First, Chelsie wanted me to tell everyone what happened to her last week. She went to the dreaded "doggie camp" while her family went on vacation. We went to Myrtle Beach to celebrate Bill and Maggie's 40th wedding anniversary, and had a great time. Unfortunately, since grammie and grampie were on vacation with us, all three puppies got shuttled off to camp. As usual, mom made grammie be the bad guy - she dropped all three off at camp. Of course, then mom was the hero and picked up all three from camp. Tonight, when her grammie and grampie came over, she stayed VERY close to mom, despite reassurances from grammie that she was not going to take her anywhere. For those of you that think dogs don't remember, you have not seen my little baby angel in action. She wanted no part of grammie tonight - I told her it was not nice, it hurt grammie's feelings, but she did not care.
Amazingly, she made a full recovery today - although I think she was a very vocal girl at camp. I had a new TV installed today, and she gave a really pathetic bark when they came to the door. I laughed, it was so pathetic.
Despite the hot weather, we trooped off to Dodd Hall tonight, where there was a MAD game of bingo going on in the TV room on the 4th floor. Chelsie greeted the nurse coordinator in her usual manner, by scrounging on the floor to see if she dropped anything. It looked as though most of the people were in playing bingo, so I was not sure how our visits would go. Only one room was in isolation, so off we went.
Overall, it was a pretty successful night. We ran into lots of "friends" tonight - the old man we saw a few weeks ago with the leg amputation remembered us and asked us how our vacation was. Chelsie sat in a chair for about 15 minutes and let him pet her. He asked the strangest question tonight - I was speechless, actually. (Please, no comments from the peanut gallery) He asked me what I was going to do with her when she died - I was a little confused by the question, and his roommate yelled at him for asking such a question. I then learned his wife and 2 sharpeis were on the mantle in urns. I responded I did not know and that hopefully it would not be an issue for many years. We also spent time with his roommate, and I was thankful that he interjected. I was kind of weirded out by it, actually.
On another note, we also saw Bob - golden retriever Buddy Bob. We were walking by a room and I looked in and when he sat up, I immediately recognized him! Apparently he had been in another facility, but was back in Dodd - and missing Buddy - for another 2 weeks. Chelsie jumped on Bob's bed and he thought that was great. Bob is the only person I have given bed privileges to Chelsie - most of the patients are too immobile. But Bob likes it a lot, and I know it does a world of good for him.
Not sure what we did all night, but by the time we ended up back in the bingo room, we had been there for over an hour. I went into the bingo room, and had a few takers. By that point, my little precious had enough and I told her we could go home. On our way out, she gave one last final dose of therapy to the parking ticket attendant. We go to the same lady every week - usually she is inside her little booth, but tonight she was outside cleaning. She came right up to the car and Chelsie planted a big one right on her face - she loved it. She got a final hug after we turned in our ticket.
And finally, it is off to bed for my little working girl. She is resting comfortably in her "spot" on the bed, paws and body with a slight curl. This is the sign of one exhausted puppy.
We hope everyone is doing well and staying cool in this miserable heat!
Love, Nicole and the Chelsie Belle
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Monday, June 25, 2007
One Final Note...
Mommy got smart and picked up the trash can this week. No corn cobs chewed up and spit out all over the floor or carrot peelings and corn shucks on the floor. She might have been lab stew if I came home to another mess..
MUCH Better Night....
Well, tonight was a MUCH better night than last Monday night...for a whole bunch of reasons. First and foremost, aunt Sharon is home and is feeling better. Last Monday night was by far the worst period of her illness. She snapped out of it on Tuesday, thankfully and began to improve greatly. On Tuesday night, I again took the Truth down there to see her. When we got in the room, Truth ran over to the bedside and was so very excited to see her mom. I had to pull her back to get the harness off her so she could jump on the bed. She has become somewhat of a twit about jumping in the car in her harness, but I think last Tuesday she would have overcome her grievance about that if she had to. We helped Sharon get a shower and it was all uphill from there. She was able to come home Thursday - after being diagnosed with e-coli. Still not sure where it came from or if she was run down and her body just could not fight it off. She is still tired, but very happy to be home. And the rest of us were relieved the doctors were able to find out what it was - at the worst of it last Monday night, they did not know the origin of the illness. Thankfully in all this, her kidney continue to "kick butt" as it had for the past 7 years, and despite the rest of her body being ill, her kidney was just fine.
