It’s not been a good couple of days as Jez is a lot worse. She can hardly put her leg down at all now. I have taken her back to the vet this afternoon, and she wasn’t due to go for another week and a half. It’s so upsetting. Poor little soul – what has she done to deserve this? And I don’t know what I can do to help make it better. So after we tried a couple of short walks today and she limped really badly - I was so upset.
The good news is that the vet thinks the joint feels quite good and there was hardly any movement in it. He thought it seemed better than Monday and not inflamed at all, and so couldn’t understand why she’s not putting it down.
Anyway, we’re to rest her again for the next 3 days and he’s put her on additional pain medication (Tramadol). I’m to take her back to see the vet she originally saw (as Richard her current vet is on leave) on Monday.
Oh, and Richard did warm me that the Tramadol can have some side effects – it might make her sleepy. Chris asked if we could have a permanent prescription – LOL!
I don’t think there’s much else to say otherwise, except that the knitting is going a lot better now.
Thursday, 23 October 2008
Monday, 20 October 2008
And nothing has changed
Jez’s check up did not go well. Although she is really well in herself, and the wound on her leg has healed well, her knee is not good. The vet was really disappointed as the knee is still slipping, which it should not do. The vet manipulated her leg a lot, pulling it and pushing it. And it’s still a bit swollen and tender in places. But Jez was as good as gold. She tried to sit down, so I had to hold her up, but otherwise she never made a sound and just let him get on with it. The upshot is that we are going to see what it’s like in 2 weeks time when the muscle has strengthened and the cartilage has grown back a bit more. If it’s not any better she will be referred to an orthopaedic consultant and may need further remedial surgery. Poor little soul. I gave her a big chew bar as a treat for being such a good girl when we got home. I’ve noticed that her leg is very stiff tonight after all that pulling around.
As regards the central heating, we’ve got a guy coming tomorrow to look at it and service the boiler. The boiler is definitely working as we have hot water, so it might be a problem with the pump. Anyway we’ll know tomorrow. I dread to think how much it’s going to cost, though.
Oh, and the knitting is not going well. I’ve gone wrong yet again. The trouble is I can’t see it on the black wool.
As regards the central heating, we’ve got a guy coming tomorrow to look at it and service the boiler. The boiler is definitely working as we have hot water, so it might be a problem with the pump. Anyway we’ll know tomorrow. I dread to think how much it’s going to cost, though.
Oh, and the knitting is not going well. I’ve gone wrong yet again. The trouble is I can’t see it on the black wool.
Saturday, 18 October 2008
More idols than realities
Just a quick update, mainly as there’s not a lot to say.
Jez is much better and is back to her old self. She is also using her leg a lot more, especially if she walks. But the trouble with her being back to her old self is that she keeps wanting to dash round the house like a mad thing and jump on sofas, which she’s not supposed to be doing. To give her a bit of stimulation I take her out to the footpath at the side of the house and let her have a good sniff round. Only problem is she pulls like mad in the drive as she looks for cats, and also pulls if another dog comes along. She goes for her 10 day check up on Monday, but I’m sure it’s going to be fine. It’s more a question of how we go about building her walks up again.
I’ve finished my cardigan apart from the buttons, which I’ve still got to get. But I’ve made the sleeves too long. I would have unpicked them a bit, but the neck is knitted from the top of the sleeves, and the front bands are knitted onto the neck! Oh well, I’ll just have to live with it. I went and got some more wool to do a cardigan for Chris – but remind me never to buy black wool again. I can’t see what I’m doing!
The weather here has been a bit colder, but we’ve had quite a bit of sun. So I’ve taken the opportunity to tidy up the back flower beds. I’ve done them all except the bit behind the pond now, and I must say it looks an awful lot better. Plus it feels good to have got it done. We need to cut back the front hedge at some stage though, plus the leaves are beginning to fall, so there will be those to start clearing up. It’s never ending!
