor appointments, her acupuncture, the surgery, the trips to the emergency vet, her medications, daycare fees, etc...and then the emergency vet appointments with both cats, the cremation fees, etc...we have spent a huge chunk of money the past 4 months.  It is money that we had (in savings), but nonetheless, it makes me stressed to think about not having that "comfort" just in case we need it.  I can probably bet on the fact that this will probably be the year our furnace will go out...just our luck!
• Christmas!!!  My entire life Christmas has always been my favorite time of the year.  It is a time spent with family and friends, everyone is happy, and Christmas music makes my heart skip a beat!  This year it feels different.  This year it is so stressful.  The holiday is losing it's meaning (not to me, but to others close to me).  I am actually thinking of boycotting and spending Christmas with only my husband. 

I just realized that this list could go on forever and I like you too much to put you through that kind of torture so I will end now!

Actually, here are a couple "happy" pictures from my vacation....that way the blog-o-sphere won't consider me a total Debbie Downer.

Walker is "HOME"!!

Last night I picked up Walker's ashes.  It was such mixed emotions...I cried and cried the whole way home, but once I got him inside, I felt like he was "home" again and a sense of calm came over me.

The second I walked through the door Tucker was all over me.  I finally took out the urn and sat it on the counter and Tucker was rubbing all over it.  My heart literally broke into a million pieces.

I'm not sure how to explain Tucker's reaction to the urn, but it continued all night long.  No matter where I put the urn, Tucker would find it and meow like crazy.  I would take it out of the bag it came in and he would rub all over it.

I ended up having to put it in one of our closets because Tucker just would not leave it alone and it broke my heart to watch his reaction.

This worries me because I ordered a ceramic black cat urn to transfer the ashes to, but I am concerned that Tucker will knock it over and break it.  I will have to see what happens.

In a perfect world, I wouldn't be writing this post...unfortunately, we don't live in a perfect world! On the other hand, if the circumstances must be....I at least feel like I have some peace now that Walker is HOME with us again.

Welcome back buddy....Mommy loves you and misses you every day!!!

R.I.P Walker

I can't even begin to describe the pain in my heart! 

We lost one of our family members Friday...

R.I.P Walker

I will never forgive myself for letting him eat one of those pills, which ultimately was the beginning of the end for him. He was suffering from kidney failure and I know I did the right thing by putting him to sleep, but it doesn't make the pain hurt any less. I don't know if I will ever love another 4-legged animal the way I loved him. There was definitely a special bond between Walker and mama and I will hold onto those memories forever. 

Not the best picture of me....but this is the last photo I took of Walker. 
This is a great example of how loving he was.  He would sleep every night with his arms wrapped around my neck...I sure do miss that!  {tear}

R.I.P Walker...you will forever be in our heart!

Cat Update:

After spending 4 days at the hospital, I was able to bring the cats home yesterday.  Their kidney & liver tests continue to be in the "normal" range, but we will have them tested two more times over the next couple weeks to make sure there are no residual effects from the pill.

If you are just joining...check out this post to see what happened.

Our family felt COMPLETE yesterday after they arrived home and it was a nice feeling.

One cat wouldn't leave my side....and the other wanted nothing to do with me.

Although, by the time I was in bed....both cats were cuddled up next to me, just like it should be :)

Google is Always Right....But I Wanted them to be Wrong

Yesterday was one of those days where nothing seemed to go right.  The weather has been crappy which put me in a bad mood....my workday was chaotic....and worst of all, when I picked up Lainey from daycare they informed me that they couldn't watch her anymore.  Evidently, she is starting to feel better and is NOT HAPPY about being confined to a kennel ALL day!  Over the past few days she has chewed up many blankets, chewed up two beds, and yesterday she chewed their floor all the way down to concrete.

This of course stressed me out to the max and required me to come up with a Plan B.  For the next couple weeks my little brother has agreed to come over throughout the day to let her out, take her for her walk and do her therapy.  This is a great plan for now, but what am I going to do in a couple weeks when he isn't available anymore???

Needless to say I went to bed last night not in a very good mood....and I let everyone know about it too!

When I awoke this morning I convinced myself that today was a new day and I was going to leave yesterday in the past.  My morning routine was going great, I was right on schedule and had everything planned out for leaving Lainey at home.  Then the unthinkable happened.....

