And So It Begins

Today is heaven on earth. Today is Opening Day for baseball!

My long winter's sleep is over and I can look forward to a game almost every day. LOVE IT!

This is the day when all is possible - even the World Series for Cubs fans (not that it'll happen).

The crack of the bat, the roar of the crowd, Mike Shannon's voice on the radio. I get all this all summer and into the fall. And if the baseball gods are with us - I'll get it into October.

And if all goes right then by the first of May, Cubs fans will be saying "wait'll next year!"

But right now I'm happy to be able to have my baseball back on the radio. All is good.

Quick Foot Update

So I did some obedience work with the dogs yesterday. Everyone had a fun time.

I'm pleased to report that my foot and ankle held up, even during the 'fast' part of our heeling. I'll be honest, I doubt that I used proper walking mechanics thru the fast as I wasn't thinking about mechanics out there and I know that the habit to protect the foot probably took over. But even tho I felt like an elephant out there, I did do a fast nicely. Yay!

I've stopped taking photos of the foot as it doesn't look any different than the last few weeks. It swells with too much use but then subsides to the 'regular' swelling that is my new normal. Hopefully in a few months that, too, will subside and my foot will look more like a regular foot.

The joint feels fine. I know it's fused as it is stiff and sometimes awkward, but it was like that before the surgeries. The change is that there is no pain with the stiffness. Just what we wanted.

The other toes are still painful during and after use. how much pain depends on how much use and whether or not I remember to use proper mechanics when walking. If I 'compensate' then they don't hurt as much, If I walk properly, then they hurt some during the walk but more afterwards in the evening.

The tendon still stiffens up - pretty tight at the top, somewhat tight at the ankle. Still have a bit of soreness in the tendon when I massage it - just above where it inserts into the bursa. The spots where the soft tissue connectors are screwed in to hold the tendon in place aren't nearly as sensitive as they had been. I can still find them, but definitely better.

I see the doctor tomorrow. It should be my last appointment, I would think.

15 Weeks and Counting!

So after having a long day in Louisville on Wednesday my foot was pretty pudgy-feeling on the drive home. By the time we got home (1am) I just took my shoes and socks off and fell into bed. I really didn't care at that point what my foot looked like! Lisa stayed and caught a 3.5 hour "nap" and then drove home in time to do chores and go to work. I was glad as I didn't want her falling asleep at the wheel.

Thursday was a 'sleep in' morning, except that Trey didn't want to be alone in her crate downstairs and started yipping about 6:30. So I got up and slugged back a pot of coffee. Didn't do much to clear the cobwebs but did taste good. Thursday afternoon I met with one of Judy's students to help her fix some training issues as she is entered at Springfield in two weeks. Not sure she's ready but it will be a great learning opportunity for her and her dog. It was fun to be back out thinking about obedience and talking about Judy.

By the time I got home the foot and ankle were very tired. So I made supper and then put my feet up -- and promptly fell asleep! I was tired! Today I am at McDonald's using their free wi-fi to update my laptop and get some online work done that is quicker with something other than the dial up service I have at home. I hope my battery holds out until the updates all download. We'll see I guess.

My foot is still more swollen over all than it had been a couple weeks ago. The tendon tends to be stiffer in the morning but does work itself loose as I move around and use it. The fused joint feels about the same, too, pretty good over all. The pain in the foot from the other toes has subsided but does flare with increased use. I've still not taken the girls for a walk in about a week. The weather just hasn't been cooperative and I'm not motivated enough to walk in cold, wind, or rain. Today will be a walk day as the girls and I are all a bit sluggish and could use the exercise.

I do believe as I get more active doing stuff, especially yard work now that it's spring, and daily dog walks that the foot and ankle will improve and get stronger. My knees, too, will benefit from increased activity. Right now it is an effort to get around (it doesn't help that I'm carting about 50# more than I had last year at this time!) and I find myself huffing and puffing if I do much more than a modest stroll. I am really working on getting back into shape. I'm there mentally, just need to commit to the time to be more active. I think today I will go out and clean the yard of a winter's worth of dog poop. Walking on uneven ground will be good therapy for the ankle.