We’ve not watched a lot of films recently, but saw two this week: Penelope and Butterfly on a Wheel. The latter was ok, but not brilliant. We quite like Penelope though – a gentle little romantic thing, so not exactly a great film but quite light entertainment. We’ve got couple to watch at the moment: Freebird (a British road movie thing), and 21(about 6 MIT students who take on the casinos in Vegas having become experts in card counting).
We watched a great programme on TV though: a Peter Kay spoof on all these reality contest things like X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing etc. It was about a talent show called ‘Britian’s got the Pop Factor and Possibly a new Celebrity Jesus Christ Soapstar Superstar Strictly on Ice’. They even managed to get Paul McCartney to make a cameo appearance. Apparently he has released a single from it which could well be top of the charts, or very near, this week. You can watch The Winners Song here.
Think that’s about it.
Jez is much better and is back to her old self. She is also using her leg a lot more, especially if she walks. But the trouble with her being back to her old self is that she keeps wanting to dash round the house like a mad thing and jump on sofas, which she’s not supposed to be doing. To give her a bit of stimulation I take her out to the footpath at the side of the house and let her have a good sniff round. Only problem is she pulls like mad in the drive as she looks for cats, and also pulls if another dog comes along. She goes for her 10 day check up on Monday, but I’m sure it’s going to be fine. It’s more a question of how we go about building her walks up again.
I’ve finished my cardigan apart from the buttons, which I’ve still got to get. But I’ve made the sleeves too long. I would have unpicked them a bit, but the neck is knitted from the top of the sleeves, and the front bands are knitted onto the neck! Oh well, I’ll just have to live with it. I went and got some more wool to do a cardigan for Chris – but remind me never to buy black wool again. I can’t see what I’m doing!
The weather here has been a bit colder, but we’ve had quite a bit of sun. So I’ve taken the opportunity to tidy up the back flower beds. I’ve done them all except the bit behind the pond now, and I must say it looks an awful lot better. Plus it feels good to have got it done. We need to cut back the front hedge at some stage though, plus the leaves are beginning to fall, so there will be those to start clearing up. It’s never ending!
We’ve not watched a lot of films recently, but saw two this week: Penelope and Butterfly on a Wheel. The latter was ok, but not brilliant. We quite like Penelope though – a gentle little romantic thing, so not exactly a great film but quite light entertainment. We’ve got couple to watch at the moment: Freebird (a British road movie thing), and 21(about 6 MIT students who take on the casinos in Vegas having become experts in card counting).
We watched a great programme on TV though: a Peter Kay spoof on all these reality contest things like X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing etc. It was about a talent show called ‘Britian’s got the Pop Factor and Possibly a new Celebrity Jesus Christ Soapstar Superstar Strictly on Ice’. They even managed to get Paul McCartney to make a cameo appearance. Apparently he has released a single from it which could well be top of the charts, or very near, this week. You can watch The Winners Song here.
Think that’s about it.
Sunday, 12 October 2008
we've bought you lots of things to keep you warm and dry
My poor, beautiful little girl. She is in a sorry way, and I feel so sorry for her. We are doing everything we can to make her comfortable, but there’s only so much you can do.
Friday night was, as we expected, a nightmare, what with all the pacing and crying after her anaesthetic. She just couldn’t settle. In the end I slept on the sofa in my sitting room, but it did little to reassure her. I suppose that I should be grateful that I managed a few hours sleep, although 2.30am saw me feeding her chicken & rice. She finally settled down around 5.45am. Chris, who’d slept through most of it, woke me up at 8am.
She slept in the sun in the lounge most of yesterday morning and then brightened up a bit, but is still pretty low. I suppose that’s to be expected though. She’s not very impressed with us taking her out into the garden on a lead, and at the moment while she’s still hopping on 3 legs I don’t think she can physically jump up on the wall. So I’m leaving her off the lead and just going out with her.
I took some photos of her yesterday – don’t worry, although her wound doesn’t have a dressing on it it’s not too nasty – Chris manages to look at it.
