Big Day

Today is the day, yes it is, yes it is! The staples are finally coming out! All the staples they put back in 2 weeks ago are still there! While the bottom of the incision is still a little scabby and is not nearly as aesthically pleasing as the top, it is still healed and I am confident she will be freed from the metal in her leg today!!! YAY. What this really means is LONGER WALKS AND BEING FREED OF THE CONE OF SHAME...more fresh air, getting out of the house - even if it is that time of the year where it is getting cold. I will still be watching the bottom part of the incision like a hawk until that scab goes away - call me paranoid, but I will go with that.

We will also learn today what her rehab will look like. It is very likely she will participate in the TPLO rehab protocol onsite at Medvet. I believe this gives her the best opportunity for recovery at this point, and I would do it even if I were not going to compete in agility again. I want her to be able to go back to her little life to the fullest extent possible, which means lots of walks, swimming, playing with her toys and most importantly, being able to safely chase her beloved red kong ball. She will likely truck up to Medvet twice a week for the next 4-5 weeks. I am excited for the underwater treadmill - I expect that will wear her out, which is what she needs to feel like herself again.

She is over on the other side of the bed in her crate, complaining at me for being up too early, and I totally agree. Yesterday, my calendar spiraled out of control for the week, so I was up late last night and early this morning to get things done. I knocked out something big, so it was worth it...but my little girl let me know that she was NOT happy about the lights coming on and the keyboard clicking away at 5AM this morning! Neither was I for that matter, but as grandma says, someone needs to pay for rehab and dog biscuits...

I will let everyone know what happens today...off to the races.

I see her spirit

Over the past few days, I can tell Chelsie is feeling better...her little spirit is rejuveniated. I told her to get a toy today, and she ran over to her toy box and got her lobster. She chewed on her bone this morning for an hour...sniffed in the grass during her walk and did doggie somersaults all over me. She also enjoyed a visit from her aunt Sharon, who came by to pick up some stuff. I got to meet Sharon's new dog Forsythe...he is a good boy. He is about as tall as Chelsie, but has a more blocky head than Chelsie does. Forsythe waited outside with Larry while Aunt Sharon came in and saw Chelsie. A field trip to Dayton might be in her future tomorrow to see her agility friends....from the view in her crate of course.

Here are a few picture. I really started to see her coming back the other night on the bed (I picked her up and put her on the bed of course...and carried her down the stairs with me tonight) You can see a slight curl in her back and all her paws are intertwined...a happy, content, tired pooch. First time I have seen that since her injury...

Quick Update

This morning, my parents ran Chelsie up to Medvet so they could look at her incision. I had been watching her incision closely since re-suture last week,it was a little rough looking to the right of the incision. For lack of a better description, her skin appeared to be tearing. The wound was closed, but to the right of her incision, she appeared to have a scab that looked like it had started to heal and then came open with movement. The look of it made me call into question whether or not she had actually been licking at it....which would have been on my watch at night. I do not make her wear any ecollar at night, so if she was getting to it, it was at night. But based on the appearance of the rest of her incision, I was pretty confident that was not the case. Being as today was Thursday and we are getting the staples out Tueday, I finally decided I was going to call about. It had that "if this gets nasty it will take months to heal properly" look about it.

Turns out I was NOT crazy about this. A couple of her staples had twisted, which was causing the tearing. They took the afflicted staples out, and off she went to Marysville. She actually saw Dr. Kennedy, who said she was doing great. Weight consistent at 60.5 lbs. We will know a lot more about longer term rehab on Tuesday when she has her rehab consultation.

Tonight on my trip to the grocery store, I bought a box of brownies to bake for the staff at Medvet. They probably think I am nuts...and Chelsie probably says, yep, thats my old lady. A bona fide crazy....

The Little Things

Tonight, I took my car in for a 75k service. (which caused my father to ask me where it was I drove, and tell me that I drove more miles in one year than the average person does - uh, yeah, I play soccer every which way all over Cbus!) Anyway, the Honda dealer I take the car to is great. They take you home after dropping your car off and then pick you up to come get - super convenient. Most of the time, when I go in for an oil change, I take Chelsie and wait there. It is a good opportunity for her to practice her manners. We wait in the service bay, and all the guys there love her.

So tonight I get there, and the service guys are like "No puppy?" No, puppy had to stay home, she has a booboo on her knee. The guy that picked me up - "No puppy?" No, she is inside the house, crouched down in her crate looking pathetic because she has to wear her ecollar. :) They all felt very bad. I told them they would see her the next time I came in, in 5k miles.