I see the doctor next Tuesday and will be released. I think I am generally satisfied with the foot and how it feels. Could it be better? Absolutely. But a lot of that depends on my efforts and I'll be honest, I've not been as consistent with my PT exercises as I had been. But life and work gets in the way and doing them three times a day just takes too much time. I still stretch the tendon at random times during the day. I was even doing some heel raises and tendon stretching in Louisville as I watch the dogs in the breed ring. (BTW the sire of my litter, Brodie, won the Herding titled Champions class and an Award of Merit on Wednesday, and an Award of Merit on Thursday!)

So, hey, spring is almost here and my foot feels much, much better. Life is good!

Busy Busy

Over the weekend I went to help some friends go thru all the stuff in Judy's garage. Judy was a collector or maybe a pack rat, but either way she had a bunch of stuff in her garage. Boxes and boxes of books, both fiction in paperback and hardback and textbooks. Judy had earned several degrees in business management and economics and apparently kept every book she ever bought while earning her degrees.

Her childhood friend, who is executor of the estate, said it looked like the boxes hadn't been touched since Judy had moved from Massachusetts, which was two moves before she bought this house. The books had either suffered damage from wetness or mice and most wound up being tossed in the dumpster.

Of course we found tons (literally) of dog-related stuff. Four huge Rubbermaid bins of dog treats and that was after we threw out the ones that were sorely out of date. We quit counting at 13 the number of training bags she had stored - most of like size and configuration. I brought home 6 crates of various sizes and materials to sell for the estate. Also I brought home four ex-pens of various heights and materials. I'm keeping them until after I'm done with the upcoming litter of puppies. One can never have too many ex-pens with puppies around!

There were obedience jumps, agility chutes and tunnels, a multitude of training collars and leashes. And clickers - many, many clickers. Judy taught obedience classes and so stocked up on various things to sell to her students if it was necessary. Apparently clickers, pinch collars, and Halti head collars weren't in great demand because she had a lot of those. Don't know if I'll be able to sell all of them. Oh, and traffic cones. There has to be at least 4 dozen traffic cones. Some of them are part of her Rally course set but the rest? Wow.

I have to go thru and catalog what I have and get it listed on line so I can sell it. Judy's mom (93) is not very well set and any extra money we can raise for her would be appreciated, I'm sure.

Monday I had the rough collie to bathe and comb out and today the two German shepherds. Foot feels okay. Tendon a bit stiff but the toes feel better. But then I haven't taken any walks since last week.

Tomorrow I'm off to Louisville with a friend to watch her show her dogs. I've never been to this venue before. Tomorrow is a border collie supported entry with puppy sweepstakes so that'll be fun to watch. It'll be a late night getting back - after 10pm and my friend will still have to drive two more hours home since she has to work the next day. Glad it's not me!

A Step (or Two?) Backwards

My foot was very puffy this morning - so puffy I had to loosen the laces on my shoe quite a bit to get the foot inside it. Sigh.

Yesterday was a pretty active day, but then I've been pretty active for the past couple weeks. I've been gradually increasing the amount of time I'm on my feet and decreasing the 'foot in the air' time during the day. At night, you'll still find me in my recliner with my feet elevated (and me snoring!).

I started taking walks with the girls again. Short walks. About 1/4 mile out and back. Twenty minutes total. But the rain and generally icky weather put a halt to those the last couple days. Until yesterday.

Yesterday I cleaned house and also spot cleaned the living room carpet. Then decided to take a walk when the sun peeked out later in the afternoon. My foot was feeling great so a walk was a good idea. I'm trying to lose the 50+ pounds I've put on since last June's surgery and walking is a good way to start.

So I got to my 1/4 mile mark and decided to go farther. The wind was cold but was at my back (I forgot it would be in my face on the way home) and I was dressed in wind pants and jacket so it wasn't too bad. Trey is hopefully pregnant and needs to get in better shape for whelping after her long layoff while I was laid up. Beckett is walking on leash as she, too, has a bum foot right now.