I feed Lainey every morning before we leave so that I can give her a pain pill.  I got all of her pills out and ready and then noticed that she was still eating her food.  I wanted to let her finish eating so that she can take the pills on a full stomach.  I decided that while she finished eating I would brush my teeth and then be ready to leave for work.  I laid the pills on the counter, stepped over my cats (they tend to always be right at your feet at all times), and went to brush my teeth.  When I came back out of the bathroom I went to grab the pills off the counter and there was only "dust" and a small piece of one of the pills left.  By this time I started to panic.  I immediately looked on the floor to see if one of the cats knocked them off the counter, but there was nothing!

I panicked.  The counter is too high for Lainey to have gotten to them so I knew that one of the cats had ate them.  I wasn't worried about the cats ingesting the glucosamine pills, but the pain pill (Rimadyl) is pretty potent even for my 70 lb dog...I couldn't imagine a 9 lb cat ingesting one.

My first reaction was to jump on google to see what I should do and how harmful this could be.  The first post I read stated that Rimadyl is TOXIC to cats and ingested can cause Kidney failure within the first 24 hrs which most of the time leads to death.  I was HYSTERICAL!!!

Due to my hysteria I failed to think straight.  I should have immediately jumped in the car and headed to the emergency vet, but instead, my next reaction was to wake up my husband and tell him what happened.  I informed him of what I found on Google and of course, he tried to calm me down and actually got irritated that I always try to "self-diagnose" everything using the internet.  (About every 6 months I think I'm dying of cancer or any other 100 diseases you don't want). I agreed that I was probably over-reacting and finished getting ready for work.

After 20 minutes I couldn't take it any longer.  I called the emergency vet to get some answers.  Unfortunately....Google was right!  And the kicker to this whole story is that had I tried to induce vomiting within the first 20 minutes the "fast-acting" Rimadyl wouldn't have been completely absorbed by the cat's system, giving us better chances of reducing the side effects. 

After hanging up the phone, I hollered at my husband to "get your ass out of bed and come say goodbye to the cats, because one of them is probably going to die today".  I never said I was calm under pressure.....Although, he did feel pretty bad that he tried to talk me out of the emergency vet in the first place.

Anywho....Both cats are at the hospital (both of them had to go because I don't know which one ingested the drug) and will be there until Monday evening (assuming they live that long).  The doctors tried to induce vomiting but was unsuccessful.  They are currently both on IV fluids in order to try and flush the kidneys.  As of 10:00 a.m. today both of their liver and kidney tests came back normal, but that can change at any time.  They will test again on Monday and call me with the results.  If there is no change, I will be able to pick them up Monday evening.

Although, we still won't be "out of the woods" even if they test normal on Monday.  The first 3 days after ingestion are the most critical, but it can take up to 3-4 weeks for the Rimadyl to be completely out of a cat's system.  They will both go back every few days for more tests and hopefully there will continue to be no changes.

As you can imagine...I am just beside myself.  The guilt is overwhelming...

How could I have been so stupid?  If I had children I wouldn't have just left pills sitting on the counter....I will just die (not literally) if something happens to one of my precious furbabies!

I'm pretty sure I win the award for the most money paid to a vet in a 2 month period.  Between the dogs and now the cats our savings is non-existent!  I'm really hoping that nobody expects a Christmas gift from us this year...

Please pray for my precious babies....

 

Every Game Counts

I don't watch many sports on tv except for University of Michigan football.....GO BLUE!!  I love college football over any other sport.  in addition to college football, my husband likes to watch the Detroit Lions and the Detroit Tigers, but I generally find myself doing something else when it is on.

That is until the Detroit Tigers made it into the playoffs.  I'm really into it and find myself cheering loudly while my husband looks at me strange.

The only thing I don't like about playoffs are the late night games.  Last week there were 2 games that went past 1:00 a.m. ON A WEEKDAY!!!  Thankfully, work has been a little slow, but I am dying!  Staying up to watch these games is really taking a toll on me.  I normally start my bedtime routine about 9 p.m. and nowadays, they are only in the first few innings by 9:00.

Last night I finally fell asleep around 11 p.m., but woke up around 3 a.m. and had to immediately check facebook to see who won.

Game 4 against the Yankees is on tonight at 8:07pm EST, but I have made a promise to myself that no matter what is happening in the game, I have to be sleeping no later than 10:00 p.m.

What team/sport do you tend to follow?

