The Good The Bad The Ugly

This post is long, with some rambling or a lot of rambling and some photos I found on my Nikon D3200 from September 27. A lot to read here and believe me it's all good, bad or ugly. I did not post last night because late afternoon I received my 34 page medical report from the hospital I had ordered. At the same time the postal clerk handed me my new Apple Watch Series 5, so I had that to set up and pair with my phone since I now have two watches that have me connected 24/7 JUST IN CASE I might have a medical issue living alone and need emergency services with my sister and friends to be notified.

Where do I start?

I think today I will put the description or commentary BEFORE the photo I am speaking of instead of under it. I've asked before but can't remember the answer, which do you like? I have seen it both ways on the different blogs I read.

This morning's sunrise was beautiful with cloudy skies and well after sunrise. After a restless night of sleep, after letting the hounds outside for their morning trip I went back to bed and they followed until 7am. I KNOW why I didn't sleep well and that will be explained under the Good and Bad categories.

So I'll start with the GOOD stuff and end with the UGLY stuff. How's that?

First of all the hounds are doing great during all of this lifestyle change. They have barely changed their routines while I am recouping from surgery. Yes, I have to watch when I open the pantry door which not only contains food but my ballcap hangs on the inside of the door and IF I WERE to put that cap on, that is a signal to Stella that we are taking HER walk. I don't wear that ballcap at all right now. So yes, Stella would like to walk ... I would like to take her walking but that is for another day.

I am getting stronger on a daily basis. The past two days I can feel my hip is much stronger as I move my leg sideways while laying in bed or walking to the left or right of me in the kitchen stepping sideways. No pain of any kind, no soreness later ... but I am still cautious how I make turns in the kitchen and when I walk.

The past three days I have been taking fewer steps for the day but have spent more time walking on my own WITH MY CANE IN MY HAND JUST IN CASE I NEED IT TO BALANCE !! I have made the long walk to my mailbox on Saturday and Monday. Based on the "workout" mode of the Apple iPhone Activity app ... that walk to the mailbox is a total of .26 of a mile. I walk slowly, short steps and am always aware when stepping off the curb or onto the sidewalk.

A few have asked "how do you feed your dogs if you cannot bend over more than 90°?" Even MJ the petsitter asked to see me feed them last Saturday when she stopped by. She too was worried I was breaking the 90° rule. That rule is set to prevent the hip from popping out while it's healing even though my surgeon told me there is only a 2%-3% chance of that happened and when it does it happens within the first 2 weeks after surgery. I am heading for my 4th complete week after surgery already. Time is flying !!

I have claimed "the grabber" as the best too EVER INVENTED !!!! You can see how I grip the food dish after they are finished eating. I use the same technique when sitting the dish down with kibble inside it. The large water bowl is a little trickier but when I lift that bowl there is never any water left in it. The hounds drink two of those bowls per day. To sit the half filled bowl of water down, I bend no more than 90° with my bad leg raised as I lean on the cane in my right hand. Since I am flexible that is not hard to do and is the same technique I use picking up dog poop to bag it and throw it in the trash bin outside.

I have also started reading books again. I need to read just one, finish it and then go to the next but I don't. I read multiple books at different times. I had two great books about IU basketball and IU football arrive this weekend from Amazon. Amazon Prime has been my lifesaver as well as Fry's Market grocery delivery.

I did get good news yesterday when I called the doctors office with some questions. I HAVE PERMISSION TO DRIVE AGAIN and it will be up to me which car I take considering that I don't break the 90° rule for bending over to get in or out of the vehicle. Also the seat cannot be adjusted where my butt is lower than my knees for hip reasons. I have not decided which vehicle I will drive first.
 

Why TWO watches???

With the latest heart issue that was found on my EKG at the hospital, or really the ultrasound photos of my heart they took Saturday night before surgery ... I thought I'd be completely safe. For once. I wanted fall detection protection 24/7 and I would not have that with just one phone during the 2 hours or so it takes to recharge the batter to 100%.

As I said in previous posts, I found out laying in the ER that Saturday morning with the watch on my wrist and my iPhone at home ... I could not supply the nurses and doctors with contact information (phone numbers) or call anyone to let them know what happened because my Series 4 did NOT have the 'cellular' feature. I was trying to save money last January when I bought it and thought I'd have my iPhone with me most of the time so why buy the 'cellular' feature?

I have both now.

Once the hounds are feed in the morning or afternoon, they do the same thing EVERY TIME ... rest and relaxation in the living room.

That does not mean later that Heidi doesn't come into the kitchen to look for any missed kibble that may have been dropped on the floor or maybe a dog treat. MJ had them addicted to treats because she would always give them a treat before she left after feeding them during the time I was in the hospital and at home recovering.

Before I did anything with my new Apple Watch,  I opened the envelop I signed for as certified mail for my medical report from the hospital ... all 34 pages of it. I read every page and every word. A lot of it was duplicate information but was recorded at different times during the day and night. All of the lab reports were there but was way above my education level to tell whether I had good blood or bad blood. They said everything was good.

