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.

Hounds Have A Spa Day

Stella was all set for another night of 'on call nurse' but within minutes decided that I was okay and decided to sleep instead. I am going to stop giving every day updates about my rehab since the first two weeks are over and it's another 4 weeks before my next appointment. There is not going to be a lot of different news until then. Yet, for the first time in a long time I had 6.5 hours of solid sleep last night, all because I could sleep on my side instead of my back. The hounds slept through the night until 1:43am ....

How do I know the exact time? The clap of thunder was so close and loud when I woke up from the sound I swear I was 3 feet in the air (joke). I had no doubt that lightning had struck the house or somewhere extremely close. Within that minute I hear what I think is a bloodhound trotting down the hallway on the tile floor toward the bedroom. It was Stella, who was sleeping in the computer room when I went to bed. Once she saw things were okay she laid beside Heidi's bed and slept the rest of the morning.

A little after 6am the winds were whipping from the SE and it was a cold 52°. I was wide awake at 4am while the hounds slept until 7am. It was going to be a big day for us today. I was going to get a lot of walking done inside the house without the walker and the hounds were going to be picked up by Sierra Dog Grooming at 10am so they could have a spa day.

I planned on alternating between the walker and my trekking pole inside the house but once that my neighbor saw that he said "wait a second, I'll be right back" ... a few minutes later he handed me a metal adjustable cane to use. With the curved handle I found it much easier to walk compared to the flat top of the trekking pole. By noon I had over 5,000 steps, almost twice as much as my biggest day.

Remember the doctor told me to walk as much as I wanted as long as I did not feel fatigue in my right leg or hip.

Kelly arrived right on time with a Jeep Grand Cherokee. I told her all about Stella and Heidi and like everyone else that has met the hounds, she loved them. Once she put my leashes on each hound Heidi started walking to the car while Stella wasn't so sure. Was she being given away again?

Heidi jumped up in the back seat like it was her car and with Stella's hips Kelly was able to lift her just enough to get her in the back floorboard where Stella stepped up on the backseat. Each hound was then buckled into their doggie seatbelts. I was going to be houndless for about 5.5 hours, for the first time since September 2018.

Right after they left I had my groceries delivered by Fry's Market and once again they pulled 34 items from my online shopping list and didn't make a mistake. That service is well worth the $9.95 service fee plus a tip.

I called the doctor's office to confirm that I could take a real shower. I had forgot to ask him yesterday during my appointment but assumed I could since he said the incision had healed very good and he took the surgical tape off. I had no problems losing balance or feeling dizzy. It is a walk in shower not one in a tub. It felt great to feel really clean again. With everything I  had done in the morning it was time for some rest, and a possible siesta.

An hour later I was vacuuming the house and then I put every jacket I brought with me in the washer to prepare for our winter. I can pull the jackets or any kind of laundry out of the dryer with the grabber.

So by the end of the day I was going to have a clean house, a clean me and two clean hounds !!!

Around 3:45pm the Jeep Grand Cherokee pulled up in front of the house. Luckily it wasn't raining so I grabbed my cane and headed outside to grab Heidi's leash while Kelly got Stella out of the backseat. Within a few minutes Heidi knew where she was and trotted away as I let go of her leash ... right into the living room.

Once Kelly was at the side walk I told her to let go of the leash and Stella would run to the house, which she did. Both hounds were soft and shining with an added Halloween scarf around their necks. Heidi's nails looked shorter than I had ever seen them. Stella's were still short from her vet visit a few weeks ago.

Kelly took her time and explained everything she did for Heidi and Stella. She thinks that Heidi might be starting to have an ear infection. Both hounds were happy to be home, wagging their tails and checking to see if I had any treats for them. I asked how they were in the kennel and she said the both of them were the best dogs they had ever worked with. They stayed in the same kennel after they were cleaned.

Both liked getting a bath and both didn't mind getting their nails cut. She said that Stella loved having her ears cleaned and Heidi didn't mind it either.

I will definitely be using their service again, only next time I should be able to drive them to their facility myself. They say don't bath a hound as often as other dogs because it takes the natural oil away but I usually try to bath them when they start smelling like a hound.

There was some other surprising news this morning, adding another thing I can do.