 

One Step Forward.....Two Steps Back

After my last post, where I declared that my dog is a superstar and I'm rocking this whole "post-surgery recovery" thing....Well, things took a turn (and not for the better).

Last Wednesday evening I was driving Lainey home from doggy daycare and she let out a huge yelp from her cage in the back of the car.  I immediately turned around to check on her, but she was laying down and seemed fine.  We carried out the rest of the evening in our normal manner and she was showing no signs that anything was wrong.

That same night we went to bed and Lainey seemed a little restless.  She seemed like she couldn't get comfortable and would get up repeatedly, walk in a circle and lay back down.  A few hours after falling asleep I was awakened by a blood curdling yelp from her.  I jumped up, grabbed my glasses off the nightstand and she was once again just laying down in her cage.  I slept with her the rest of the night and she seemed a lot more comfortable and a lot less restless.

In the morning when I got her up, I noticed that she was refusing to walk on her leg.  I looked it over and didn't see anything out of the ordinary so I assumed it was probably just sore. 

She continued to not use that leg for the rest of the week.  I was even having trouble getting through her therapy because she DID NOT want me touching her leg.  But, other than not putting any weight on the leg, she seemed normal.  Her eating habits had not changed and she was still perky and wanting to play.

Then Saturday came and her whole demeanor changed.  Not only was she not wanting to put any weight on the leg, but she was not even willing to stand up.  You had to force her into a standing position when it was time to go potty.  By Saturday evening she started shaking, and refused to eat.  You could tell she was not feeling good.  At this point my husband and I started discussing whether we should call the emergency vet or not.  We decided to wait until Sunday and see if she improved any. 

 By Sunday she was feeling a little better but she slept most of the day.  We decided to wait until Monday morning to call the surgeon and not take her to the emergency vet.  Not only would it be cheaper, but the surgeon obviously knows her history and we felt more comfortable having him calling the shots.

Our jack russell, Stewie, must have known that Lainey wasn't feeling well, because he wouldn't leave her side for most of the day on Sunday.  The dogs get along great, but Stewie tends to keep to himself most of the time and it isn't very often that he will "cuddle" up next to her.  At one point Sunday afternoon I was laying on the floor with Lainey while she napped.  I got up to use the bathroom and this is what I saw when I walked back into the room.

My heart was overflowing.....Big brother Stewie knew just what to do.

Doesn't Lainey just look miserable in that last picture? 

Anyways.....long story short, Lainey had an appointment with the surgeon last night.   My biggest fear was that she tore the ACL replacement band that they put in during surgery and that we would be back at square one.  My stomach was in knots all day yesterday.

Fortunately, the x-rays showed that everything was perfect!!!  He thinks that she may have "tweaked" her leg and then tried to stand on it and due to the extreme pain she has refused to use that leg again, anticipating it to hurt like that every time. As for the shaking and the lack of appetite...those are both symptoms from the pain and are normal.  Needless to say, we are back on pain meds for the time being.  Doctor thinks that in a week or so she should be progressing as well as before.  We will continue with her therapy and take things day by day.  I will definitely not rush her recovery and will let her take it at her own pace.

It's frustrating having to take "two steps back", but it could have been much worse. 

And since we are on the topic....here is a picture of Lainey's back legs.  You will notice all the wrinkles in her left leg...this is all the muscle she has lost since surgery.  It makes me sad :(

So we are back at square one, but I still love her to death and will do anything to help in the recovery process.  Wish me luck (and patience)!

It was all worth it

Lainey's stitches came out today and the surgeon said that of all the ACL surgeries he has conducted, that she is in the top 90% as far as recovery. I am beyond thrilled. He said most dogs are still only walking on 3 legs by now and have not even attempted touching even their toes on the ground. She is completely walking on ALL FOUR legs! 

 

The surgeon was very impressed with her flexibility in the leg and pretty much gave me a high-five for following the therapy instructions.  I guess not many people do what they should and then expect results they aren't getting.  Yay for mama (and of course the ladies at daycare) for being consistent with her post-operation instructions.

 

Normally it isn’t until we go back in 3 weeks for another check-up, that he would instruct us to start taking small walks (about 5-10 min), but we get to START TODAY!!!! Yesssss!  The fresh air is going to do both of us some good.

I am feeling so much better today….I can finally say that the past 12 days of hell have been worth it. 