I read in detail about the broken hip which more of a broken femur near the hip in multiple places as the hip joint stayed in place. I admit I could not finish reading the description of the surgery step by step with the long list of items they installed in my hip and leg. I felt slightly nauseous when I saw the list of items. I did not want to picture how wide that incision was spread so they had room to fit all of those new items inside me.

I moved on to their report on my heart issue "serious Aortic Valve Stenosis".

I read every word, then went back and read it again. I thought back to the questions I asked the MD when he broke the bad news to me, where he never gave me an answer. I NEVER experienced their 8 symptoms for AVS, ever, even after riding hard on those Friday rides that are recorded on the Strava app.

I kept reading and see the word NORMAL over and over ... almost too many times in their write-up. IF everything is so NORMAL than why is it labeled SERIOUS ????

I had read online about AVS before receiving the report and found out that it is categorized as "serious" when the valve opening is less than 1cm squared.  My valve is .1cm below that ... at .9cm squared. EVERYTHING ELSE WITH MY HEART IS NORMAL based on what they wrote. The word "Normal" stuck out in their written report.

Yet ... I WILL consult my new MD, then a cardiologist and another for a second opinion here in the months of October and November. My new General Practitioner is so booked up that he cannot see me until November 20th and other reputable GP's the hospital gave me to call are no better.

With the valve opening being so close to 1cm squared I felt much better than I would have to see it lower than .6 if you know what I mean. It also raised the question ... how long can I have this heart procedure or surgery AFTER this hip replacement rehab??

Just a week ago my surgical side leg, ankle and foot were so swollen I could barely put on the New Balance shoe I wore from the hospital. The more I rested sitting in a chair the larger they got. When I would lay in bed I'd elevate the foot but that didn't help much because it was not much higher than my heart. To elevate the foot on a different kitchen chair while sitting, hurt too much in my groin/hip area so I did not do it.

But the last of the good news ... the past few days when I wake up, the leg, foot and ankle are the exact same size as my left. From what I read in the pamphlet they gave me at the hospital and online information I was told the surgical side leg, ankle and foot could be swollen for up to 60 days after surgery.

Due to that estimate and the results I firmly believe the supplement I am taking for faster healing played a major role in getting that surgical side leg, ankle and foot back to normal size 20 days after surgery. I am only relaying my story with this product and IN NO WAY am I prescribing it to you ... but this was what was recommended to me to take.

When you have orders to sit only in a straight back chair, one with a slightly higher seat, those wood kitchen chairs can make your butt really sore after a few days. I went to Amazon and searched for an orthopedic seat pad and found multiple ones to choose from. My first one was just a square pad of memory foam 4" thick and it did the trick. Even this morning it might feel better than this seat cushion I bought over the weekend.

Yet, this is also comfortable and has memory foam but is cut to fit those painful pelvic bones from sitting on hard wood a few weeks, forming exactly to my build. This pad can also be used for an office chair or a CAR SEAT !!!!!

So what is the last GOOD thing that happened ????

For the first time ever I ordered a pizza ONLINE last night, paid for it including the tip for delivery and ... used the coupon I received in the mail with Pappa John's pizza. I have now declared them the best pizza where I live by a long shot ... I'll not name here who was my previous #1. I took advantage of the 5 digit code for discounts and bought more than I should have but I can stretch it out into 2-3 more meals and I never get tired of pizza, cheese sticks or those double chocolate brownies that came with it.  Ha Ha

Yes .... I fell off my healthy way of eating ... but I thought after these past three weeks why not?  LOL

Yesterday was beautiful. I stopped on my walk inside my fence to take this photo. The mountains at this angle look so much different than standing on the patio while taking a photo.

Now .... the BAD stuff.

No doubt the leader of the Bad stuff was ordering my first pizza online. It was quick, simple and of course like any other business they gave me "reward" points and the only way to take advantage of them is to buy another pizza. It was at my door 23 minutes after I hit the purchase button on my computer. 23 minutes to the best pizza I've had since my trip to Mother Bear's back in Bloomington Indiana.

I called my surgeon's office yesterday to ask some questions. Those are always answered by his RN staff but yesterday's answers were a little different. Only because this RN didn't have the answer right off the top of her head. On two occasions she had to ask her supervisor. Maybe a brand new RN ???

Since I feel no pain when I bend over near 90° I was really hoping to get approval to bend normal. If I could I then could pet Heidi which is slightly over the limit when I sit in a chair and try to reach her. She needs some pets and hugs since she has a look of confusion when she stares at my skinned up knee which is healing or when I walk with my cane.

That rule would also give me a clear chance of sitting in either of my vehicles and I could drive. In one car I am just inside the 90° limit when I sit in the drivers seat. But it's enough ... no pain getting in or out of the driver's seat.

There was a great sunset last night. I was happy I was able to catch it ... only because the Monday Night Football game sucked.  Ha Ha

I have 7 more weeks before my first General Practitioner appointment. I have been told by various people he is THE BEST MD in town and this town is full of doctors and medical facilities. He is also the doctor my PT works for as he completes his studies to become an RN.