Chelsie was fantastic tonight - I am a little worried she might not be feeling well. She actually walked on her short lead like a civilized canine being and kept the whining to a minimum tonight. She was civilized on her leash to and from the car. Mom was very happy - hopefully she will remember this behavior.
We managed to do it again - leave 2 people in tears. One room was this middle aged guy, it seemed as though he had a stroke. He spoke very slowly and seemed to drool somewhat. I asked him if he wanted to come in, and he said yes. As I was moving the chair next to his bed, he all of a sudden started crying and saying how much he missed his dogs. I asked him if having us there was too upsetting, but he said no. We had a real nice visit for about 15 minutes before little angel belle got restless. But she kept the whining to a minimum, which was very nice. She even gave him her paw twice and he thought that was pretty cool. I told the nurse we might have made him a little emotional - turns out it was the nurse who was emotional last week. Her parents had to put their little Sheltie down and did not tell the kids because of final week. She was doing better this week.
We met some really nice people tonight. The first lady liked pets, but from a distance, so Chelsie laid down outside her door while I talked to her. She was a very good girl to lay down. We saw Margaritaville man's room, and his niece and nephews were there, and they got to see the dog. The grandmother said they would be afraid of the dog, but I put Chel in a down and they all stepped up and petted her - very carefully. Another man was an older gentleman with his daughter in the room. I took her in there, and he was able to arrange himself in bed to get up and see her. The nurses were there and they asked him if he wanted help sitting up in bed - he said he would try on his own and the nurses were very happy with his efforts. They gave him a little extra help and he was quite comfortable. Chelsie then jumped up in a chair and sat next to his bed, and the guy thought that was just the greatest thing. We were there for about an hour and 20 minutes tonight, which is a long time, however, she was still going strong. It took us about an hour to get down one side of the hall tonight, but very few people were interested in seeing us on the other side. By that time it was getting to be after 8, and a lot of people are usually dozing by then. Therapy is very intensive and I think most of those poor people are worn out by then. Chelsie was usually worn out by then too. :)
And, finally, on our way out, we made baby Laura cry. She was in the parking garage with her parents (who were chain smoking - at least her mother was) and apparently loved doggies. She was "just but 9 months old" according to her mother and put everything in her mouth, but her mother "reckoned that all kids near that age did done do the same thing". Chelsie stuck her nose under the stroller and Laura did not flinch. We spoke for a few minutes - her parents were really nice. Spoke like they was from the South but dressed like Marilyn Manson. It was an interesting combination. When we said good night, she watched us walk away, spit out her bink, and threw a tantrum. And that my friends, was how our evening ended.
She was fabulous tonight - did a lot of great work. We made a difference tonight. Mom told her she was a SUPER good puppy. After her hour of hard work, she is resting comfortably on the corner of the couch. The pet spray to keep them off the furniture does not work, as I have saturated these couches down here in and both animals were still on it tonight...
Next week mommy will be in Myrtle Beach celebrating grammie and grampie's 40th wedding anniversary, which is next Sunday. Chelsie will go to doggie camp for the week at Dr. Tami's - grammie has even agreed to be the bad guy and take her. Camp is not really a fun place for the baby angel, but I guarantee MB will be fun for the mama! She will survive!
I hope this finds everyone having a good summer. I still have aspirations of going to CP's house to live on the otter pop diet and have a fun day, every day, but until then, I will have to get creative and plan my own fun activities. MB is a good start. Take care and look for my next post on Monday, July 9.
Love,
Nicole and the Chelsie Belle
Chelsie was fantastic tonight - I am a little worried she might not be feeling well. She actually walked on her short lead like a civilized canine being and kept the whining to a minimum tonight. She was civilized on her leash to and from the car. Mom was very happy - hopefully she will remember this behavior.
We managed to do it again - leave 2 people in tears. One room was this middle aged guy, it seemed as though he had a stroke. He spoke very slowly and seemed to drool somewhat. I asked him if he wanted to come in, and he said yes. As I was moving the chair next to his bed, he all of a sudden started crying and saying how much he missed his dogs. I asked him if having us there was too upsetting, but he said no. We had a real nice visit for about 15 minutes before little angel belle got restless. But she kept the whining to a minimum, which was very nice. She even gave him her paw twice and he thought that was pretty cool. I told the nurse we might have made him a little emotional - turns out it was the nurse who was emotional last week. Her parents had to put their little Sheltie down and did not tell the kids because of final week. She was doing better this week.
