What Can I Say?

So this past weekend my little herding club held its annual trial. Since help is hard to find (most of the members don't want to work the trial, only compete in it), Saturday morning found me trying to finish up the A course for the sheep and the ducks. Walking on uneven ground is still rough on my foot and rough terrain like in the sheep pastures is just TOO much. But someone had to do it. We started 45 minutes late as it was.

After the trial ended on Sunday afternoon (and it was an early, early ending thankfully) we did get a bunch of help tearing down the sheep holding pens while the duck runs were going on, but once again, as soon as the trial ended everyone disappeared and it was up to Peggy (who'd gotten run over by a sheep on Saturday), Lisa and me to haul the wooden panels, metal T-posts, and snow fencing up to the barn. It took us about 90 minutes to finish up and I was home by 6:30 which is the earliest I've been home after that trial. But it could have been sooner if people had stuck around to finish the job. Guess I shouldn't complain as generally we have to tear down the sheep pens ourselves.

Thank doG for little favors and whatever help we got.

So I came home, put my foot up and iced it. I then did an E-stim treatment and fell asleep.

Monday morning found the foot tender and the ankle stiff. I did some stretching and then again put the foot up on ice for the majority of the day until PT. Then my friend, Judy, called and asked if I could come to Peoria and pick up her puppy as she was in the hospital again. So by the time I got home, I was mentally beat and the foot was still tender. More ice and an E-stim treatment.

Tuesday, the toe joint was puffy still and sore. I had a dog to groom and so I put my compression band on the foot to help keep the swelling down and out. By the time I finished and got back inside, the shoe was snug but I had kept most of the fluid out. The ankle, too, was swollen. More ice and rest. Then I had to drive over to meet my other friend who will be caring for the puppy until I have room for her here (if/when Emma finds a home). Again more ice and an E-stim treatment after supper.

The good news is that the tendon itself is not sore at all. Very tight and not accepting stretching but at least it's not sore. I'll take whatever good news I can find.

This morning, the swelling is all but gone from the foot. Still no soreness in the tendon. The fused toe joint is still extremely sore. Looks like I'm going to have to take that steroid injection from the doctor after all. Sigh. I hate needles, especially in my mouth and in my foot.

I have a cocker to groom this morning so we'll see what it looks like after I'm done. I should have time to ice it before I go to PT at 1:00.

At this point, I am no longer hoping for any resolution of this pain. I am resigned to living the rest of my life with some level of pain in this foot. Not what I'd hoped for before the surgery, but an idea that I'm going to have to wrap my head around now. If the injection works to relieve the pain, then perhaps that is what I'll have to do on a continuing basis in order to function better. I'll have to discuss this with the doctor in ten days.