The butter chicken last night was excellent. It is a Gordon Ramsey recipe and you can find it here http://www.channel4.com/food/recipes/chefs/gordon-ramsay/butter-chicken-recipe_p_1.html. I can thoroughly recommend it. But please note you need to start it around 4-5 hours in advance in order to let the chicken marinate.
Today was supposed to be a day to relax a bit, but I seem to have been busy all day. The first job has been to wash all the bedding, including the dogs’ bedding. Then I’ve been tending to Max. I checked his leg first thing this morning and tweezered & cut away some fur that had matted & dried into the wound. I’ve also sorted out how to give it a salt water bath, so that I can leave it in there for a few minutes. I’m using a 2 litre plastic drink container. I’ll get Chris to take a photo – poor Max has to stand there with his leg in it. Chris says it’s humiliating. But I noticed this afternoon that it’s nevertheless a bit weepy. I think it’s where he occasionally licks it, so I’ve put his buster collar on him.
The other thing I’ve been occupied with today is getting my blog on WordPress. So now it’s in 3 places: Bowienet, Blogspot and WordPress. The reason is that I’m planning to lapse my B’net subscription in April, and I’m not at all keen on Blogspot. Mind you, I’m struggling with WordPress. At the moment it won’t link to photos on Flickr (within the text of the blog). It will link to Photobucket though. And I can’t work out how to get links to other blogs (like Jez’s) on the side of the page. Otherwise it seems ok. I’m sure I can do a lot more with it, although first I need to understand it all. Most of it is a load of gobbledygook to me. Somehow I think I’m getting past it.
Chris took Jez out this morning, and she behaved well. I’ve taken her over Upton Heath this afternoon and she was good, although she did have an attempt at not coming to me when I wanted to get her lead on – until she went in the wrong direction and then had to come running to catch up with me, which gave me my chance.
Since I’ve come back in I’ve been getting dinner. I’m doing a Jamaican pot roast from the Levi Roots book. It’s a good meal for tonight as I can leave it cooking while I go and have a bath.
Well that’s the bath over with. Just waiting for Chris to finish now then I can cook us a Yorkshire pud each to go with the pot roast. Ok I know it doesn’t exactly fit with the Caribbean theme, but Chris loves Yorkshire pud with his beef & veg. Unfortunately, since getting out of the bath I’ve noticed that Max’s leg has been bleeding again – I think it must be where he was racing around playing with Jez.
Showing posts with label dog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dog. Show all posts
Sunday, 24 January 2010
Sunday, 21 December 2008
And deep my wound
Jez came home yesterday. At first they weren’t sure whether they’d let her out as she had a slight temperature, but that soon came down. The nurse also told me Saturday morning that she had been quite agitated, but I said that was normal for her following an anaesthetic. So we drove up Saturday afternoon to get her.
The nurse was very strict with her instructions about how we were to look after her and they gave us a written sheet setting it all out. That said, they obviously had as little success with her as we have, as the nurse said she’d tried to put an ice pack on her leg but Jez was having none of it. She also hadn’t eaten. Good job I’d taken some chicken & pasta for her, as she demolished it as soon as she got in the car!
We had a good journey home and Jez settled nicely on her duvet in the back, although I think the Kong filled with peanut butter helped a lot. But she was obviously in quite a lot of pain. She kept her distance most of the time, and slept most of the evening and all through the night.
Today she’s slowly getting back to her normal self but her leg clearly bothers her and she is only just tentatively trying to put it on the ground. She’s on her normal NSAIs and anit-biotics, plus she has a morphine patch on her leg. Her scar is really long, and there is very bad bruising on the inside of her thigh. But that’s hardly surprising as they’ve cut a chunk out of her thigh bone! Her appetite is good though. Oh, and not only has her leg been shaved again, but there’s a square patch shaved on her lower back from where she had the epidural. It looks really funny.
In terms of her recovery, she’s at her own vet for a check up tomorrow morning. She is also not allowed out for 3 weeks and is only allowed out in the garden if we take her out on a lead. She’s not allowed to run, jump or do anything that will jar her leg, which is plated but needs the bone to grow back (apparently jarring it disturbs/dissipates the cells which will gradually form and then harden, so the process has to start all over again). We have to phone her specialist in 4 weeks and give him a progress update, and then go back for more Xrays and a check up in6-8 weeks. Oh, and the estimate was about right – I had to pay out £1,965 yesterday! That means that leg has now cost over £4,000 so far – that’s one very expensive leg!
There’s not much else to tell really. I feel a bit odd, and hope I’m not going down with this flu that is going round. And my laptop and keyboard are playing up again and driving me nuts! For every word I type the next few have half the letters or spaces missing. Explorer works when it wants to on some sites and for some things, and Chrome does the same. I suppose I should really use Firefox, but I don’t like it – it’s all a bit too chunky and cumbersome for me.