We met some really nice people tonight. The first lady liked pets, but from a distance, so Chelsie laid down outside her door while I talked to her. She was a very good girl to lay down. We saw Margaritaville man's room, and his niece and nephews were there, and they got to see the dog. The grandmother said they would be afraid of the dog, but I put Chel in a down and they all stepped up and petted her - very carefully. Another man was an older gentleman with his daughter in the room. I took her in there, and he was able to arrange himself in bed to get up and see her. The nurses were there and they asked him if he wanted help sitting up in bed - he said he would try on his own and the nurses were very happy with his efforts. They gave him a little extra help and he was quite comfortable. Chelsie then jumped up in a chair and sat next to his bed, and the guy thought that was just the greatest thing. We were there for about an hour and 20 minutes tonight, which is a long time, however, she was still going strong. It took us about an hour to get down one side of the hall tonight, but very few people were interested in seeing us on the other side. By that time it was getting to be after 8, and a lot of people are usually dozing by then. Therapy is very intensive and I think most of those poor people are worn out by then. Chelsie was usually worn out by then too. :)
And, finally, on our way out, we made baby Laura cry. She was in the parking garage with her parents (who were chain smoking - at least her mother was) and apparently loved doggies. She was "just but 9 months old" according to her mother and put everything in her mouth, but her mother "reckoned that all kids near that age did done do the same thing". Chelsie stuck her nose under the stroller and Laura did not flinch. We spoke for a few minutes - her parents were really nice. Spoke like they was from the South but dressed like Marilyn Manson. It was an interesting combination. When we said good night, she watched us walk away, spit out her bink, and threw a tantrum. And that my friends, was how our evening ended.
She was fabulous tonight - did a lot of great work. We made a difference tonight. Mom told her she was a SUPER good puppy. After her hour of hard work, she is resting comfortably on the corner of the couch. The pet spray to keep them off the furniture does not work, as I have saturated these couches down here in and both animals were still on it tonight...
Next week mommy will be in Myrtle Beach celebrating grammie and grampie's 40th wedding anniversary, which is next Sunday. Chelsie will go to doggie camp for the week at Dr. Tami's - grammie has even agreed to be the bad guy and take her. Camp is not really a fun place for the baby angel, but I guarantee MB will be fun for the mama! She will survive!
I hope this finds everyone having a good summer. I still have aspirations of going to CP's house to live on the otter pop diet and have a fun day, every day, but until then, I will have to get creative and plan my own fun activities. MB is a good start. Take care and look for my next post on Monday, July 9.
Love,
Nicole and the Chelsie Belle
Monday, June 18, 2007
Rough night....all the way around
Tonight was quite the night. It is 9:46 PM and I am absolutely exhausted.
Chelsie's first patient tonight was none other than..her aunt Sharon. On Saturday night, aunt Sharon all of a sudden got very sick, and on Sunday, discretion was the better part of valor and she went to the hospital. As we were going down to OSU anyway, I took Truth and Larry down to see her. Truth missed her mom and her mom missed her - it was a happy reunion. Chelsie and I went to Dodd Hall after we dropped them off.
Sharon is pretty sick. All of her anti rejection drugs leave her immune system very compromised, so she is susceptible once she gets sick. As a transplant patient (2 kidney, 1 Pancreas) she requires a little different care, so she is in the transplant unit at OSU. After seeing her tonight, she is where she needs to be.
We had a good night at Dodd tonight. There were a lot of patients, and a lot of them wanted us to stop in and see them. The last room of the night was the roughest one. I walked in there, and this lady said "Bring this baby in here!" So I did, and the patient was getting up to get out of bed. She took one look at Chelsie and got down on the floor with her and started crying. I looked up in a panic and asked if I should leave - the lady said no, no. I got down on the floor with her and she laid down and let this lady pet her. THEN, I looked up and the nurse was bawling - apparently her dog passed yesterday, so of course, she was upset. I can't blame her - I was upset because both of them were crying. Thankfully, it was the last room of the night.
