And introducing our new cast....

Okay..
After what seemed like an impossibly long two weeks, I finally got back to the doctor yesterday.
They removed the temporary splint they had put on my leg after the surgery and I must admit it was huge relief. The temporary splint had been very uncomfortable. They took out the stitches, (16 on the outside of my ankle, 6 on the inside and re-xrayed it. This was the first time I got a good look at all the hardware and believe me, it IS hardware. I have two 3' stainless steel screws (I thought they were titanium but he said they were German stainless steel) one on each side of mu ankle holding the bones together and also a plate with 4 additional screws stabilizing the ankle. Damn. That was one BAD break, a lot worse than I realized.
I cannot move my ankle (although the doctor said I will eventually be able to) and he made me work with it until I could move it at least 6' before he put the cast on.
The new cast is SOOOOOOO much better. It's one of those fiberglass jobs (just plain white, even though I wanted camo) and it feels 100% better. It is soft on the inside, a lot more secure and stable.
He said I should start putting a little bit of weight on it (like standing up to brush my teeth) and I need to start trying the crutches. I am still very leery of those but it's not.) as bad with this new cast on.
And the one big deal is at least I can sleep comfortably now, in any position I want. With the temporary one, I could feel the jagged plaster inside and it would dig into my leg unless I positioned it just right. The new cast is comfy and it doesn't poke into my leg anywhere.
At least I am making progress, although my leg looks like a kid who had polio in the '50s.
I think this will be a LONG haul. He did give me a temporary handicap sticker for 4 months (that'll make things easier) and he said I could have physical therapy if I need it. (Oh yeah, I'm gonna need it.)
Hubby is trying his best but this is NOT easy for him. His entire routine of doing nothing has been disrupted and it will be good when I can start doing more things on my own. Feeding and going outside, I am still not sure of yet.
But at least I am making SOME progress.
I go back to the doctor again in 3 weeks,
I guess I'll wait until then before I sign up for the Clog dancing championships in September.
Yay.

It's all fun until someone breaks their leg...

okay.
One fast easy sure-fire way to screw up you summer.
Last week, Monday the 13th to be exact, I broke my leg.
It was one of those totally freaky-deaky accidents and it happened in an instant.
But needless to say, my summer is shot to hell.
I was going outside Monday morning to let the dog sit outside in the sun.
I got a cup of coffee and was going down the ramp off our deck.
Near the bottom of the ramp, there was some pine straw.
Well, I slipped on the pine straw, my leg went out from under me and I hit my ankle squarely on the edge on the ramp.
My ankle snapped like a twig.
I heard it crack and I knew instantly it was bad.

I got to the ER and the x-ray showed that I'd broken both bones in my leg, below where an old break from years ago had healed.
I got a temporary splint and an appointment with the orthopedic surgeon the next day.

It didn't take him long to decide what was next.
I had surgery a week ago today.
The break was much worse than they'd thought in the ER.
He put 6 titanium screws on the inside of my ankle, a titanium plate and 4 screws on the outside.

I have been home for a week and I am now officially going stir crazy.
I cannot play golf, I cannot drive, I cannot even go outside on my own right now.
I hate this house and the way it is laid out.
It is impossible to move around with tripping over someone else (I have always hated that about this house but this just magnifies the problem).
And I am going nuts.

Hubby has been very kind and a lot of help.
He made coffee for me (even though he had no clue how to do it) and he has had to do just about everything....cooking cleaning, laundry, feeding.
Yesterday, he went out to lunch and to the range.
I am sure he needed a break. I would.

I don't go back to the doctor until a week from today.
I don't know what he'll do.
I'm hoping he'll take off this HUGE dressing and put on a smaller lighter cast.
And I'm hoping he will send me to physical therapy a few times so I can learn to use crutches.
I have some but I am very leery of using them right now.
Crazyfriend brought over one of her late father's wheelchairs and that has been a tremendous help.
I can get around the house pretty well using it.

That's it.
My summer is TOTALLY shot to hell in a handbasket.
I had to call my friend and cancel my trip to Florida that I had planned for August.
My Jeep is a stick-shift and I don't know if I will be able to drive it.
I may have to think about getting a different car.
Golf?? Don't even know about that.
Talk about things changing in a instant.
It's true.
You just never ever know what's going to happen.,

The Michael Jackson Memorial

Okay, okay.
I watched it.
I really hadn't intended to but hubby was out for the day, I had the TV to myself and I was just surfing through.
I clicked on it, thinking that I would be cynical and have an opportunity to grumble about it.
I am not a Michael Jackson fan.
But interestingly enough, I wound up watching almost the entire thing.
At first, it seemed a little surreal.
It was VERY tastefully done, it was not over the top and I think the church-like atmosphere in the Staples Center was pretty amazing.
You could hear a pin drop.
The talent was heartfelt and the emotions were raw.
The big egos were all put aside and the people who were up there on the stage seemed open and honest in their love, their loss and their grief.
I am not a Michael Jackson fan.
But I must give credit to a pretty amazing memorial.
Crowds were well behaved and respectful.
And there was a unique wliingness of intensely private people to share very personal, intimate feelings with everyone who seemed to genuinely love this man.
The tears were real.

A $2000 Dachshund

well, today was a long and tiring but very interesting day.
Our little dog, Cookie has been having really bad problems with her teeth and gums.
We have been fighting it for 6 months now and it just got to be too much.
Our regular vet said it was too extensive and complicated for her to handle so she referred us to a veterinary dental clinic in Charlotte NC.
We went up there today (we left at 6:00 a.m.).
It is a pleasant drive to Charlotte.
We found the clinic easily (Thank Heaven it wasn't in Charlotte proper but just outside the city).
The vet (veterinary dental medicine is her specialty) was absolutely WONDERFUL.
She was young but very knowledgeable, kind and patient.
She examined the Cookie monster, took her back sedated her did a full set of x-rays which took about 30 minutes.
Then she came out and showed us the x-rays and talked to us about what needed to be done.
It turned out the Cookie had very extensive periodontal disease and needed to have numerous teeth extracted.
We said go for it, that is why we came up here.
The dental surgery took about 2 hours.
We had lunch and shopped, just killing time.
Then it took another 2 hours for Cookie to wake up from the anesthesia.
The vet pulled 16 teeth!
She did a couple of gum flaps (a small surgical procedure to attempt to save a couple of key teeth) and put her on antibiotics, anti-inflammatory medicine and pain medication.
Cookie recovered very well...although our bank account won't.
Everything came to a little over $2000.
It will be worth it if her gums heal and she is happier, healthier and not in constant pain from a low grade infection.
what a long day.