 

Let's hope that Lainey continues to progress in the right direction!

 

And can we get an Amen for mama for not giving up....Aaaaaa-MEN!!!

 

 

I Need A 12-Step Program

I always knew I had a problem with watching too much television, but it wasn't until last night when I started setting my DVR to record some of the new fall shows, that I realized how bad my problem really is.

Here is the list of the shows I currently record during the fall:

• 2 Broke Girls
• The Big Bang Theory
• Cougar Town
• Don't Trust the B in Apartment 23
• Grey's Anatomy
• How I Met your Mother
• Jersey Shore
• The Middle
• Modern Family
• New Girl
• Private Practice
• Two and Half Men
• Up all Night
• The Voice
• Whitney
• Ghost Adventures
• All the "Real Housewives"

And here is the list of shows I have added:

• Ben and Kate
• Go On
• The Mindy Project
• The New Normal
• Revolution

How in the world am I going to have time to watch all of these?  I seriously need a 12-step program for my DVR addiction.

Any new shows you plan on watching this season? 

Update: Day 6

During my meeting with the Dr after Lainey's surgery, he mentioned that the first 3 days were going to be the most difficult.  HE WAS RIGHT!!!  She looked miserable, would whine in her sleep (from pain I'm assuming), she wouldn't drink any water, was unbalanced walking on 3 legs, put up a fight whenever it was time for physical therapy, and hated the cold compress. 

Doesn't she look pathetic.....

But then day 4 rolled around and I got a small glimpse of my "puppy" again.  She was perkier, her ears were standing up, and her energy level had increased.  I didn't have to fight her to do her therapy, she took her meds like a champ and her overall demeanor had improved greatly. 

Day 5 was her first day at daycare and they said she did fantastic.  I don't know what I would do without those wonderful ladies...they sent home a chart with me last night showing me when she ate, took her meds, did therapy, got a cold compress, went potty, drank water, etc.  Anything and everything that they thought I would like to know, they wrote down for me. 

Today is Day 6 and she was extremely tired looking this morning.  Although, we did have a good therapy session before I dropped her off at daycare.

I hope and pray that every day we start to see improvement.

For those of you with a weak stomach...Look away now!!

Here is a picture of Lainey's incision on Day 1

As of today, the swelling has gone down substantially, the bruising is almost gone and the incision site looks like it is healing nicely.  The staples come out next Monday and I will post another picture so you can see the improvement. 

Update: Day 1

Picked up Lainey and she is here with me in the office today. She looks like one pitiful little girl :( Surgeon said the injury was a lot worse than what he was expecting. The lower portion of her leg wasn't aligned up with the upper portion any longer and she had formed some bone spur type things (little bits of bone growing in odd places).  She also formed some arthritis in that leg, so now we will have to deal with that too.

 

Here she is with her "cold compress" and being the best little patient a doctor (aka mama) could ask for.

 

 

 

 

To you she is "Just a Dog", to me "She is Family"

Today is the day....Surgery for Lainey to repair her torn ACL.

So far I have cried in the shower…cried on the way to the vet….cried after I left the vet...and cried once at my desk!  It was so hard to leave her there.  She was so scared and shaking so badly.  As they took her from me and started heading down the long corridor, she turned around and looked at me and I lost it.  Animals are so hard because they don’t understand.
 
The surgeon came out to the lobby and talked with me for a little bit this morning to try and calm my nerves.  I thought it was very nice of him, but he said NOTHING that made me feel better. 

I don’t think I’m upset over the actual surgery.  I know the surgeon will do his best and is very qualified.  I think it is the recovery process that has my stomach in knots.  I don’t know how to keep her physically contained for that long and still make sure she is a “happy” dog.  Actually…I think that is exactly what is upsetting me.  I want to make sure that she is always happy and most of all feels loved.  I spend too much of my time researching and learning about pit bulls and 90% of the stories will shred your heart into a million pieces.  I don’t ever want her to experience anything negative like those “other dogs”.

I know this is going to turn into a positive thing once she is all healed and can run and play like a puppy again, but getting to that point is going to be a struggle.  I've been told “I love too hard” and I think that’s true (with both people and animals).

 

Please keep Lainey (and myself) in your prayers today!  Hope to come back with an update tomorrow or Friday.