This was her early yesterday morning looking very sorry for herself.
Then this is her a bit later on when she’d perked up a bit.
And this is what they’ve done to the poor little soul.
Last night wasn’t much better than Friday night. She started crying again when we tried to go to bed. In the end after around 90 minutes I got back up as I didn’t want her to get too distressed. She is still frightened of her crate, so won’t go in it. We think it’s where she finds herself shut in a cage at the vet when she comes round. So I’m trying to persuade her back in now. Anyway, last night me being downstairs didn’t do much good, although letting her in the living room helped. So when she quietened a bit I went back to bed. Half hour later she woke me up as she was barking like mad. Chris slept through it all again, so once again your truly had to get up to her. I think I finally got back to bed and to sleep (until Chris’ alarm woke me up) at around 3.30am.
Today she’s been out in the sun in the garden for a while and although still not herself is a bit improved.
Plus there’s a bit of video of our poor little hop-a-long soul.
Oh – and her flatulence has returned. It’s unbearable – I’m feeding her wind tablets to try and ease it.
Otherwise there is not much to say except that I’ve nearly finished my cardigan. Just the second front edge and the sewing up to do. If it doesn’t look too bad I’ll post a piccie when I’ve finished it.
Friday night was, as we expected, a nightmare, what with all the pacing and crying after her anaesthetic. She just couldn’t settle. In the end I slept on the sofa in my sitting room, but it did little to reassure her. I suppose that I should be grateful that I managed a few hours sleep, although 2.30am saw me feeding her chicken & rice. She finally settled down around 5.45am. Chris, who’d slept through most of it, woke me up at 8am.
She slept in the sun in the lounge most of yesterday morning and then brightened up a bit, but is still pretty low. I suppose that’s to be expected though. She’s not very impressed with us taking her out into the garden on a lead, and at the moment while she’s still hopping on 3 legs I don’t think she can physically jump up on the wall. So I’m leaving her off the lead and just going out with her.
I took some photos of her yesterday – don’t worry, although her wound doesn’t have a dressing on it it’s not too nasty – Chris manages to look at it.
This was her early yesterday morning looking very sorry for herself.
Then this is her a bit later on when she’d perked up a bit.
And this is what they’ve done to the poor little soul.
Last night wasn’t much better than Friday night. She started crying again when we tried to go to bed. In the end after around 90 minutes I got back up as I didn’t want her to get too distressed. She is still frightened of her crate, so won’t go in it. We think it’s where she finds herself shut in a cage at the vet when she comes round. So I’m trying to persuade her back in now. Anyway, last night me being downstairs didn’t do much good, although letting her in the living room helped. So when she quietened a bit I went back to bed. Half hour later she woke me up as she was barking like mad. Chris slept through it all again, so once again your truly had to get up to her. I think I finally got back to bed and to sleep (until Chris’ alarm woke me up) at around 3.30am.
Today she’s been out in the sun in the garden for a while and although still not herself is a bit improved.
Plus there’s a bit of video of our poor little hop-a-long soul.
Oh – and her flatulence has returned. It’s unbearable – I’m feeding her wind tablets to try and ease it.
Otherwise there is not much to say except that I’ve nearly finished my cardigan. Just the second front edge and the sewing up to do. If it doesn’t look too bad I’ll post a piccie when I’ve finished it.
Friday, 10 October 2008
And I think something's going to be horrid
Well the big day has arrived and Jez has gone in for her knee operation. I’m a total wreck at the moment – completely stressed out over it. Chris just shouts at me for being stupid and getting him worried, but I suspect that what I feel may have something to do with the fact that my Mum died as a result of a fairly routine operation. Either that, or perhaps I am just stupid.