She did such great work tonight - we met all kinds of interesting people. The first lady we met was nice lady - of Japanese descent, she told us - who was quite grateful to see Chelsie. We probably met the funniest patient in our time tonight. His family had made his room "Margaritaville" but as the patient said, without the margaritas. They were all very nice, and very much enjoyed our visit.
Another patient that was memorable was an African American man and his wife. I am never sure how African Americans will react to Chelsie - I find they are most consistently afraid of dogs, so I try to be respectful of that. But this man and his wife were not. This guy had very obviously had a stroke, but worked very hard to enunciate his words, and most of the time I was able to understand him. They had a pit bull at home named Kane, who was a big baby. They said that if someone came in the house, he would be like "come on in!" I said they must be related to Chelsie - I am pretty sure she would be like "come on in, sit down, my mom said it is OK". We spent about 15 min with them and they were nice people.
On another note, today Chelsie was NOT A GOOD PUPPY at home. She went dumpster diving - and in the dumpster were corn shucks, corn cobs and carrot peelings. You can imagine the mess, and she knew she was bad. Mommy still loves her. :)
Hope this finds everyone well. I need to go pass out.
Chelsie's first patient tonight was none other than..her aunt Sharon. On Saturday night, aunt Sharon all of a sudden got very sick, and on Sunday, discretion was the better part of valor and she went to the hospital. As we were going down to OSU anyway, I took Truth and Larry down to see her. Truth missed her mom and her mom missed her - it was a happy reunion. Chelsie and I went to Dodd Hall after we dropped them off.
Sharon is pretty sick. All of her anti rejection drugs leave her immune system very compromised, so she is susceptible once she gets sick. As a transplant patient (2 kidney, 1 Pancreas) she requires a little different care, so she is in the transplant unit at OSU. After seeing her tonight, she is where she needs to be.
We had a good night at Dodd tonight. There were a lot of patients, and a lot of them wanted us to stop in and see them. The last room of the night was the roughest one. I walked in there, and this lady said "Bring this baby in here!" So I did, and the patient was getting up to get out of bed. She took one look at Chelsie and got down on the floor with her and started crying. I looked up in a panic and asked if I should leave - the lady said no, no. I got down on the floor with her and she laid down and let this lady pet her. THEN, I looked up and the nurse was bawling - apparently her dog passed yesterday, so of course, she was upset. I can't blame her - I was upset because both of them were crying. Thankfully, it was the last room of the night.
She did such great work tonight - we met all kinds of interesting people. The first lady we met was nice lady - of Japanese descent, she told us - who was quite grateful to see Chelsie. We probably met the funniest patient in our time tonight. His family had made his room "Margaritaville" but as the patient said, without the margaritas. They were all very nice, and very much enjoyed our visit.
Another patient that was memorable was an African American man and his wife. I am never sure how African Americans will react to Chelsie - I find they are most consistently afraid of dogs, so I try to be respectful of that. But this man and his wife were not. This guy had very obviously had a stroke, but worked very hard to enunciate his words, and most of the time I was able to understand him. They had a pit bull at home named Kane, who was a big baby. They said that if someone came in the house, he would be like "come on in!" I said they must be related to Chelsie - I am pretty sure she would be like "come on in, sit down, my mom said it is OK". We spent about 15 min with them and they were nice people.
On another note, today Chelsie was NOT A GOOD PUPPY at home. She went dumpster diving - and in the dumpster were corn shucks, corn cobs and carrot peelings. You can imagine the mess, and she knew she was bad. Mommy still loves her. :)
Hope this finds everyone well. I need to go pass out.
Monday, June 4, 2007
Back at It
After taking a week off to celebrate Memorial Day, we headed back to see our friends at Dodd Hall. The day was a lot cooler than it has been, which was nice. It was a little windy outside, but the longer it stays cooler, the better. Sometimes the patient's rooms can really stuffy.
She did well again tonight. Although it seemed as though there was a full house, we had a few people in contact isolation and a lot of doors closed. Both our deaf lady and Bob seemed to be gone, which is a very good thing for both of them.
Now that I think about it, we really only saw probably about 10 patients tonight, but spent a fair amount of time with each of the ones we saw. The first patient we saw was actually a very sick lady - she told me she had cancer, which was pretty obvious. She had a pretty good sized U shape scar above her right ear as well. We talked about her pets - she was pretty straight forward in telling me she wished it was her dog that was here instead of Chel. I can't blame her - I know I would want my little puppy if I were in her shoes. She was trying to avoid germs, so she did not pet Chelsie. She seemed to enjoy our visit.