 

 

We can do it

We are now on our 9th day of keeping Lainey on bed rest because of her torn ACL.  The first 6-7 days weren't that bad because she was in pain and would sleep most of the day due to her pain medication.  The last 48 hours however, have been torture.  Her pain is obviously improving because she wants so badly to play and simply get out and run!

Surgery is next Wednesday so we only have to deal with her being stressed for another few days...we can do it!  But, what really scares me is after the surgery.  I know the first couple weeks she won't feel the greatest, but what are we going to do after that?  It is impossible to keep her occupied and "resting" 24 hours a day.  My stress and anxiety are at an all-time high right now anticipating her recovery process.

My heart just breaks when I see her so sad...And I hate being the "bad guy" who makes her stay caged up all day long.  Hopefully, she won't hold any grudges after this is all said and done!

I mean...Look at how pathetic she looks

Stressed to the Max

I apologize for my absence....Life has taken over!

As I sit at my desk on this brisk Monday morning, with an ice pack on my back, a bottle of pain killers next to me and black bags under my eyes, I realized that maybe it's time for me to slow down.  I've been go, go, go for about 3 weeks now and my body is finally telling me it needs some rest.

It all started like this.....

There was a huge landscaping project that I knew I wanted finished before winter, so I decided to take the week before Labor Day off from work and get it accomplished.  And since I was already going to be off work, what a perfect time to have a garage sale (yes, that is how my twisted mind thinks)!

On Tuesday morning there were 15 yards of stone dumped on the side of my house.  It took 2 loads to bring it, as the truck could only hold 10 yards at a time.

Load #1

My little brother and I worked for 2 days spreading stone and laying edgers.  It was way harder than I had anticipated.

I was so excited that I forgot to take any "before" pictures.  I just happened to come across this old picture this morning though, so it will have to do.  Please disregard the numbers hanging from our dog run...I was spray painting our table numbers for our wedding.




"BEFORE"

 

"AFTER"



I know that our lawn is not the best looking.....that is next years project!

 

 

"Before" shot of the opposite side of the yard (we only added stone to the back corner and all the way up the side to the left.  You will also notice in the "after" picture our new fence)



"AFTER"

We worked on the rocks Tuesday and Wednesday, then Thursday we started pulling everything out for the garage sale the next day.  I had no idea how much stuff we had!!!  My original thought when I planned the garage sale, was to hopefully make enough money to pay for the rocks.  My new thought quickly became.... PRICE LOW AND GET RID OF EVERYTHING! And that's exactly what we did.  I can happily say that we started out Friday morning with ten 8' folding tables, a rolling closet with hanging clothes, a 15' long rack of hanging clothes, and tons of stuff just laying out in our yard.  By the time we shut down on Saturday I was able to pack all of the remaining items into 4 plastic storage totes!  AHHHH-MAZING!!  And the extra bonus is that we made enough money to pay for over 80% of the cost of the rocks.

 

By Saturday evening I was exhausted, but it was the opener for Michigan football so we decided to go over to my parents house to watch the game.  While we were there I noticed that Lainey wasn't acting herself.  Kind of low-key, not wanting to play with the other dogs and really keeping to herself.  As the evening went on I noticed that she had started limping (again) and she couldn't even get herself in standing position by herself if she was laying down.

 

Long story short....by Tuesday she could no longer walk on her own, so after talking to the vet for about 45 minutes on the phone, we decided to put her under anesthesia and do some testing.  She has been having problems with this same leg since May and we have tried bed rest, chiropractor, acupuncture, supplements...obviously, nothing has been successful.

 

The end result is that she has a torn ACL in her left knee and will undergo surgery next Wednesday.  In the meantime, we have to keep her "contained" as to not further damage the ligaments.

 

Here is her new "hospital room" as we call it

She has been confined to this space about 99% of the time since Wednesday and she is handling it very well.  I think it is harder on me to see her like this, than it is for her actually being stuck in there.

You can tell she doesn't feel well

Our jack russel, Stewie, sits on the outside peering in through the holes in the gate at her.  He can't understand why she can't come out and play.  So, every once in a while, we let him in there with her for "visiting hours".

Please keep us in your thoughts and pray that surgery goes okay next week.  I will try to keep everyone posted.

It's time to apply the ice pack to my back again so I must go....Until next time!









Now that takes the Cake!

Hubby's birthday is today, so last night I baked his favorite cake!

Looks like it is Lainey's favorite cake too!!