Today is the winter solstice. From now on, days get longer and nights get lighter.
The nurse was very strict with her instructions about how we were to look after her and they gave us a written sheet setting it all out. That said, they obviously had as little success with her as we have, as the nurse said she’d tried to put an ice pack on her leg but Jez was having none of it. She also hadn’t eaten. Good job I’d taken some chicken & pasta for her, as she demolished it as soon as she got in the car!
We had a good journey home and Jez settled nicely on her duvet in the back, although I think the Kong filled with peanut butter helped a lot. But she was obviously in quite a lot of pain. She kept her distance most of the time, and slept most of the evening and all through the night.
Today she’s slowly getting back to her normal self but her leg clearly bothers her and she is only just tentatively trying to put it on the ground. She’s on her normal NSAIs and anit-biotics, plus she has a morphine patch on her leg. Her scar is really long, and there is very bad bruising on the inside of her thigh. But that’s hardly surprising as they’ve cut a chunk out of her thigh bone! Her appetite is good though. Oh, and not only has her leg been shaved again, but there’s a square patch shaved on her lower back from where she had the epidural. It looks really funny.
In terms of her recovery, she’s at her own vet for a check up tomorrow morning. She is also not allowed out for 3 weeks and is only allowed out in the garden if we take her out on a lead. She’s not allowed to run, jump or do anything that will jar her leg, which is plated but needs the bone to grow back (apparently jarring it disturbs/dissipates the cells which will gradually form and then harden, so the process has to start all over again). We have to phone her specialist in 4 weeks and give him a progress update, and then go back for more Xrays and a check up in6-8 weeks. Oh, and the estimate was about right – I had to pay out £1,965 yesterday! That means that leg has now cost over £4,000 so far – that’s one very expensive leg!
There’s not much else to tell really. I feel a bit odd, and hope I’m not going down with this flu that is going round. And my laptop and keyboard are playing up again and driving me nuts! For every word I type the next few have half the letters or spaces missing. Explorer works when it wants to on some sites and for some things, and Chrome does the same. I suppose I should really use Firefox, but I don’t like it – it’s all a bit too chunky and cumbersome for me.
Today is the winter solstice. From now on, days get longer and nights get lighter.
Friday, 19 December 2008
And nothing has changed, Everything has changed
Well, those of you on Facebook or who read Jez’s blog will know that she didn’t have an operation on Monday after all. Trying to get her sorted is turning out to be a real rollercoaster for us. If fact, Monday was a bit of a naff day all round. It was supposed to be sunny, but was cold and damp and miserable. The journey to Devizes was ok, but takes about 1 hour 50 minutes to do the 56 miles. Nevertheless, we arrived on time, only to have to wait half an hour to see the vet. He was excellent though, and we spent over half an hour with him. At the end of that time we left Jez for more Xrays and, we thought, an operation. Interestingly he didn’t think the original vets had done a bad job.
We had planned to go to Lacock Abbey for the day, as I said. And we did go to the village of Lacock. But it turns out that the Abbey is only open at weekends through the winter. So we only got to walk round the village. We did get lunch there at the village bakery though. Chris took one or two photos of the village, and of the Abbey (from a distance) – oh, and of me!
We then went into Devizes and walked round the town centre, which was nothing to shout about, and went and got a coffee to kill some time. After that there was nothing else to do, and so we went back to the vets only to find he hadn’t even got round to looking at her by that time. So we sat in the car and read. Eventually, just as it was getting dark, he phoned us - I told him I was in his waiting room! Anyway, he’d re-Xrayed her and said that we had to make a decision. He could try to move the ligament again, but there was a chance that he couldn’t move it any further / wouldn’t be able to move it far enough. But apparently in Staffies, due to their stance, the femur can be at an angle with the tibia, putting pressure on the knee joint. He showed us this on her Xrays. The operation to correct this (femoral straightening) involves cutting through the femur and removing a wedge of bone, and then plating the whole thing back together again. This is a much bigger operation involving an epidural to help reduce the amount of anaesthetic required. So we had to decide whether to risk letting him have a go at another tibia crest transposition that day. The problem was that if he couldn’t move the ligament, then he’d have to close her up and have her back again for the femoral straightening. It was a bit of a no brainer really – we opted to take her back another day when he had time to do whatever was necessary in a single operation.
So they bought her round and we bought her home. She was a lot better than usual after the anaesthetic, and slept most of the night. I suspect he’s got a better anaethnatist. She’s been a bit sore since then though.