My hound sitter/feeder MJ The Pet Nanny sent me a text this morning that she was going to be late due to an emergency with a client that has five cats. After that she had to take time to feed horses of two clients. Like she told me last week, horses are different than dogs when they are hungry ... they don't whine or bark, they kick down gates and fences so she had to feed them before she stopped by to feel Heidi and Stella.

It was getting pretty late, past Stella's breakfast time so I looked at the situation and grabbed an empty dog dish with "the grabber" ... no problem sitting it on the floor and picking it up to clean after their meal. Would I be able to bend over to dip the kibble out of the container into their dishes without breaking the doctor's 90° rule?

To make sure I leaned over on my good left leg while keeping the bad right legs off the ground  ... no problem. While the hounds were eating I had the neighbor watch me and confirm I was not breaking the 90° rule when bending over to get the kibble out of the storage container.

I had to try another thing. I grabbed the poop bag and headed outside. I like picking it up as soon as possible and knew I'd be doing this once I moved to Arizona. Stella would  no longer have that 7 acre field she like to crap in.

So once again I leaned over with my bad foot/leg off the ground and was able to pick up what I needed to without bending more than 90°. I was close to feeding the hounds again and cleaning up after them. Since I have been sitting things I need up waist level or higher around the house so I can reach them, I decided I needed to sit the kibble container on something a couple of feet tall so I would barely have to bend over to get the kibble out.

I had the perfect solution. I have a hard fiberglass case that I stored camping stuff in that was just he right height. I had my neighbor bring that in from the garage and it worked out perfect. MJ was giving me a discounted price for coming twice per day since I was here and could let the hounds out during the day and later at night. She loves Heidi and Stella too but she has a lot of animals to take care of besides all of the ones she owns.  I will also call her when I need her in the future to take care of Heidi and Stella.

So the hounds are shiny, clean and sleeping. I am clean and can do the majority of my walking with a cane and sometimes with only my two feet. Once again I feel stronger than yesterday, still following the rules for making turns and using the walker as an alternative. It's been raining again so I expect another good night of sleep and we start all over tomorrow.

Comment or email me if you have any questions about hip replacement surgery or rehab.

It's a rough day spending all of it at the doggie spa ....

It's cold and rainy here in the Wild West.

Great News At The Doctor Appointment

We have not had our typical monsoon this year so it tried to make up for it starting last night around 3am. By the time we got up at 5am it was in full steam ahead. My phone set off an alarm last night while sleeping for a tornado warning in Wilcox NE of us by 50-60 miles. So, we couldn't find the mountains this morning in my viewfinder. I knew I would be wearing shoes and a rain jacket to my doctor's followup appointing at 10:45am.

I had a good night of sleep but I noticed for the 2nd day in a row I woke up fining that big foam piece they gave me at the hospital to sleep with between my legs, had been kicked to the floor in my sleep. Was that a sign I no longer needed to use it? I'd find out the answer to that at my appointment.

I was "camping showered", shaved and ready to go by 8am. My neighbor was going to pick me up at 9am but since he was ready to start early, we left at 8:45am ... in the rain.

I had to stop at the post office outgoing mailbox and I needed to go to the City Dept to drop off a signed form and void check so they could take my trash and sewer payment out of my checking account automatically. They still do it the "old fashion" way instead of letting me set all of that up online. They were the last company I set up automatic payment. That will be convenient if I am ever hospitalized again ... income and all utility, tv/internet, water, trash, sewer are all paid automatically.

The more we drove around town the harder it rained. The city system of concrete washes were full of high speed water and one of the main roads out of town was having flash flooding. Twitter is great for getting those kind of emergency weather announcements.

The surprise of the morning before I left was being able to fit my swollen foot into my shoe without bending over. I tried both shoes at first with no shoe strings, pulled them out at the hospital the day I left. Without raising my right leg I put the big toe inside the tongue of the shoe, grabbed that long shoe horn they gave me at the hospital and shoved my foot into the shoe with ease ... a shocker.

I thought since my foot fit inside the shoe so easy, it looked like it would if I put the shoe laces back in the shoe ... so I repeated the process and got my foot in the shoe. Now ... how to tie it? Left foot was no problem since I could raise that foot up to my chair seat. I had to be careful with the right. No twisting, couldn't raise it as high as the left.