All total, I probably walked almost a mile, taking about 35 minutes to do it, and my foot and ankle felt great! Yippee! Trey was tired and ready to settle and not be a pain when Mike came home. Beckett's walk was easy on her foot and she wasn't favoring it much.

So I made homemade pizza crust for the first time in months and we enjoyed our dinner. I put my feet up at 7:00 and noticed then some stiffness in the ankle - not in the tendon, but at the front of the ankle above the instep. So I took off my sock and massaged it. I noticed that the foot was quite swollen, as was the ankle - most noticeably in front near the instep and on the outer side near the ankle bone. Not bad but not good. I also had an ouchiness (bruised feeling) in the middle two toes which I've been fighting since I started walking. After my walk and busy day it was more pronounced. I also found a very tender spot on the tendon during my massage, but the tendon was not stiff or tight.

In the middle of the night I had to get up to visit the bathroom. Normally I have to 'warm up' the foot/ankle but by the time I'm down the stairs and on my way back up, I am able to walk normally. This holds true in the mornings, too, a bit of warm up when my feet first hit the floor. Last night it wasn't so. I had to hobble to and from the bathroom. It wasn't the fused joint or the tendon. It was still the front of the ankle and the middle two toes of the foot.

Now I've had some discomfort in those two toes from the moment I started walking after both surgeries. Being that I never did walk normally after the first surgery I was never able to 'work them out' of this discomfort. So when it happened again this time I assumed it was just lack of use. And it probably is. So I've continued to plug forward, making sure I'm using the correct foot mechanics when I walk.

This week I've noticed that the toes weren't hurting as much, or maybe I should say that they warmed up quicker and were less uncomfortable when they were warmed up. But last night, OMG. Definite bruised feeling overall in those toes. Not so much the actual toes themselves. I guess I should be clear. The toes never hurt but the long bones in the foot were what was causing me discomfort and that is what is feeling very bruised right now. The pain radiates up the two long bones to the front of my ankle.

After getting my foot in my shoe this morning, the foot felt better but not good. I mean that the support of the shoe made the toe bones feel better but the overall ouchiness of the ankle (in the front) is still very apparent. So I decided to take the shoe off and take some photos of it.

Lines from my shoe compression

The swelling at the outside of the ankle bone

Not much change in the overall appearance of the fused joint

So I don't know what's going on with the foot. I am still doing my PT exercises without much difficulty. The tender spot on the tendon last night was a surprise, but not unexpected since I did up the amount of use yesterday. So when you read this, Dr. Lockwood, give it some thought and we'll see where I am on the 22nd when I come to see you.

I am not entering any obedience trials since Trey may be pregnant and Beckett is lame, but I do have Trey entered at the DeWitt dog show on Sunday, April 3rd, just so I can have something to do now that I'm up and about!

Week 13 Uh-oh!

So I started back to walking with the dogs on Wednesday. It was lovely! Trey got to run loose but Beckett had to stay on leash as she is still sore in a foot. Sigh.

The foot and ankle felt great during and after the walk, even into the evening. This is good news.

On Thursday, I was on my feet for most of the day preparing for a trip out of town with the dogs. I had a lot to do to get the ducks and chickens situated to where they could be left for a couple days without becoming a meal for a hawk or four-legged varmint.

When I came inside to shower at about 2pm, I took off my shoe and sock and found this . . .

Uh-oh!

Yes, this is the same toenail that was ingrown after my previous surgery. The doctor removed the side of the nail so as to prevent any further ingrowing or infections. But this looks like the festering of an infection to me.

So I quick sent off an email to my doctor as I was leaving in just a couple of hours for Virginia. After following her instructions, I headed east.

At some point during my two-day whirlwind trip, the white spot ruptured and oozed onto the bandage I applied. I've continued to soak it in warm water and Epsom salts but it has not refilled nor is it sore or painful.

I just hope it's gone. I don't want any more 'issues' with this foot!