Today I took her back to Devizes ( a 4 hour round trip that Chris kindly volunteered me for). Just after lunch the vet phoned and said she’d had her op and he’d done the femoral straightening after all, which wasn’t really a surprise. As she’s had an epidural she’s got to stay there tonight. We have to phone in the morning and check that she’s well enough to come home before going to get her (another 4 hour round trip). As her leg will have been plated I’m hoping that this means that we needn’t be quite so nervous about pins moving etc. But apparently we will get written instructions on her care when we pick her up. And the estimate for this little lot? Around £2,000! That will wipe out the remainder of her insurance cover for this condition. Still, it will be great to get her home and well again. The vet is very hopeful of a successful outcome, by the way.
Otherwise I met Val for dinner last night – we had a Chinese and a really good natter. And today we’ve been back looking at bathrooms. We’ve got a design we’ve agreed upon, and a bath, shower cubicle and toilet. We just need to sort out the washbasin now – oh yes, and find someone to fit it as that will involve laying the floor where the sunken bath currently is.
We had planned to go to Lacock Abbey for the day, as I said. And we did go to the village of Lacock. But it turns out that the Abbey is only open at weekends through the winter. So we only got to walk round the village. We did get lunch there at the village bakery though. Chris took one or two photos of the village, and of the Abbey (from a distance) – oh, and of me!
We then went into Devizes and walked round the town centre, which was nothing to shout about, and went and got a coffee to kill some time. After that there was nothing else to do, and so we went back to the vets only to find he hadn’t even got round to looking at her by that time. So we sat in the car and read. Eventually, just as it was getting dark, he phoned us - I told him I was in his waiting room! Anyway, he’d re-Xrayed her and said that we had to make a decision. He could try to move the ligament again, but there was a chance that he couldn’t move it any further / wouldn’t be able to move it far enough. But apparently in Staffies, due to their stance, the femur can be at an angle with the tibia, putting pressure on the knee joint. He showed us this on her Xrays. The operation to correct this (femoral straightening) involves cutting through the femur and removing a wedge of bone, and then plating the whole thing back together again. This is a much bigger operation involving an epidural to help reduce the amount of anaesthetic required. So we had to decide whether to risk letting him have a go at another tibia crest transposition that day. The problem was that if he couldn’t move the ligament, then he’d have to close her up and have her back again for the femoral straightening. It was a bit of a no brainer really – we opted to take her back another day when he had time to do whatever was necessary in a single operation.
So they bought her round and we bought her home. She was a lot better than usual after the anaesthetic, and slept most of the night. I suspect he’s got a better anaethnatist. She’s been a bit sore since then though.
Today I took her back to Devizes ( a 4 hour round trip that Chris kindly volunteered me for). Just after lunch the vet phoned and said she’d had her op and he’d done the femoral straightening after all, which wasn’t really a surprise. As she’s had an epidural she’s got to stay there tonight. We have to phone in the morning and check that she’s well enough to come home before going to get her (another 4 hour round trip). As her leg will have been plated I’m hoping that this means that we needn’t be quite so nervous about pins moving etc. But apparently we will get written instructions on her care when we pick her up. And the estimate for this little lot? Around £2,000! That will wipe out the remainder of her insurance cover for this condition. Still, it will be great to get her home and well again. The vet is very hopeful of a successful outcome, by the way.
Otherwise I met Val for dinner last night – we had a Chinese and a really good natter. And today we’ve been back looking at bathrooms. We’ve got a design we’ve agreed upon, and a bath, shower cubicle and toilet. We just need to sort out the washbasin now – oh yes, and find someone to fit it as that will involve laying the floor where the sunken bath currently is.
Friday, 5 December 2008
Sending me so far away
I’m still worrying about Jez – we still haven’t had a referral to a specialist. It turns out that that is because her previous vet is incapable of putting her XRays in the post to her new vet. It’s ironic really, they are all digital now, but they can’t email them as the file sizes are huge. I spoke to her new vet, Duncan, yesterday and he was hoping to get them today. I said to let me know if not and I’d go round there and transport them myself.
In the conversation with Duncan he told me that he’s decided against referring her to the specialist in Ringwood. He said that although they would do an excellent job, they would aim for perfection, which might not necessarily be in Jez’s best interest and would be extremely expensive. Instead he’s referring her to another orthopaedic specialist who he mentioned when we first saw him, who he uses a lot. The good news is that this guy will be cheaper (whilst still being extremely well qualified) and the insurance may cover it. The bad news is that he is in Devizes, which is nearly 60 miles away. I told him that I had been worrying about the extent to which her knee is fixable now, but he said this guy should be able to sort her out pretty well, although her arthritis in later life will be worse than it would have been. Ironically the reason we had the operation done so quickly in the first place was to lessen the damage to her knee and therefore the amount of arthritis she will suffer in later life. Duncan used an interesting phrase when talking about the new vet: he said he uses him a lot to sort out dogs that have been ‘buggered up by other vets’. I think that says it all.