I've told a couple of friends these past three weeks have been worse than a 'caged animal' since I was getting in really good shape riding the bike. If any readers are runners, cyclists or athletes or ex-athletes .... you know how your body craves your activity once it's in shape. Your mind may tell you 'not today' but your body always seems to override that. That is the only reason I rode my bike that Saturday morning when I wrecked.

But since I cannot pace around the house like a caged animal, these three weeks have been even worse. Although I sat still a lot in Indiana during the winter months, that does not mean I like sitting still. I didn't when I lived back there during good weather and with great weather out here it's even harder!!!

That is the hardest part of all of this ... sitting still, resting and letting my body heal. The worst part is I cannot ride a bike even indoors right now and my brain is screaming for it. But listening to my body, it tells me to cool it, back off and let it heal. I will and I am doing that, but it's hard to do.

For many years before all of this happened I use to tell friends when they were alarmed that I did not have a regular doctor that saw me on an annual basis ... I don't do that because it would lead me to medical problems. Since I am over 65 years old I have always believed from what I have seen ... once medical issues begin at that age ... they don't stop ... it's one thing after another NO MATTER how good your diet was, how active you were or how good of shape you were in.

I've seen older athletes devastated after they turned 65 years old with medical issues, sometimes leading to their unexpected death. NOW ... I am NOT saying I am closer to dying but what I am saying or wondering about is ... have I hopped on the "medical problem train" and it's all downhill after this? My dad use to joke with me as he listed all of his medications and doctor appoints that were then part of his life ... he'd laugh and say "so they call these the Golden Years" ... he was a teacher/basketball coach, never smoked, never drank, was in good shape ... until his first Quad by-pass surgery. His next 30 years was filled with one medical issue after another.

Every night as I sit on that chair with the seat cushion watching ballgames, Stella sleeps right by my foot, sometimes on my foot until I go to bed. She never lets me get too far away.

I found these following photos on the card in my Nikon D3200 this morning. This shows what a beautiful day this past Sunday was in the Wild West. I zoom'd in on the Mule Mountains, Miller Peak and the Huachuca's.

I clicked on the green runner icon on my watch yesterday afternoon to record a 'workout' in my Activity App not just a normal walk. I turned left on the sidewalk and headed for the end of the block like I did Sunday afternoon. A lot of neighbors have dogs, large barking dogs ... all standing at their gate of their backyard fence. We all have concrete block backyard fences with a full size steel gate.

Yesterday that ONE IN A MILLION EVENT happened and it could have been ugly really quick.

As I was approaching a house where I had never seen or heard a dog, I hear a bark telling me that the dog was huge and most likely did not like anyone near his/her house or yard even if they didn't live there. I immediately stopped, slightly scared and my brain running through all of my options at the speed of sound. I wanted to keep looking forward just in case this dog made it to the sidewalk. I did NOT want to turn my back while heading the way I came from.

Nor did I want to walk backwards while looking forward to keep an eye out for the dog. I could stumble over those cracks you see on a sidewalk that is between each section of concrete. LUCKILY I hear this ladies voice calling her dog but that didn't help. As the dog, a big mastiff, walked on the sidewalk toward me ... she was there grabbing the dog's collar. Hard to believe a small Asian woman could control a large dog like that.

Needless to say I will NOT be walking that direction again. It was the same direction Stella and I use to take our daily sunrise walk. I never saw or heard that dog until yesterday.

In today's world of social media, texting, blogging and sharing files ... phone calls are becoming rare and emails even rarer. So like many of you probably, most of our communication is by texting or using Facebook Messenger ... or even email for some.

The danger in all of that electronic communication is "misunderstanding" what the other is saying or meant to say. It seems to happen a lot to me over the years, as far back as 2000 when I started a small online business that turned into a failed large online business 10 years later.

Those misunderstandings by both people leads to arguments, something I never like and don't have time for. But I just had a face to face argument with my neighbor last week so I HAVE self analyzed to find out if it is just me that caused that argument or past misunderstandings in electronic communication.

After I read my medical report yesterday, I was happy about the heart news. I KNOW ... GOD DO I KNOW ... until I have a professional cardiologist OR TWO look at my ultra sound of my heart, the EKG and the written report NOTHING can be determined UNTIL THAT TIME and ONLY FROM A CARDIOLOGIST !!!!

My friend did NOT understand that or thought I didn't know that ... she wanted to voice her UNprofessional opinion about it while I was in the middle of texting to her and the other two friends in our group discussion. We have talked in our 4 person group since iMessage was invented. So we all are familiar with texting and sometimes words might not be clear enough.

I was just relaying the information I blogged about here ... the .9cm compared to the 1cm, the word NORMAL scattered throughout the report ... I had not finished typing because I was typing on my phone instead of my computer keyboard, where I can type as fast as any madman.

She cut me off and went off on her own, to lecture to me how I was making my own decisions where a cardiologist should be making them. I had to ask her ... "do you think I am that stupid, really????"

Nothing I hate worse then having to type one key at a time on a small phone keyboard then being interrupted before I can even finish.  This person is notorious for doing exactly that and "hold on let me explain" has been used many times by me and others.