Anyway, we saw the vet this morning (don’t think I’d mentioned that I’d asked to see him as it is a different vet to the one she’s been seeing). Pleased I did. Turns out he had seen her when she was Xrayed. Poor little soul - he really pulled her leg about for ages, but she was as good as gold. Not a whimper. He confirmed that it has got a lot worse and is dislocating almost continually now, which explains her taking a few normal steps then skipping along for a few, then walking normally for a few more, then skipping etc. Unfortunately this almost certainly means a much bigger operation. He is likely to re-attach the ligament to a position where it will hold the knee in place much better, deepen the grove in the patella and pin the knee. He says the pinning means we will have to keep her really quiet for much longer so that the pins don’t move.
I’m waiting to hear from the vet to see how the operation has gone. He was going to give her her pre-med as I left her at around 9.20am this morning, so hopefully they should be finished by now, or at least will be shortly.
In the meantime I’m making bread, washing, cleaning, sorting out credit cards etc.
Oh – and getting very close to having panic attacks.
I’ll let you know how its all gone.
Anyway, we saw the vet this morning (don’t think I’d mentioned that I’d asked to see him as it is a different vet to the one she’s been seeing). Pleased I did. Turns out he had seen her when she was Xrayed. Poor little soul - he really pulled her leg about for ages, but she was as good as gold. Not a whimper. He confirmed that it has got a lot worse and is dislocating almost continually now, which explains her taking a few normal steps then skipping along for a few, then walking normally for a few more, then skipping etc. Unfortunately this almost certainly means a much bigger operation. He is likely to re-attach the ligament to a position where it will hold the knee in place much better, deepen the grove in the patella and pin the knee. He says the pinning means we will have to keep her really quiet for much longer so that the pins don’t move.
I’m waiting to hear from the vet to see how the operation has gone. He was going to give her her pre-med as I left her at around 9.20am this morning, so hopefully they should be finished by now, or at least will be shortly.
In the meantime I’m making bread, washing, cleaning, sorting out credit cards etc.
Oh – and getting very close to having panic attacks.
I’ll let you know how its all gone.
Tuesday, 7 October 2008
I'm looking through African eyes
It is now a year since I was in Kenya. It just doesn’t seem possible, especially given that the country has gone through so much turmoil since then. I feel so sad for many of the people out there, who did not deserve to have their lives disrupted in such a terrible way.
I am marking the anniversary of my holiday in two ways: I am reading through my holiday diary and reliving it all (which I can remember really vividly), and I am watching Big Cat Live on the BBC. Big Cat Live is a documentary series that the BBC screen a couple of times a year from the Mara. As it’s title suggests it follows the lives of the big cats there: lions, leopards and cheetahs. But they cover lots of the other animals as well. Although you can’t watch the programmes outside of the UK, they do have a website where they have live webcams streaming from the Mara. Last night I was watching the lions feeding – today I’ve been watching hippos. If you want to check it out you can do so here.
The weather here has been pretty disgusting (well, it is today). It got quite cold at the end of last week and over the weekend, but we finally relented on Sunday and put the central heating on for a short time in the morning and the early evening. Since then, of course, its warmed up: its just very wet and miserable now. Miserable weather does have its advantages though: Jez just wants to sleep. So for much of the day she curls up on the sofa next to me, as you can see…
(Please excuse the fact that it’s slightly blurred – Chris seems to be having problems taking a photo with my little snappy camera).
She is limping really badly – well, most of the time she skips along on 3 legs – so it confirms that we have made the right decision about her operation. And although she likes to go out for very short walks (just round the neighbouring pond) 2-3 times a day, she’s quite happy when its time to come home.
Maria has posted some photos from last weekend (the Murder Weekend) on Facebook – those of you who are on there may have seen them. But for those of you who haven’t I’ve taken a copy. You may recall that Maria is an actor who has been with Joy for years, but who now lives in NYC so rarely gets to act. She was a guest on the week-end has was messing around posing with the bodies…
Maria and Joy.
Maria, with Paul (body) and Judy.