Doctor Doctor Give Me The News

For the past few months, my pit bull Lainey has been having some issues with one of her back legs.  She will limp for a couple days, then refuse to walk on it for a day, limp for a couple more days and then she is fine.  It seems to happen every couple of weeks...in that same order...limp for 2 days, refuse to put weight on it for 1 day, then limp for 2 more days.  We have had her to the vet a couple times to have it looked at, but they have been unable to diagnose the problem without putting her under and doing some x-rays. We are sent home with some pain killers/anti-inflammatory meds and bed rest.

Do you have any idea what it is like to have an active puppy put on bed rest?  It is miserable to say the least.  We are unable to take our nightly walks, our weekend hikes, no running/jumping of any kind, no doggy daycare and the worst...having to go out for potty breaks on a leash instead of having free roam of the backyard.

We have been doing a lot of mental exercises to tire her out, but it just isn't the same as doing physical activities.

The logical answer is to just have her put under with anesthesia and let them do the x-ray, but I just hate the idea of having to do that.  She was put under with anesthesia when she was spayed and she didn't react very well when she was "coming out" from her slumber.  I just hate to do that to her again without trying other non-conventional routes first.

Today we are going to see a specialist who will do some chiropractic work and acupuncture on her.  This doctor comes highly recommended and I'm looking forward to see what she has to say about our situation.

I know it won't be an immediate cure, but I'm hoping this is a great alternative to the idea of needing x-rays and possibly surgery.  Chiropractic/acupuncture therapy is supposed to have great benefits for dogs experiencing muscle and/or joint pain.  I will let you know my thoughts after our session today.

Have any of you tried alternative methods for your pets?

The Good, the Bad & the Ugly

THE GOOD:

It is raining today! Did you hear me?  I said... IT'S RAINING!!!  I can't even begin to tell you how happy that makes me.  This means no having to water the lawn tonight.

And for those of you who think I am crazy for watering my lawn so much....just take a look at this luscious, green grass.  I'm very proud of how well it has done this year even though we have had such extreme heat with absolutely NO rainfall.

THE BAD:

It doesn't look like the rain is going to stick around....Ughhhh!

THE UGLY:

There are not enough hours in the day to water both the front and back yard, so we put all of our effort into the front of the house since that is the side most people see. 

As you can see in the photo below...our backyard is in desperate need of some aqua!

Does anyone else have a brown and crusty lawn this year?

It's getting HOT in here!

Between my commute to and from work, along with my workday, I am gone from home about 11 hours each day.  Pile on top of that, having to water the lawn every night and tend to the flowers, make dinner and spend approximately 5 seconds with my husband, and I'm pretty well exhausted when it comes time for bed.

My nightly routine is all out of whack and I blame it on the weather!  If it wasn't so hot I could walk the dogs, go to the park or take a bike ride.  But the last thing I want to do after a long, hot day, is be outside in the sweltering heat any longer than is absolute necessary.

Are any of you feeling worn down due to the hot temps?  I am totally blaming my laziness on it!

Anniversary #2

Tuesday, July 10 was my 2nd wedding anniversary.  I was more than happy to celebrate, seeing that our 2nd year of being married, was so much better than our first. We are truly falling into our husband/wife roles and life is so good!

I did a lot of reminiscing about our wedding day....and 2 years later I still smile ear to ear with the memories of the love I felt that day.  I can honestly say that my wedding day was one of the BEST days of my life so far.

I can remember being on cloud nine...all day....all night!  I've never smiled so hard in one day in all of my life.  I couldn't help it!  Love oozed out of every corner of that tent and I never expected to feel that.

I'm so glad everybody came...I'm so glad my DIY projects were a success...I'm so glad we composed our own ceremony...I'm so glad we didn't elope...But, most of all, I'm so glad ALL of my siblings were able to surround me with their love and support.

There are 2 sisters missing from this photo
(note:  I lost my brother Chris last year...he's the tall one on the left...so I will always cherish my wedding
as being the last "family" event for us all to celebrate together as ONE)

The night was spent laughing, catching up with old friends, screaming with joy, cheering and dancing.  I felt gorgeous and was making a life-altering promise to the man I love and nothing else mattered.

And....did I mention dancing?  Oh boy, did we ever dance!

I will always cherish these memories and I look forward to reminiscing about our wedding day for many, many more years to come!