But it didn't stop there ... in fact that texting argument moved into my UGLY section of this post.

These last 4 photos were taken a few days ago with the infamous Canon G9 X Mark II camera that has the large black spot on the sensor ... at least sometimes it does. I only had to edit that black mark out of one photo out of the four photos taken.

I tried to stop typing in this texting argument. Mainly because I wasn't and won't argue while texting or emailing. Two ... I was tired of typing on my phone and the voice texting makes things even worse with inaccurate translation from your mouth to the iMessage screen. BUT SHE KEPT RAMBLING... she was mad and was going to make sure I knew it. Friends huh ????

She finally stopped her madness when she realized I wasn't replying and I might not be reading them. As far as I was concern she had just embarrassed herself in front of me and our two other long times friends, friends as far back as our college days.

What did she finally decide and texted me so I would know ... I was at fault for the conversation turned ugly ME ... all because I was NOT going to let a cardiologist make a decision ... I NEVER SAID ANYTHING CLOSE TO THAT. That I was the guilty one in all of that mess.

So ... to let her cool off for a while I have blocked her on iMessage, phone calls, deleted and blocked her on Facebook ... basically I don't have time for that crap right now. Basically most things said over the recent years have been nothing but confrontational from the Cubs to IU sports.

Thinking back to that medical report, it was UGLY when I saw the itemized list of things inserted into my total hip replacement. I cannot even post that list here without being sick to my stomach. Luckily they sent me two CD of files and my x-rays but with them being in a Microsoft Windows format I will have to research how I can see them on my Apple iMac ... because recently Apple has basically shut off all Window files with their OS and iOS updates.

I can't wait for one reason to see my first cardiologist ... which is it ... NORMAL or SERIOUS??? Also which of the 4 options are you going to do to fix it?

I asked and was told to take the prescribed Bayer Aspirin Low Dosage 81mg for 6 weeks after my surgery. The original prescribed small bottle ran out last week so I bought my own large bottle. WHY DIDN'T THE MD OR THE SURGEON TELL ME HOW LONG TO TAKE THIS BLOOD THINNER ?????

Why did I have to call the doctor's office 3 weeks later to find out I MUST take that Aspirin for 6 WEEKS after surgery. To me that is just unacceptable when the MD cannot tell you that or at least write it out in the discharge papers where they listed the pills they had prescribed !!!!

No worries ... the ranting is over.

It's a beautiful day this morning, it's already late morning since the post took so long to write but I wanted to fill you in since I didn't write a post last night. I'll probably wait until tomorrow night to  post something again so I can get back on schedule of writing about what we did that day.

All things really are good and I consider myself very fortunate to be in the shape I am in now with a bright future ahead. I just didn't plan on being interrupted as I enjoyed life.

The hounds are loving the Wild West ... they like the sunshine!!

I Feel So Good It's Scary

I cannot say a lot happened today as I made an effort to take a rest day. Yesterday was a big day for walking and I did things for the first time. I watched a little football today, the end of the Red's last baseball game for 2019 but spent most of the afternoon on the phone talking to two old friends that have had heart surgeries. One friend just had his 8th heart attack at 66 years old. My other friend at 65 years old had his heart surgery a few years ago. But that is not all of the medical talk ... MJ my dog sitter stopped by yesterday to see the hounds and pick the check for the last week she worked ... she fell last week and broke her arm !!!

After waking up at 4am for the first time of the night I couldn't go back to sleep and finally gave up about 45 minutes later deciding it was time to make coffee. The hounds never woke up to follow me to the kitchen so they must have finally fallen back into their routine. In fact at 6am they were still sleeping and no whining for breakfast.

I could tell by the time I walked to the kitchen with the walker that I was stronger than yesterday and felt no soreness in the hip or leg after my long walk to the mailbox and back Saturday afternoon. That mailbox is across the street, around the curve three houses down and then about a half a block after that. The post man left the biggest Amazon box on my porch but put the three other Amazon padded envelopes in my narrow mailbox along with some letter mail.

I took it slow. I took short steps and I stayed on the sidewalk, always aware of the uneven sections and making sure my cane was near while walking. Yet ... I did most the walk on my own, slowly, holding the cane in case I needed to balance myself. At no time did I feel dizzy or lightheaded. As soon as I got home, I opened up the packages that included another seat cushion, some DVDs and a couple of books.

I could tell the walk took something out of me so I laid down for about an hour and eventually fell into a 30 minute siesta.

I have walked about a 1/3 of what I have the past three to four days. I wanted to rest, relax and let the muscles recuperate as if I was taking a day off from riding a bike. I am kind of in a 'danger zone' because I felt so good today. I did a lot of walking inside the house on my own without a cane or the walker. I watched how I turned walking and how I turned going from the fridge to the kitchen counter. A few times I actually forgot what my situation was. That is not a good thing ... it's when mistakes are made.

So I am kind of between what to do. My doctor told me to "listen to my body" and walk. Well my body tells me to walk on my own with no support. Friends I have talked to today all say I need to walk with my cane no matter what. "It's only been 3 weeks" they say. My two heart surgery friends tell me they would walk with the cane at this point in time no matter how good they felt.