Our last visit of the night was with the wife of a patient who was in contact isolation. Apparently they had a farm out near Marysville, and her husband used to hunt. She told me all about her dogs, and Chelsie really took to her. She bent down to pet Chelsie, and Chelsie went after her ear..I had to tell her, Get down you crazy ear eater! She wagged her body and walked around in circles while this lady scratched her butt. What a life.
She is now upstairs resting. Mom is off to make her lunch and freeze little Belle's peanut butter kong. What a life. I hope everyone is well.
She did well again tonight. Although it seemed as though there was a full house, we had a few people in contact isolation and a lot of doors closed. Both our deaf lady and Bob seemed to be gone, which is a very good thing for both of them.
Now that I think about it, we really only saw probably about 10 patients tonight, but spent a fair amount of time with each of the ones we saw. The first patient we saw was actually a very sick lady - she told me she had cancer, which was pretty obvious. She had a pretty good sized U shape scar above her right ear as well. We talked about her pets - she was pretty straight forward in telling me she wished it was her dog that was here instead of Chel. I can't blame her - I know I would want my little puppy if I were in her shoes. She was trying to avoid germs, so she did not pet Chelsie. She seemed to enjoy our visit.
Our last visit of the night was with the wife of a patient who was in contact isolation. Apparently they had a farm out near Marysville, and her husband used to hunt. She told me all about her dogs, and Chelsie really took to her. She bent down to pet Chelsie, and Chelsie went after her ear..I had to tell her, Get down you crazy ear eater! She wagged her body and walked around in circles while this lady scratched her butt. What a life.
She is now upstairs resting. Mom is off to make her lunch and freeze little Belle's peanut butter kong. What a life. I hope everyone is well.
Monday, May 21, 2007
A Slow Night...sort of
Well, it was a close one, but we managed to make it to the hospital tonight. Instead of eating a bee this week, she overdid it at Barkpark in the pond on Saturday and had a sore tail. When I got home on Sunday from the ball game, she was running around with her tail between her legs and could not sit down. All signs of a sore tail. She managed to recover yesterday and today, and I decided she was OK to go. She has to be able to sit to go to the hospital - "Sit" is the command I use to regain control of her if necessary.
Tonight was sort of a slow night at the hospital, but it did manage to take us an hour to get up and down the halls of the 4th floor. We did see our friend Bob again, he was not feeling so great tonight. He did not get to see Buddy this weekend, apparently his daughters had a soccer tourney and they kept winning, and were not able to bring him up. He does have a D-date though, which is June 5th and he is very excited about that. Apparently he saw 2 other therapy dogs after Chelsie last week, so it was a decent dog week for him. He was looking a little sad until we walked in, and perked up when Chelsie sat in the chair next to his bed. He was one of our last visits of the night, so we spent a little more time with him.
We did not get to see our lady that lost her hearing, she had gone off to have an MRI shortly before we got there. This was incredibly disappointing - she really likes Chelsie, all the nurses walking around her room tell me that when they see us. Sort of a bummer, but on a good note, I think she has been given a D-Date too of 5/31. She is probably one of those people I will never forget. Everyone has a story, and I just wonder how her story will go on. I can hardly stand being away from Chelsie, can you all imagine what it will be like when I have to leave my kid somewhere??
The west wing of Dodd is where our old man whose grandsons drew pictures for him is. I don't think he was having a particularly good night tonight either. I was not sure he was still here because the pictures were off the door. Apparently, he had some sort of relapse - he was supposed to go home, but was unable to. I know Chelsie lifted his spirits, and I think I might have too. I was teasing him about causing trouble and raising a ruckus in the halls, and he told Chelsie not to talk to me. His grandsons were up yesterday and one of them dug through this stuff to find the pictures they drew and put them back up - this time they are on the bathroom door so he can see them at all times. He is quite and old character. I will miss him when he is gone - hopefully tonight was the last night we saw him.