So I broke a rule for a few seconds. I bent over more than 90° while sitting in my chair and tied that shoe as fast as possible. I never felt any pain and took my time bending over to see if I felt any kind of muscle pull in my right hip ... none.

After adding the rain jacket over my t-shirt I was ready to hit the road.

I had time to stop in at the hospital to get a copy of all my records, x-rays included, for my two day stay at the hospital. I'll get them in certified mail this week because I did not want to have Gerry take me back tomorrow just to get them.

Luckily, like me, he likes to get to appointments early. I finished all of my errands so we decided sitting in the lobby was the best thing to do as the rain continued and was non-stop hard. He brought his golf umbrella and refused to let me walk anywhere alone even with my walker.

He is the type of guy that knows everyone in town, including the receptionist. He has had some past visits to this same facility. Of course there was a 'stack' of paperwork to fill out and by the time I did that, they called me name for some new x-rays.

During the time I filled out my paperwork I found something disappointing with my Apple Watch that was connected because my phone was right there. When I went into the watch to get some contact phone numbers I could pull up the information okay BUT it showed everything but their phone number !!!! That was the one reason I wanted to buy a new watch because last January I did NOT buy one with "cellular" model to save money.

With that performance I was very hesitant in upgrading my Apple Watch. I still am as I write this post.

I received a bill this morning for the ambulance run. It was 7.2 miles from my bike wreck location to the hospital. That only cost me $114.50 But something called "BLS Emergent" cost me $1,146.38 and only $31.40 for the supplies. I was pretty happy to see the total bill was less than $1,300 which my insurance will pay.

I cannot express in words how good I feel today. Yes the hip and leg feels better than yesterday and if I didn't see my walker nearby right now I would forget that I was hurt ... it feels that normal. Only 16 days after the hip was replaced.

So ... what did the doctor say???

He watched me walk with the walker and said I looked fantastic. My incision was healed and he took off the surgical tape. After asking questions about my condition the past two weeks he told me the exercises I had been doing were not needed at this time. ALL HE WANTED ME TO DO WAS ... walk.

He gave me permission to walk inside my house without the walker but to have furniture, a table or a kitchen counter nearby in case the leg fatigues and I could catch myself. He gave me permission to walk as far as I wanted outside or until I felt the leg fatigue with the walker. So now when it's sunny in a day or two I can join those morning walks again.

Can I take Stella .... not at this time ... I cannot take any chances that a 1 in a million event would happen and make me fall.

He was really happy with my condition and my walking. I am to return for a checkup in 4 weeks, which would be the magic number of 6 weeks, which seems to be a pretty consistent amount of time of rehab to get by to "normal LIGHT" activities, possible driving and possibly walking Stella.

He did say that he understand due to my mental make up and past bicycling that I might be tempted to do more, thinking more is better like any old ex-athlete would think but in this case it is not ... walk ... heal and then walk some more.

He did say that he sewed some muscle back together that was torn in the bike wreck plus the operation for the hip replacement but that my situation was different than others because of the trauma of the wreck that caused the surgery.

I can follow those orders pretty easy and I know now that even though it does not feel like much ... I am making the progress I need to make following his schedule.

We returned home in the rain ... the hardest of all.

I let the hounds out to take a break, drank a large glass of ice water and decided to take a nap to check out how nice it would be to be able to sleep on my side again instead of my back for the first time in two weeks.

As I sat down on the edge of the bed, Heidi trotted to her bed in the corner and Stella walked to the opposite side of the room to sleep between the bed and wall. I ended up having my best sleep in two weeks by sleeping on my side with a pillow between my legs and slept longer in one period than I had in two weeks. That's a major change.

It was cold and rainy but was about to take a break until in the middle of tomorrow morning when it will start raining again tomorrow morning. I guess it plans to make up for all the days it was suppose to rain but did not the past three weeks.

With all the rain, the hounds didn't do much more than this, pictured below.

I really feel good after this doctor visit and the way I feel physically. Funny that he wants to see me again at the 6 week mark and that is when I had marked on my calendar that I MIGHT be able to drive again and I MIGHT be able to do some stuff around the house, like feed the hounds and bend over to pet Heidi.  I still have to follow the 90° limit when bending for these next 4 weeks though.