My hospital booklet tells me I can drive between 3-6 weeks. I have only a couple of places I need to go to but neither trip involves any kind of shopping. I will continue to have groceries delivered for months from now. I will call the doctors office tomorrow to see if I can drive or not. I feel like I can and with the seat cushion that came yesterday it is also for car seats giving me just enough height to get in and out of the car without breaking any rules.

I've thought more than I wanted to about my heart condition and that might have been brought on by the two long phone conversations with the two friends I spoke of. At least I will have everything lined up if I have to have surgery out of town. Someone to take care of the hounds and another keep an eye out on the house. I would prefer to have someone live here 24/7 while I am out of town for surgery. MJ said she will still be able to do her job after the put a new hard cast on her forearm Monday. She might know someone to stay here full time with the hounds.

I have also thought about diets today ... lots of thinking ... too much sitting around ... too much letting my mind wander. Like I have said before there is just so much diet information out there I don't know what is the best, who to believe etc. Every doctor, friend, etc has their own ideas on the best diet and they are all different.

One good thing ... all these people that I talked to, including the neighbor that had knee replacement surgery, from heart surgeries to knee replacements ... they all survived their surgeries and are back doing their normal hobbies and activities.

A lot on my mind today ... I need to get started on one of those new books I ordered.

The perfect weather day her in the Wild West today.

Small Things Make A Difference

Like a wounded animal I am finding that I can adapt to the changes to me almost as well. I would have never thought of some of these solutions beforehand but as I progress into 'light' activity, I come up with some interesting solutions. For instance I have more things sitting out at a level they are easy to reach than I would normally like ... but it is what it is right now. One thing I have noticed during this period that sometimes the smallest thing can make a world of difference.

One example is having the doctor allowing me to sleep on my side instead of my back. My sleeping changed from one hour segments to a solid night of sleep. For some reason my trips to the bathroom during the night decreased from every hour to nothing or one trip at the most. I've gone from drinking less water to prevent those to trips to drinking as much water as I want. So maybe all of that is a sign of healing.

I've never used a walker before but I have seen them in action. What I have never liked about mine was the front wheels squeaked but that was fixed with a little WD-40. Hearing the hard rubber tips on the back to legs, screeching across my tile floors drove me insane. I knew the solution but I could not find those two tennis balls I had wrapped in a sock. I had them for years and used that cheap tool to roll my back on killing all the muscle soreness. I was pretty sure I had packed them when I moved because I did not buy the self-massage roller and rolling bar until a couple of months after I got here.

So where were those tennis balls?

I looked everywhere. It was another time where I have misplaced something and can't find it until it shows up on it's own or a my brain defrags like an old computer hard drive ... then I remember. But not in this case. That tight tube sock with two tennis balls inside were no longer in the house, disappearing into thin air.

I wanted to cut those tennis balls wide enough so they would fit over the back leg tips of my walker. Then I would have complete silence when using it and might even use it more without that noise. No problem though, Amazon can send me three of them in a matter of day or two days. For only $3.19 per container why wait, why look a 100th time for those I could not find.

As many of you know from your past experiences .. what is lost will not show up until you have bought, paid for and either received their replacement or the replacement has been shipped.

This happened at the strangest time though. At 4:10am ... that's not a misprint.

I had woken up at 4:00am like always, so did the hounds and we all march down the hallway toward the back door so they can go outside and then we head back for more sleep. Today was much different. One of those "small things make a difference" happened just about the time I was flipping the light switch off for the kitchen lights.

THERE ... under the corner of the couch is a glimpse of a white something. I don't recall ever shoving anything under my couch nor was there anything on the floor in that area when they delivered and set up my couch. All the times I had walked from the kitchen to the living room I had NEVER SEEN that white something under my couch at the corner and just to the side of the end table. In fact it was in a place that even I could not have put them there unless I did so intentionally.

I grabbed the infamous "grabber" and headed to see what it was.

The first clue that something was wrong ... my missing compression sock was more under the couch than the end table and not in a place I had ever left it. I pulled that up with the grabber and was happy I now had the equal number of left and right socks. Nothing irritates me more than losing just one sock.

So the chance of a lifetime as I tried not to bend over more than 90° (rehab rule) but still get the grabber at the right angle to where I could grab the sock area between the two tennis balls and have enough power to pull that out from under the couch. It looked like the couch might be lower than the height of the tennis balls ... so how did that get under there.

I had a few suspects ... one main one really ... Stella.

I had to put some force on the grabber to pull out the tennis balls ... but was successful. I ran to the kitchen pulled out my exacto knife and started cutting. Long story short ... complete silence now when I use the walker with those two tennis balls on the rear legs of the walker.

What about the tennis balls that will arrive today?

I guess they will be my spares for the next 30 years if a walker is ever needed again. Neither Stella nor Heidi are into playing fetch like Sadie or Winston, so using the new tennis balls for that is not an option.

Stella is NOT the expert hider of things that Sadie or Winston was. Those two were the all-time experts in taking my things and hiding them either in their blankets, the corner of the closet floor, under the couch ... you get the picture.