Our last patient of the night was yet another old man. This guy was 81, and his wife and daughter were there with him. He wanted to know if Chelsie brought him any chewing tobacco and whether or not she had a bottle of brandy around her neck. I said no to both, and laughed. They were a very nice family - he asked me if she was a bird dog and told me he could undo 5 years of training in 2 days. Funny thing, there is no doubt in my mind he could, and would enjoy every minute of it. I told him he and his buddy across the hall were quite the pair, that if that side of the hall went up in flames, I would know who did it. If all goes well, we will not see him again either, he is scheduled to go home on Thursday.
I hope this entry finds everyone well, we are doing quite well. After a hard day's work of kong chasing, supervising some yard work , working at the hospital and going on her walk with Truth the guide dog (who was NOT a good dog tonight because she ate the cat food) Chelsie is relaxed and ready for bed. How do I know she is relaxed, you ask? Well, when she is relaxed she is very....flatulent. And it is killing me right now. On that note, take care and we hope to see and hear from everyone soon!
Love,
Nicole and the Chelsie Belle
Tonight was sort of a slow night at the hospital, but it did manage to take us an hour to get up and down the halls of the 4th floor. We did see our friend Bob again, he was not feeling so great tonight. He did not get to see Buddy this weekend, apparently his daughters had a soccer tourney and they kept winning, and were not able to bring him up. He does have a D-date though, which is June 5th and he is very excited about that. Apparently he saw 2 other therapy dogs after Chelsie last week, so it was a decent dog week for him. He was looking a little sad until we walked in, and perked up when Chelsie sat in the chair next to his bed. He was one of our last visits of the night, so we spent a little more time with him.
We did not get to see our lady that lost her hearing, she had gone off to have an MRI shortly before we got there. This was incredibly disappointing - she really likes Chelsie, all the nurses walking around her room tell me that when they see us. Sort of a bummer, but on a good note, I think she has been given a D-Date too of 5/31. She is probably one of those people I will never forget. Everyone has a story, and I just wonder how her story will go on. I can hardly stand being away from Chelsie, can you all imagine what it will be like when I have to leave my kid somewhere??
The west wing of Dodd is where our old man whose grandsons drew pictures for him is. I don't think he was having a particularly good night tonight either. I was not sure he was still here because the pictures were off the door. Apparently, he had some sort of relapse - he was supposed to go home, but was unable to. I know Chelsie lifted his spirits, and I think I might have too. I was teasing him about causing trouble and raising a ruckus in the halls, and he told Chelsie not to talk to me. His grandsons were up yesterday and one of them dug through this stuff to find the pictures they drew and put them back up - this time they are on the bathroom door so he can see them at all times. He is quite and old character. I will miss him when he is gone - hopefully tonight was the last night we saw him.
Our last patient of the night was yet another old man. This guy was 81, and his wife and daughter were there with him. He wanted to know if Chelsie brought him any chewing tobacco and whether or not she had a bottle of brandy around her neck. I said no to both, and laughed. They were a very nice family - he asked me if she was a bird dog and told me he could undo 5 years of training in 2 days. Funny thing, there is no doubt in my mind he could, and would enjoy every minute of it. I told him he and his buddy across the hall were quite the pair, that if that side of the hall went up in flames, I would know who did it. If all goes well, we will not see him again either, he is scheduled to go home on Thursday.
I hope this entry finds everyone well, we are doing quite well. After a hard day's work of kong chasing, supervising some yard work , working at the hospital and going on her walk with Truth the guide dog (who was NOT a good dog tonight because she ate the cat food) Chelsie is relaxed and ready for bed. How do I know she is relaxed, you ask? Well, when she is relaxed she is very....flatulent. And it is killing me right now. On that note, take care and we hope to see and hear from everyone soon!
Love,
Nicole and the Chelsie Belle
Monday, May 14, 2007
What about Bob?
Tonight was quite the night. The weather outside was absolutely gorgeous, and Chelsie was very excited to get her jacket on and get in the car. Mom put all the windows down for her, and she was in pure dog heaven - sitting in the middle of the back seat with the breeze blowing on her. Sometime over the past three days she ate a bee - or at least tried to. I have seen her trying to snag a bee out of the air, and told her she would be sorry if she ever did. A few days ago, I noticed her right lip was fat and swollen. It appears the damage was minimal and confined to her lip, and that she is on the mend.