As far as the new hip popping out of place, without asking him, he told me that was a 2%-3% chance of happening within the first two weeks. So things look good there but I was still going to have to remain cautious of my movements, turning and NO twisting.

It may have been raining all day but with this news it was one of my best days in the Wild West.

The Improvements Continue

Although Heidi loves her new bed that arrived last week, sometimes there isn't anything better than an old rolled up blanket. With a cool breeze coming though the southern bedroom window she found the perfect spot to nap until breakfast was served this morning. For the first time in a long time, both hounds slept through the night, never getting up one time. Stella found a new place to sleep ... the walk-in closet. It's dark, quiet and no windows, the perfect place for solid sleep.

I on the other hand was getting up every hour. Did they do something to my bladder during their hip replacement surgery? Finally I was wide awake at 5am, did my exercises for the foot, legs and hip and started the day. There were some amazing cloud formations right after the sunshine came up.

Remember that I am writing these updates for any of those readers that may have hip replacement surgery in the future and possibly have one scheduled. Maybe I can give them some idea what they will go through. I KNOW we are all different so anyone's surgery and rehab WILL BE different.

With the release of the Apple iPhone 11's the other day, commercials are being swamped with advertising about the new phone and cameras the different models have. From all the reviews I have read that is about the only difference, is the cameras. So this morning I decided it was going to be iPhone photo day just to remind myself how good the quality is for the iPhone 8+.

I am undecided as of this afternoon if I am going to upgrade my phone but I definitely will my watch. Like I said, unless you have the cellular function on your watch it is almost worthless in an emergency situation if your phone is not nearby. With not many differences between the Series 4 and 5, I may stick to the Series 4 and just trade it for one that has cellular function. Luckily my dog sitter brought my phone to the hospital that Saturday and I was THEN able to provide them with all the names and phone numbers they needed.
 

With my followup appointment scheduled for Tuesday morning I wanted to take one more close look at the incision. Since the swelling is going down daily I can see more than I did previous times. What a shock it was to see one of the finest healing jobs I have seen. There are definitely no staples to take out and unless he used sutures that dissolve, I don't see any stitches at all. Just surgical tape over the incision which is already close to being healed.
 

With the lack of pain in the hip and the clean surgical incision I can tell he was very precise in his work and had great attention to detail.

With a forecast of highest temps in the 70's and lows in the 50's, it's perfect weather here in the Southwest. It would be perfect weather for bicycling riding too.

Stella stood there a little after 7am, scoping out the yard for any snakes, scorpions or other critters that might be in her yard. We have yet to see any of those in the yard or anywhere else, after living here 3 months and 10 days.

First thing in the morning I could tell during the stretching exercises I was going further than yesterday. I kept the walker on the floor and in front of me but I was walking a normal stride down the hallway at normal speed. Again I did do a little walking along the kitchen counters without the walker and I am not quite there yet for fulltime walking without it. I expect another week or two using the walker based on information I have read.

Stella enjoys a short nap before breakfast is served. Normally this would be the time I would be drinking coffee before our daily walk. She will be happy to get back those I am sure and I have an idea that those walks well be very good for me as well.

The photos were not edited today.

I wanted to see what that green tree looked like if I used 2x zoom.

She was snoring in that photo.

These photos show what amount of exercise the hounds get on any normal afternoon, 7 days per week ... they don't deviate much from their routine.

By mid day my right leg was almost back to normal size but the ankle and foot were still swollen a little bit. With the grabber I could only pull my tight compression sock half way up my foot so I called for assistance. Otherwise with help of the grabber I can dress myself.

I am a little excited to hear what the surgeon has to say tomorrow. I feel like I am ahead of schedule in healing but I am not sure I am good enough yet to slide into my cars. Just a little too high and any twisting or tweaking of that new hip ball joint is NOT a good thing. I don't expect to have any chance to drive until September 28.

I am going to post this early today. Not much more will be going on between now and tonight. I might try to read a little for the first time and I'll watch a little football tonight but nothing more. For the third day in a row I only walked when I needed to do something here in the house without any walking up and down the hallway or from the front to the back of the house for a workout.

I will find out tomorrow what the next plan of action will be.

Another beautiful day here in the Wild West.