Stella believes in quality not quantity. She doesn't do it often but does it well.

For example the other day after I got back from my doctor appointment, Stella was still in her crate but she had pushed out different spots of that strong black steel rod that made up the crate. The small padlock on the front door was still there but the two keys I left in the lock were missing.

Did she eat them? The padlock was turned inward when I had left it outward, so she had moved that someway with her teeth. I looked on the floor around the large crate and saw nothing ... I started looking inside on the crate floor, near the soft rubber and cloth bones she never chews on ... ah ha .... there were the two keys back in the corner of the floor under the cloth rope like chew bone ... hidden!!

They didn't just fly through the air the full length of the crate and fall in that perfect hiding spot, if you know what I mean.

So whether it's my stuff of the hounds ... small things make a difference.

Like the length of Heidi's pawnails. The new height of my dog food container where I can reach the bottom without bending over. A spatula gives me extra length to reach into the ice bucket to get ice for my water glass without bending over. My freezer is at the bottom of the fridge. That 2'-3' shoe horn gets my right shoe on every morning. A cane adjusted lower and the proper height compared to a trekking pole makes walking much easier.

The list goes on and on.

I declared today a 'rest' day. It would be a day/night of college football and general walking inside the house but very few laps were going to be walked around the fence line in what I now call "the prison yard" LOL. I may or may not walk to the mailbox, depending if they leave my Amazon shipment of small boxes on the front porch.

Otherwise I will sit on the 4" seat pad, straight back chair watching the games while dreaming of the day I can sit on the couch again ... now there is a future small thing that will make a huge difference. Driving is another thing to look forward to that is taken for granted.

There seems to be a lot of teaching moments during this time of rehab.

It was a great day here in the Wild West.

A Scare & Missed Stella Story

With the forecast of 10 days of those small sunshine icons on my phone's weather app, we have returned to beautiful weather and that starts as soon as the sun comes up a little past 6am. Believe it or not, I can feel that Fall is in the air with the overnight temps dropping into the 50's. Shorts and t-shirts might be just an option as days move towards October. I forgot to tell the funniest story about Stella on her spa day ... how could I? Then around 4am this morning I had a scare with my right leg (surgical side) ... stay tuned.

The hounds have noticed the change in morning temperatures but more than that, they can feel the change of seasons I think. No longer do they follow me into the kitchen every morning, going outside and then howling and barking for their breakfast after they walk back inside. They do follow me and they do go outside but the past few days they walk past me, down the long hallway into the dark bedroom or dark computer room and go back to sleep. They no longer want to eat at 5am or earlier.

I opened the backdoor this morning to let them out and had quite a surprise. No ... no snakes or spiders ... 52° hit me. That will be the new normal for overnight lows now. I can handle that because I know the sunshine will be bright all day and it might touch 80° by late afternoon but maybe not.

My only plans for today were to walk as usual but start reading books again. I feel settled enough to be able to focus on a book. Plus I have some Amazon deliveries today. All light stuff so I should be able to drag them inside from the front porch and open them on the kitchen counter. "The Grabber" is the best tool I have ever come across and has done will with boxes on the front porch, into the house.

To those that emailed me last night and yesterday concerned about losing my 'help' ... fear not. When this happened a few weeks ago, neighbors on each side of me gave me their phone numbers and told me to call them for anything I needed help with. We all have something in common too. They have also had the same type of  ending with the 'helpful' neighbor I blogged about yesterday. What happened yesterday is nothing new to him.

Early in the morning while coffee is being made and the temps are too cold to sit outside in shorts and a t-shirt, I migrate to the computer room to answer email, texts and reply to blog comments from the night or day before. The hounds are ALWAYS in a sleeping spot before I return with my cup of coffee. Stella always picks one corner on each side of my desk. Heidi moves to any location that feels comfortable for that morning. She has 4-5 different places inside the computer room where she likes to sleep.

She is never too far away from me.

This is Stella's normal position as I sit and watch ballgames, day or night. Since I am not allowed yet to set on soft couches or chairs that soak you up with comfort, I sit to the side of the end table on my kitchen chair with the higher seat, a straight back and the 4" orthopedic seat cushion I bought on Amazon. This location moves Stella out to the right side of the small coffee table.

So ... the Stella story.

I warned Kelly from Sierra Dog Groomers that Stella was a professional escape artist and she might try to get out of any kennel she was staying in for the day. I did not ask but found out they put her and Heidi in the same kennel which is perfect. Kelly told me it was one of their older kennels and I can't remember exactly how big the opening was but there was a 'slight' opening made by past escape experts I guess.

All the kennels are in another room, a shut door separating them from the big room where the bathing and grooming takes place. Kelly started laughing when she described how her and two other groomers were working on other dogs with Heidi and Stella in the other room INSIDE A KENNEL !!! ..... when .... you guessed it ....

Out walks Stella into the room they were grooming other dogs !!!!

Not only did she get out of the kennel but was able to turn the round doorknob of the closed door that separated the two room ... LOL She could not believe it and I laughed and replied "I warned you she is an EXPERT in escaping anything that locks her inside." Funny funny hound.