We were 15 minutes late getting up to the 4th floor. We encountered a patient outside who wanted to pet Chel, and she obliged him. He was a floor 3 patient - it was obvious he had some sort of back injury because he was wearing a rather large back brace, but he was able to walk with a walker and get around. While not in great shape, he was in good enough shape to be walking on his own. Anyway, he was somewhat disappointed we would not be coming to three, but I explained to him that the brain injury patients were sometimes impulsive and yelled, which was not a good situation for the dog. He seemed OK with that and thought he was rather lucky to be downstairs when we came in. We also saw someone else from the 3rd floor (family) and they wanted to pet Chel also. So we were 15 min late.
We got to three and Chelsie gave the nurse coordinator her standard greeting - by scrounging through her trash. The house was pretty full tonight, with only three patients in isolation. Sadly, one of the isolation patients was one of the ones who really enjoyed Chelsie's visit last week. Thankfully, the curtain was pulled in her room, so hopefully she did not see or hear Chelsie, I know she would have been disappointed. Maybe next week.
Upon our arrival, one of the floor nurses told me she thought she had someone who would really like a visit. His name was Bob, and it turns out he has a 2 year old golden retriever named Buddy at home, who he misses dearly. Bob was probably in his late forties, and had a stroke; he had been at Dodd since last Friday. Apparently he had a stroke 5 years ago as well. Bob was divorced 2 years ago, and got Buddy after his divorce. As the nurse was unsure if Bob would want to see the dog, I had her go in there and ask him; the answer was yes, please bring her in here. Off we trooped to Bob's room, and within the first few seconds we were in there, I knew that Chelsie had done her job for the night, regardless of whether or not anyone else wanted to see us. He lit up when we walked in - said hi to Chel, told her she was a pretty girl, a good girl and asked her to shake. For the first time in her life, Chelsie held up her paw while she was standing up. At that point, he just teared and told me how much he missed his dog Buddy - told me all about what a good dog he was, how energetic he was and that his daughters were going to bring Buddy down to see him this weekend. (He will be visiting Buddy in the courtyard - there is a pretty nice courtyard in back of Dodd, between the University hospital and Dodd) Bob was waiting for us in his wheelchair, and thanks to the class we had, Chel had no fear of the wheelchair and walked right up to him. I was eternally grateful for that training tonight - I think if he could have, Bob would have invited her on to his lap. As it was, she sat on his bed for a few minutes so she could be eye level with him. I know our visit to Bob did him a world of good. I think we will see him next week - he was there for 3 weeks when he had his previous stroke, and he is hoping to be in for only 2 weeks this time. Let's hope so, so that he can get home to Buddy.
We also saw the lady who had the baby and lost her hearing. She was quite glad to see Chelsie also. I pulled her bed table away and got the chair as close to the bed as I could. I think she is seriously lacking some sort of touch - human, animal, anything. I think she wanted Chelsie to jump on the bed and sit with her, but she is too frail for that and can't hear. Chelsie did stand up and got face to face (with a few kisses in there I think - which mommy does NOT like) so that was good. I wish she had been a little more interactive with this lady, because I think it would be really good for her. But she was glad to see Belle and I tonight.
Our old man whose grandsons had drawn him the pictures was still there - causing trouble in the halls, raising a ruckus and picking on his nurses. He is a nice old man, I hope he goes home soon.
It took us over an hour to get down one side of Dodd 4, which turned out to be OK. Two of the isolation rooms were in the other side of the hall, and by the time we got there, many had drifted off and others did not want to see us. I guess that is further proof that everything works out OK.
On our way out to the car, we encountered 2 year old John, out wandering around with his dad (and had on these bright blue Nike shoes!). He was quite interested in the doggie, who laid down nicely for him to pet her. In the end, John decided he was not into petting the doggie - apparently, the neighbors have a border collie who jumps on him and knocks him down.
I was a bad mommy and did not feed the little angel before we went tonight. For all her hard work, she was rewarded with dinner and lots of praise from mom. She is resting comfortably on the couch next to me, after dispensing email advice to her 10 week old friend, black lab puppy Shelby (she was telling Shelby to oblige her humans when they want to hold her and only chew on what they give her).
On a final note, my softball Buckeyes will be hosting a regional this weekend here in Columbus. The weather is supposed to be beautiful, and they have been playing well as of late. So...on that note, have a great week and of course, GO BUCKS!