Maria with me and Becky (body)
Notice how nicely my new Italian guy has cut my hair! Oh, and please excuse the skirt. I know I was wearing it a few years ago to B’net functions, but I really am getting too old for it now. Plus it was a bit embarrassing having one of the guests in the Incident Room pointing out that I was flashing my knickers! No doubt John will like the pics though – LOL!
Don’t think there’s anything else to tell you.
I am marking the anniversary of my holiday in two ways: I am reading through my holiday diary and reliving it all (which I can remember really vividly), and I am watching Big Cat Live on the BBC. Big Cat Live is a documentary series that the BBC screen a couple of times a year from the Mara. As it’s title suggests it follows the lives of the big cats there: lions, leopards and cheetahs. But they cover lots of the other animals as well. Although you can’t watch the programmes outside of the UK, they do have a website where they have live webcams streaming from the Mara. Last night I was watching the lions feeding – today I’ve been watching hippos. If you want to check it out you can do so here.
The weather here has been pretty disgusting (well, it is today). It got quite cold at the end of last week and over the weekend, but we finally relented on Sunday and put the central heating on for a short time in the morning and the early evening. Since then, of course, its warmed up: its just very wet and miserable now. Miserable weather does have its advantages though: Jez just wants to sleep. So for much of the day she curls up on the sofa next to me, as you can see…
(Please excuse the fact that it’s slightly blurred – Chris seems to be having problems taking a photo with my little snappy camera).
She is limping really badly – well, most of the time she skips along on 3 legs – so it confirms that we have made the right decision about her operation. And although she likes to go out for very short walks (just round the neighbouring pond) 2-3 times a day, she’s quite happy when its time to come home.
Maria has posted some photos from last weekend (the Murder Weekend) on Facebook – those of you who are on there may have seen them. But for those of you who haven’t I’ve taken a copy. You may recall that Maria is an actor who has been with Joy for years, but who now lives in NYC so rarely gets to act. She was a guest on the week-end has was messing around posing with the bodies…
Maria and Joy.
Maria, with Paul (body) and Judy.
Maria with me and Becky (body)
Notice how nicely my new Italian guy has cut my hair! Oh, and please excuse the skirt. I know I was wearing it a few years ago to B’net functions, but I really am getting too old for it now. Plus it was a bit embarrassing having one of the guests in the Incident Room pointing out that I was flashing my knickers! No doubt John will like the pics though – LOL!
Don’t think there’s anything else to tell you.
Friday, 3 October 2008
If I'd only paid my bill
If you’ve read Jez’s blog you will know that her knee isn’t any better, and so we’ve taken the decision to go ahead and have it operated on. She’s booked in next Friday and I’m already starting to get worked up about it. It’s got to be the right thing to do though. Poor little soul can hardly walk on it today. I’ve just taken her round the corner to post a letter and she skipped along on 3 legs most of the way.
She will go in Friday morning and come home late afternoon / evening. I’m not expecting much sleep that night given her reaction to the last anaesthetic. And I’ve reminded the vet that she was allergic to the last lot of stitches she had. The vet reckons this will be far better for her in the long run, but from what I understand her recuperation is likely to take a few months. Initially she will only be allowed in the garden on a lead to toilet, then she will be able to walk round the garden, then we’ll be able to take her to the end of the drive and back, and so on. But it should stop the joint slipping in future, which will help to minimize the arthritis and so give her a much better quality of life. Oh, and I’m also thinking of taking her for hydrotherapy treatment when she’s well enough. There is a place near here does it. Not sure what she’ll make of it, but if I’m lucky it will teach her to swim. Apparently they have someone in the pool with them, and wear buoyancy aids. The vet says swimming will be really good to help her rebuild the muscle.
I think in my last blog I said the bank had quickly sorted out the fraud on my credit card. Well in a way they have, as the new cards arrived this morning. But the account collects the payment due automatically from my bank account, and swapping the cards over has messed this up (it hasn’t collected), so now they keep telling me it’s overdue! I’ve told them it’s their fault and I don’t expect to pay any interest or charges.