Now ... the scare at 4am

I have been following the technique from the day I got home on how to get in and out of bed, in and out of a chair and how to turn gradually no matter how good I feel and no matter how many thousand of steps I walk in a day. That has never changed no matter what.

So in the dark bedroom this morning I sat up and let my lower back stretch a little bit before moving my legs. Keeping the legs straight and together, I lean back on my hands and slowly swing my legs to the edge of the bed and then letting them bend over the edge of the bed. I decided at this point the first day on, that I would sit a moment to let the muscles get used to bending, before I attempt to stand.

At first I thought I had to walk to the bathroom for the first time all night but didn't, what a shock from the number of times earlier in the week BEFORE I was given doctors permission to sleep on my side instead of my back. So I lifted my straight legs and while bracing myself with hands behind me ... I swung the legs back to the right onto the bed.

Now before last Tuesday's followup with my surgeon I was still sleeping with the big foam piece from the hospital, between my legs. Now that large foam piece is replaced by a pillow so I can sleep on my side ... ALL doctors instructions and allowed.

This morning something happened as I spread my lower legs and feet that scared the crap out of me !!!!

As I was spreading my lower legs and feet, the heel on my right foot (surgical side) caught on the sheet on top of the mattress that has some sort of vertical design in the support sections. I have a firm mattress but there is a layer of softness on top. If you can picture that.

With my heel stub, the leg TRIED to move right ... for a SPLIT SECOND, that felt like a lifetime ....

My whole right leg had the feeling it was "dangling by a thread" ... a thin thread, not a rope or a tendon nor any kind of muscle ... a thin piece of thread.

I laid there perfectly still in the dark assessing the situation and scared. Ok ... no severe pain when it happened. No feeling of a thigh spasm when it happened nor after the foot eventually moved. No pain in the groin area which would signify damage to the hip socket. I felt nothing but normal.

I lifted that right leg and moved it slightly right than to the left ... no pain, felt like normal. I laid there still waiting for some sort of reaction from that heel stub, the dangling feeling and nothing showed up. Maybe I was okay after all. I'd know once I sat up, stood up and walked down the long tiled hallway but in the meantime I was going back for another hour of sleep.

I like using the walker first thing in the morning from the time I walk away from the bed, like a warmup. I can make sure all the muscles and joints are moving in the right direction and can make sure the least amount of weight is applied to the new hip joint. I use this walker for about the first hour or so just to get everything loose and operable. The doctor did tell me to keep alternating between the walker and walking without support of any kind.

So a close call and a funny Stella story ... not a bad way to start today's blog.

It seemed later than it was for most of the day. We didn't do much out of the ordinary and just enjoyed the sunshine, took a siesta and walked. I walked off and on during the day, some inside with the walker, doing laps around the backyard with the trekking pole or free with the pole in hand. I loaded some packing from my Amazon shipments into the trash bin for Monday pickup.

So I had some lightweight activity today.

Good weather puts the Aerostat back into the air.

With the cooler temps it was perfect for Stella to sleep the morning off outside. This photo seemed to be pretty popular among my Facebook friends. When her legs are crossed she is pretty relaxed.

While Stella was sleeping outside, Heidi took the living room.

I wore New Balance flat bottom, rubber sole shoes from the hospital and to my appointments. It was the only shoe I could fit my swollen right foot into. Once that swelling went down enough I put on my daily walking shoes. A lightweight hiking shoe with more support on top and a good sole on the bottom for all types of terrain.

How do I get that on my right foot?

I loosen the laces, curl the tongue forward the grip that with "the grabber". As I slide my foot into the show I use the 2-3 foot shoe horn the hospital gave me and by using that on back of the shoe and heel, my foot slides in with no problem. To tie the show I prop my right foot up like they showed me in PT, on a chair and tie them fast. Tie the left shoe is not a problem.

I did not walk as many steps today as the past two days but did walk halfway to the intersection Stella and I cross for her walk before turning around. That walk showed me I might have to use the walker to get to the mailbox which is further away.

Stella moved throughout the house most of the day sleeping.

When I tell the hounds I have to rest or take a siesta this is where they go. Every day, around noon. Today there was a strong cool breeze coming through the window and that made it even nicer to sleep. No AC for the past couple of days.

Yes, Stella sleeps during the daytime in the area where I put my feet when I get ready to get out of bed. So to prevent any kind of mistake I wake her up and get her to move before I swing my legs to the left to set my feet on the floor. She seems to understand what I am telling her and she moves as soon as she realizes I am getting up.

I did not hear the postman but around 1:15pm there was a nice long box leaning up against my porch wall. My Amazon metal adjustable cane had arrived !!!! There is a lot of difference between the cane with the padded curved handle and a trekking pole with the flat top rubber handle where you are to grip the side of the pole. I was so excited I went out and did a couple of laps around the backyard to check it out.

While I was walking Stella was deciding whether it was nice enough for all three of us to sit on the patio for a while and enjoy the hot sunshine. Due to elevation, the sun is a lot hotter here than where we lived in Indiana. It feels great though.