So that is just a little example of how much this has really put a dent in our routine. I would have tossed her in the car to come, but leaving her home was the better option. Suffice to say, she was still in the same position she was when I left, and had drooled all over herself. Gramma was at the house about 45 minutes after I left, and she did not spend much time in her house...she just hates the lampshade. We are enjoying some bonding time on the floor right now...I was thinking of carrying her downstairs to work in my office, but I am thinking I might just enjoy some bed time instead...

Long Week Over

A few photos from our trip to Medvet earlier this week. One is of Chelsie pouting on the floor because I told her to lay down, the other is of her deciding her old lady is OK because she had some cookies in her pcoket and shared them.

What a long week it has been...actually a long few weeks. I am somewhat surprised I am still awake at this point, but the old classic "Legends of the Fall" has sucked me in and therefore, I am still awake.

After our little adventure earlier this week, Chelsie's incision appears to be healing nicely. I was looking at her leg tonight, and noticed the staples (the newly inserted ones) were much closer together. Before the staples were put in, sutures were also put in subcutaneously. Between the cone of shame, the antibiotics and a lot of love from her mom, gramma and grampa, her incision seems to be healing nicely.

I am absolutely wiped out tonight...again, I would be remiss in not thanking my parents again for all they have done for us. My mom has been here by 9AM every day to get her out of the cone that causes her such misery. In the morning, she climbs all the way in the back of the crate and refuses to come out - which means I literally have to climb in the crate to get that thing on her - yeah, I know, picture that. She looks at me with such sad eyes when I put it on her, like she doesn't understand why she has to wear it.

As I pointed out in a previous post, my schedule has changed dramatically - down to soccer one night a week. Truthfully, I couldn't imagine doing anything more than that. Prior to Chelsie's injury, I had really been burning the candle at both ends...over the past few weeks, I have started to wonder if Chelsie's injury was God's way of telling me I needed to slow down. If so, I feel terrible that she has had to suffer so, but we have really bonded. She seems to know why she has to be in her crate, why she has to wear her gentle leader and that it is important to let mom stretch her leg and ice her incision. I will bring her up on the bed tonight for a little special bonding time.

Thanks to my parents hard work here all week, I will be able to enjoy a relatively chore free weekend - I am very greatful for that. I hope to enjoy a weekend that has a lot of "rest periods" in it....and I hope you do the same....

But mom, I just wanted to "help"...

Well, my little Chelsie Belle, you did...it was so thoughtful of you to try and "help" take your staples out. For your efforts, you won:

- An afternoon at Medvet to get your incision flushed and re-sutured
- Ice pack and range of motion exercises for 2 more weeks
- Only 5-10 minute walks instead of 10-20 minute walks three times a day

AND, FOR THE GRAND FINALE....

- The lampshade ecollar when no one is here with you....


This morning, sometime between the time I left for work and my parents getting here, Chelsie was able to get around the inflatable ecollar and get at her incision. My parents found her eating away at her incision - which had gotten a little messy. In a panic, they called me, and I called up to Medvet to let them know what we were bringing - a bad labbie with an open wound. Fortunately, grammie and the GRAND Paw showed up soon enough to prevent her from doing anything other than making a mess of it - it was only superficial and subcutaneous (below the skin) sutures and staples on top were needed.

So thankfully, this is only a minor setback...the only real hard part will be leaving her in the lampshade - it causes her obvious duress. But I know it is only for a short period of time and that it is absolutely the best thing for her. I am just happy to have her home and resting in her crate next to me....

Answers

So, as many of you know, I have been dealing with an annoying skin rash on and off since the beginning of July. At first, I thought it was from wakeboarding in the river or stress, but that has long since passed and my visitor still makes an appearance quite frequently - only on my arms and legs, and never below my knees.

I first saw my dermatologist on 8/14 - since then, I have had a skin biopsy (arm and leg) been on three different steriod creams and have swallowed a lot of Zyrtec. The biopsy was essentially inconclusive - it was lableled as "contact dermatitis of unknown origin", but it appears there is a possibility it could be a reaction to some sort of virus. The rash is unpredicatble, itchy and gross. We had been waiting for the right opportunity to biopsy - in order for the biopsy to be effective, I had to leave some areas untreated, which basically meant I was very itchy for a few weeks. About a month ago, I had a nasty flare up on my arms, called and got in that day. My derm took one look at it, and said "That is not normal" At least we agreed on that. Two minutes later, she was looking for spots to sample.

The results have left my derm stumped - but thankfully, she is not ready to call it quits just yet. Next week, I will see an allergist and a rheumatologist. The only unfortunate thing about the allergist is that I will not be able to take any Zyrtec until next Wedensday, which helps with the "hive" symptoms that this rash tends to show. I am also somewhat apprehensive about the rheumatologist - for some reason, I associate these doctors with really, really sick people...

So hopefully, we are on the road to some answers. I certainly hope we are successful - this stuff is nasty, gross and uncomfortable. I will keep you posted.