Anyway, Jez hasn’t been too bad this week. Although she’s not quite so good to day, she was limping a lot less, so we’ve put the in the car and taken her to the Country Park for a change. We’ve only walked her a very short distance there, but it’s been something different for her after 2 months of only seeing the area close to the house. Only problem was that Tubs has put on so much weight her car harness won’t fit her any more (and we’re not putting her in the back of the car as she has to jump to get in there, which doesn’t do her let any good). So I had to go out and buy her a new, Extra Large to fit Rottie, Labs etc, car harness.
We’ve also let her up on the sofa in my room, although we’ve provided her with a plastic box to use as a step. But she’s discovered that she can go from the sofa, to the arm, to the top of her crate, to the window ledge in the bay window, where she now spends a lot of her time. She sits there and gets worked up over the neighbours cats, generally watches the world go by, and suns herself. You can see her route in this first photo…
But she’s scratching the sill badly so Chris put an old quilt up there for her to lie on…
In other news I was due to meet Val for supper on Wednesday, but she called off at the last minute (Wednesday afternoon) as she had to go to the doctor. So I’m hoping to see her sometime next week. I also went to the hairdresser on Wednesday, who decided to dry my hair differently for a change (as those of you on Facebook will have seen).
Otherwise I have written all my Christmas cards this week, and I’ve wrapped the presents! So, I’m all ready for Christmas now. Dad and Pat are off to Spain for Christmas in a couple of weeks, so they are coming here to dinner on Sunday. I’m planning to do prawn cocktail, Roast Beef etc, and Cheesecake. Oh, that reminds me. I tried out a new Indian recipe on Tuesday: chicken with spinach. It was really good. Chris and I are both eating too much at the moment though, and have both put on weight.
In the conversation with Duncan he told me that he’s decided against referring her to the specialist in Ringwood. He said that although they would do an excellent job, they would aim for perfection, which might not necessarily be in Jez’s best interest and would be extremely expensive. Instead he’s referring her to another orthopaedic specialist who he mentioned when we first saw him, who he uses a lot. The good news is that this guy will be cheaper (whilst still being extremely well qualified) and the insurance may cover it. The bad news is that he is in Devizes, which is nearly 60 miles away. I told him that I had been worrying about the extent to which her knee is fixable now, but he said this guy should be able to sort her out pretty well, although her arthritis in later life will be worse than it would have been. Ironically the reason we had the operation done so quickly in the first place was to lessen the damage to her knee and therefore the amount of arthritis she will suffer in later life. Duncan used an interesting phrase when talking about the new vet: he said he uses him a lot to sort out dogs that have been ‘buggered up by other vets’. I think that says it all.
Anyway, Jez hasn’t been too bad this week. Although she’s not quite so good to day, she was limping a lot less, so we’ve put the in the car and taken her to the Country Park for a change. We’ve only walked her a very short distance there, but it’s been something different for her after 2 months of only seeing the area close to the house. Only problem was that Tubs has put on so much weight her car harness won’t fit her any more (and we’re not putting her in the back of the car as she has to jump to get in there, which doesn’t do her let any good). So I had to go out and buy her a new, Extra Large to fit Rottie, Labs etc, car harness.
We’ve also let her up on the sofa in my room, although we’ve provided her with a plastic box to use as a step. But she’s discovered that she can go from the sofa, to the arm, to the top of her crate, to the window ledge in the bay window, where she now spends a lot of her time. She sits there and gets worked up over the neighbours cats, generally watches the world go by, and suns herself. You can see her route in this first photo…
But she’s scratching the sill badly so Chris put an old quilt up there for her to lie on…
In other news I was due to meet Val for supper on Wednesday, but she called off at the last minute (Wednesday afternoon) as she had to go to the doctor. So I’m hoping to see her sometime next week. I also went to the hairdresser on Wednesday, who decided to dry my hair differently for a change (as those of you on Facebook will have seen).
Otherwise I have written all my Christmas cards this week, and I’ve wrapped the presents! So, I’m all ready for Christmas now. Dad and Pat are off to Spain for Christmas in a couple of weeks, so they are coming here to dinner on Sunday. I’m planning to do prawn cocktail, Roast Beef etc, and Cheesecake. Oh, that reminds me. I tried out a new Indian recipe on Tuesday: chicken with spinach. It was really good. Chris and I are both eating too much at the moment though, and have both put on weight.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)