Tonight has a couple of college football games to watch and then to bed to start it all over tomorrow.

A nice day in the Wild West.

A Quiet Restful Day - Somewhat LOL

The day officially started at 5am after another great night of sleep. As I rolled the walker down the lit hallway, neither hound woke up to follow me. I open all the blinds even though it's dark. I open the front window and the back door to get a good early cool breeze in the house. Coffee is then put on but I have noticed a strange thing since I started grinding my beans at the time I make the coffee. I am using more coffee for the same amount of water ... or 1 cup of coffee.

The sunrise was beautiful and the air near 60°. We are going to be back to normal temps now and the rains are gone. Which means cooler temps this time of year. By the time I grabbed my cup of coffee, the cane and headed for the computer room, neither hound had made a move from their overnight sleeping position.

I took these photos a little after 6am when the sun came up. I didn't have a lot of plans today. I mainly wanted to see how my leg and hip responded to the 6,000+ steps I took yesterday. I was willing to back off a little today if they told me to. As of 2:27pm today I had 3,192 steps in so far. My hip feels good as well as my right leg and foot.

As you see I took this photo standing at my fence facing the Mule mountains towards Bisbee. Standing by the fence is the best position for those mountain photos as I have another below facing the west and standing at the fence.

I knew the first day it was going to happen but I thought I'd give it a chance and see how it played out ... My neighbor.

Most of you probably know what I am about to say because you have been in the same situation. Little things were adding up ... to the point I was going to put a plug on it and kindly suggest it stop. If I need a ride I'll call Uber or a taxi. Yes ... it was getting that bad.

About 50' from the fence is a natural wash. You can barely see it going left to right. A whole different view from the back fence compared to the patio.

He is the type that likes to help everyone in the neighborhood and does from what I hear. He has also made a few of us mad but they put up with him. I was also warned before moving in that his friendliness moves into control freak mode and overbearing. I was aware and ready and from what I had seen he was moving along the path as scheduled. I really don't mind suggestions but basically I am going to follow that surgeon's orders from Tuesday and nobody else. He is a doctor !!!

It started the other day when he questioned the supplements I had bought and have been taking. I personally feel they have been a factor in my quick healing. Not all but some of the factor. He questioned the amount of walking I was doing while I was following doctors orders. Then this morning he told me I didn't know what I was talking about nor knew what muscle fatigue was.

LOL ... really???

I knew this wasn't going to end well.

This morning while Stella slept outside enjoying the sunshine I was accused of not following doctors orders. Really? What business is that of his? Voices were raised and the argument was on. It was short - fast - to the point and I did all of the talking. For basketball fans you might remember an IU coach named Bobby Knight so you have a pretty good idea what took place.

I instructed this overbearing control freak to go back home, bring back my keys to the car, mailbox and front door and then I'd give him his cane. That took place in a short time. There is more to this than just this morning or his comments to me for the past week.

It involved the hounds.

Once Stella found out I was not going to feed her at noon like the old days, she decided the best thing to do was to sleep until 3pm or 4pm.

I did not call him from the ER on Sept 7th to help me out with my hounds for a reason. I had seen him enough around Stella and Heidi the times he was over at my house before my injury and he didn't like them. He hated either one of them getting close to him. That didn't stop him on the 7th trying to take control of the hound situation after I had called MJ the pet setter who happened to get to my house and inside within 15 minutes after I called her. She didn't know who he was nor did she know I had not called him. He said later to me, he saw a strange car, a person key in to open the garage and he came over ... like my security guard ... that I never asked for.

She did not tell me what happened but I found out from him ... because he told me of all the rearranging he had done with the crate I keep Stella in to keep her safe and my vertical blinds in tact while I am out of the house. What else he told me he had done was not what I wanted done with the hounds. He was doing stuff that did not need to be touched but just like I was warned ... he is like an old construction foreman ... his way or the highway.

So that "helpful neighbor" is outta here. Oh ... he fed me crap yesterday for feeding the hounds myself and then picking up the dog crap in the yard even though I was within all the requirements the doctor gave me. I don't remember the doctor telling me I had to be bedridden.  :)

You get the picture?

While the three of us were outside this afternoon enjoying 72° and cool winds ... Stella made sure that my walker and I were going nowhere.  I had to wake her so I could move back inside.

Heidi had a lot of energy today but not a lot of photos. More active than I have seen her in a while and that might be due to the shorter pawnails. She has done a few sprints around the house, rolled on her back and barked and begged for food when it was appropriate. Feeding times are now 7am and 3 pm every day ... no more noon stuff.

I was finally able to focus and sit still long enough to read some books I had on the coffee table. I still cannot sit in that soft couch because it is too hard to get up and out of it based on what the doctor told me.

Nothing major planned for tonight. I am going to walk some laps around my backyard ... bake some chicken and broccoli then call it a day I thing with book reading. I'm feeling really good again today. No soreness whatsoever from the hip area.

The hounds have survived the past 19 days in fine style ... no hiccups ... no injuries ... and seem to be back to their routines of begging me for food now since they have seen me feed them.

A beautiful day in the Wild West.