Love, Nicole and the Chelsie Belle
We were 15 minutes late getting up to the 4th floor. We encountered a patient outside who wanted to pet Chel, and she obliged him. He was a floor 3 patient - it was obvious he had some sort of back injury because he was wearing a rather large back brace, but he was able to walk with a walker and get around. While not in great shape, he was in good enough shape to be walking on his own. Anyway, he was somewhat disappointed we would not be coming to three, but I explained to him that the brain injury patients were sometimes impulsive and yelled, which was not a good situation for the dog. He seemed OK with that and thought he was rather lucky to be downstairs when we came in. We also saw someone else from the 3rd floor (family) and they wanted to pet Chel also. So we were 15 min late.
We got to three and Chelsie gave the nurse coordinator her standard greeting - by scrounging through her trash. The house was pretty full tonight, with only three patients in isolation. Sadly, one of the isolation patients was one of the ones who really enjoyed Chelsie's visit last week. Thankfully, the curtain was pulled in her room, so hopefully she did not see or hear Chelsie, I know she would have been disappointed. Maybe next week.
Upon our arrival, one of the floor nurses told me she thought she had someone who would really like a visit. His name was Bob, and it turns out he has a 2 year old golden retriever named Buddy at home, who he misses dearly. Bob was probably in his late forties, and had a stroke; he had been at Dodd since last Friday. Apparently he had a stroke 5 years ago as well. Bob was divorced 2 years ago, and got Buddy after his divorce. As the nurse was unsure if Bob would want to see the dog, I had her go in there and ask him; the answer was yes, please bring her in here. Off we trooped to Bob's room, and within the first few seconds we were in there, I knew that Chelsie had done her job for the night, regardless of whether or not anyone else wanted to see us. He lit up when we walked in - said hi to Chel, told her she was a pretty girl, a good girl and asked her to shake. For the first time in her life, Chelsie held up her paw while she was standing up. At that point, he just teared and told me how much he missed his dog Buddy - told me all about what a good dog he was, how energetic he was and that his daughters were going to bring Buddy down to see him this weekend. (He will be visiting Buddy in the courtyard - there is a pretty nice courtyard in back of Dodd, between the University hospital and Dodd) Bob was waiting for us in his wheelchair, and thanks to the class we had, Chel had no fear of the wheelchair and walked right up to him. I was eternally grateful for that training tonight - I think if he could have, Bob would have invited her on to his lap. As it was, she sat on his bed for a few minutes so she could be eye level with him. I know our visit to Bob did him a world of good. I think we will see him next week - he was there for 3 weeks when he had his previous stroke, and he is hoping to be in for only 2 weeks this time. Let's hope so, so that he can get home to Buddy.
We also saw the lady who had the baby and lost her hearing. She was quite glad to see Chelsie also. I pulled her bed table away and got the chair as close to the bed as I could. I think she is seriously lacking some sort of touch - human, animal, anything. I think she wanted Chelsie to jump on the bed and sit with her, but she is too frail for that and can't hear. Chelsie did stand up and got face to face (with a few kisses in there I think - which mommy does NOT like) so that was good. I wish she had been a little more interactive with this lady, because I think it would be really good for her. But she was glad to see Belle and I tonight.
Our old man whose grandsons had drawn him the pictures was still there - causing trouble in the halls, raising a ruckus and picking on his nurses. He is a nice old man, I hope he goes home soon.
It took us over an hour to get down one side of Dodd 4, which turned out to be OK. Two of the isolation rooms were in the other side of the hall, and by the time we got there, many had drifted off and others did not want to see us. I guess that is further proof that everything works out OK.
On our way out to the car, we encountered 2 year old John, out wandering around with his dad (and had on these bright blue Nike shoes!). He was quite interested in the doggie, who laid down nicely for him to pet her. In the end, John decided he was not into petting the doggie - apparently, the neighbors have a border collie who jumps on him and knocks him down.
I was a bad mommy and did not feed the little angel before we went tonight. For all her hard work, she was rewarded with dinner and lots of praise from mom. She is resting comfortably on the couch next to me, after dispensing email advice to her 10 week old friend, black lab puppy Shelby (she was telling Shelby to oblige her humans when they want to hold her and only chew on what they give her).
On a final note, my softball Buckeyes will be hosting a regional this weekend here in Columbus. The weather is supposed to be beautiful, and they have been playing well as of late. So...on that note, have a great week and of course, GO BUCKS!
Love, Nicole and the Chelsie Belle
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