Chris’ Mum and Dad are staying in Bournemouth this week, so we had them over for lunch on Wednesday. We all had a nice time. Apparently my youngest brother-in-law and his wife have a thing about the dog (well, her breed) and don’t want her getting anywhere near their two boys! This should make Christmas interesting as we usually all meet up at Chris’ Mum and Dad’s one day near Christmas. It will be amusing to see what they do when we turn up with the dog. Chris’ Mum and Dad think it’s stupid and blame the mother-in-law. They are very fond of Jez, who, by the way, was extremely well behaved when they were here.
On the family front, apparently my other sister-in-law lost her father on Wednesday. He was quite old (late 80s I think) though. She’s Guatemalan, and was upset as she couldn’t get back in time for the funeral (which took place yesterday). Meanwhile Pat (who’s now 88) had a cataract operation on Tuesday.
As for me. Well I think this menopause business has finally got to my brain and killed off any remaining brain cells. I had a physio appointment this morning and managed to leave for it an hour before I was supposed to. I was even rushing to leave the house as I thought I was late. So having driven across town for it I went and had a coffee while I waited. I had to laugh. Apparently under the NHS referral system I am only entitled to 3 appointments with this particular physio. I didn’t like to tell him that that was my 4th appointment! My shoulder has been a lot better of late though, although my neck and shoulder now ache where he worked on it this morning.
Think that’s about it.
She will go in Friday morning and come home late afternoon / evening. I’m not expecting much sleep that night given her reaction to the last anaesthetic. And I’ve reminded the vet that she was allergic to the last lot of stitches she had. The vet reckons this will be far better for her in the long run, but from what I understand her recuperation is likely to take a few months. Initially she will only be allowed in the garden on a lead to toilet, then she will be able to walk round the garden, then we’ll be able to take her to the end of the drive and back, and so on. But it should stop the joint slipping in future, which will help to minimize the arthritis and so give her a much better quality of life. Oh, and I’m also thinking of taking her for hydrotherapy treatment when she’s well enough. There is a place near here does it. Not sure what she’ll make of it, but if I’m lucky it will teach her to swim. Apparently they have someone in the pool with them, and wear buoyancy aids. The vet says swimming will be really good to help her rebuild the muscle.
I think in my last blog I said the bank had quickly sorted out the fraud on my credit card. Well in a way they have, as the new cards arrived this morning. But the account collects the payment due automatically from my bank account, and swapping the cards over has messed this up (it hasn’t collected), so now they keep telling me it’s overdue! I’ve told them it’s their fault and I don’t expect to pay any interest or charges.
Chris’ Mum and Dad are staying in Bournemouth this week, so we had them over for lunch on Wednesday. We all had a nice time. Apparently my youngest brother-in-law and his wife have a thing about the dog (well, her breed) and don’t want her getting anywhere near their two boys! This should make Christmas interesting as we usually all meet up at Chris’ Mum and Dad’s one day near Christmas. It will be amusing to see what they do when we turn up with the dog. Chris’ Mum and Dad think it’s stupid and blame the mother-in-law. They are very fond of Jez, who, by the way, was extremely well behaved when they were here.
On the family front, apparently my other sister-in-law lost her father on Wednesday. He was quite old (late 80s I think) though. She’s Guatemalan, and was upset as she couldn’t get back in time for the funeral (which took place yesterday). Meanwhile Pat (who’s now 88) had a cataract operation on Tuesday.
As for me. Well I think this menopause business has finally got to my brain and killed off any remaining brain cells. I had a physio appointment this morning and managed to leave for it an hour before I was supposed to. I was even rushing to leave the house as I thought I was late. So having driven across town for it I went and had a coffee while I waited. I had to laugh. Apparently under the NHS referral system I am only entitled to 3 appointments with this particular physio. I didn’t like to tell him that that was my 4th appointment! My shoulder has been a lot better of late though, although my neck and shoulder now ache where he worked on it this morning.
Think that’s about it.
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