Some very darling pictures!
And then for some humor . . .
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Another Year Under My Belt - uh, Ankle
The 2011 fall herding trials are over and I am able to walk without pain! This hasn't always been the case. . .
For the past several (many, many) years, my ankle has had "issues" at this time of year. I can note this time accurately as this is just after both my dog club's National Specialty and then my herding club's fall trials, both of which I usually work (meaning I'm on my feet constantly and walking on rough, uneven ground).
For the past several years, my ankle would be in excruciating pain after all the wear and tear of working these two events. Well, except for one year (2008) and that was when I thought I'd finally fixed it after only two surgeries.
I can remember about when all the Achilles tendon issues started as I was showing my first border collie to her breed championship in the spring of 2003. I noticed a stiffness or tightening of the ankle after a long drive to a dog show. My friend, whose dog I was also showing at the time, was anxious and worried I'd not be able to show the dog when it took a few minutes to warm up my ankle after the long drive to the show site.
The stiffness after rest continued for the rest of the year, but it progressed to discomfort during use in the summer of 2004. I was taking herding lessons every week that summer and wasn't doing to let a little thing like an ouchy tendon put getting that herding title on hold. I had my priorities! But the tendon was getting more and more painful.
Early winter 2004, I finally went to a podiatrist for a diagnosis and help for the now very painful tendon. He said it wasn't a tear in the tendon because I could still rise up on my toes. He did x-rays of the bones but did no soft tissue evaluations (MRI or CT). I assumed he knew what he was doing. He sent me to physical therapy which did ease the pain, but never completely eliminated it. But since I could walk more easily I was happy. I was a dog-walker and as long as I could do my job and compete with my dogs, I was happy.
I finished the herding title in March of 2005. The ankle was still bothering me and I was still seeing the podiatrist. I remember the breaking point of all this on again off again pain and with the doctor who wasn't fixing it. I was walking a client's dog in the chilly rain late spring and something in my ankle snapped. I went down on my knees in the middle of the road, at least a half mile away from anything. I couldn't stand and so I just leaned on the dog and cried. After a while the pain eased to where I could hobble back to the house. I called the podiatrist and he was out of the office for several days (this was a Thursday). I explained the pain I'd had to the receptionist and she said to make an appointment next week. I just hung up.
I babied the tendon for a few days and got the pain back to bearable and the ankle usable. I have a high threshold for pain and so was stoic about the amount of pain I was experiencing. As long as I was able to move and do my job, a 'bit' of pain was tolerable.
In the fall of 2005 my mammogram showed a lump in my right breast. I lost my mother to breast cancer so I now had "a history" of breast cancer in my family. My ankle was really painful by this time but the lump was of higher importance. I had a lumpectomy in late October of 2005, in between my National Specialty show and the fall herding trials.
In 2006 I'd finally had enough of the pain and was no longer to walk without a lot of pain, so in the fall of that year (yes, it took me over a year to have someone look at it again!) I sought out an orthopedic surgeon. I knew there was something seriously wrong with the ankle and I wasn't satisfied with what the podiatrist did. At my first visit, the surgeon did x-rays and an MRI. The followup visit confirmed what I'd suspected all along - a partially ruptured tendon with a lot of scarring due to my continued use of it. (And, yes, I was still able to rise up on my toes, albeit painfully!) Surgery was scheduled for the first Friday of December. He'd wanted to do it just before Thanksgiving but since I host the family dinner I put it off until after.
The surgery went well but my recovery hit a plateau that I was unable to get past. So in May of 2007, just a week after my daughter's wedding, I had a second surgery on the ankle. The doctor found that another piece of the tendon had torn. Once it was repaired, my recovery was swift and easy.
The National Specialty and 2008 fall herding trials were the first I'd experienced without pain in a long time. It was great! But in 2009, the ankle once again flared after working the two events. I sought out another doctor as I only give each doctor two chances to 'get it right'. I heard a radio advertisement for a new podiatrist in town so I thought I'd give her a chance.
Dr. Lockwood was (and still is) a fabulous, caring individual. She listened to my long saga, took x-rays and sent me to PT. We both were hoping that in was just inflammation in the tendon, not another rupture. But by January, the ankle wasn't getting better so off for an MRI, which showed a potential tear. I also had a lot of arthritic build-up in my big toe joint causing me pain and altering my foot's stride so we decided to fix that at the same time. Surgery was scheduled for mid-June, 2010, which was when I figured it would least impact my husband while I was off my feet for 8 weeks.
The surgery went according to plan but once again I couldn't get past a plateau of pain. On November 11, I suddenly found my foot swelling inside my shoe as I was standing the the driveway talking with a client. Upon x-raying the foot, Dr. Lockwood found that the fused joint (where she had taken out the arthritis) had snapped. Apparently there was some sort of stress or torquing in there and it finally snapped under that stress. Once again, the surgery had failed. So in December (Thanksgiving issues again), I underwent another surgery to repair the broken bone.
I'd like to say that I am now 100% back to normal. But I'm not. I have a "new" normal, one I can live with since it is relatively pain-free. I have survived another fall of shows and trials. How long will this last? The rest of my life, I hope, but only time will tell.
For the past several (many, many) years, my ankle has had "issues" at this time of year. I can note this time accurately as this is just after both my dog club's National Specialty and then my herding club's fall trials, both of which I usually work (meaning I'm on my feet constantly and walking on rough, uneven ground).
For the past several years, my ankle would be in excruciating pain after all the wear and tear of working these two events. Well, except for one year (2008) and that was when I thought I'd finally fixed it after only two surgeries.
I can remember about when all the Achilles tendon issues started as I was showing my first border collie to her breed championship in the spring of 2003. I noticed a stiffness or tightening of the ankle after a long drive to a dog show. My friend, whose dog I was also showing at the time, was anxious and worried I'd not be able to show the dog when it took a few minutes to warm up my ankle after the long drive to the show site.
The stiffness after rest continued for the rest of the year, but it progressed to discomfort during use in the summer of 2004. I was taking herding lessons every week that summer and wasn't doing to let a little thing like an ouchy tendon put getting that herding title on hold. I had my priorities! But the tendon was getting more and more painful.
Early winter 2004, I finally went to a podiatrist for a diagnosis and help for the now very painful tendon. He said it wasn't a tear in the tendon because I could still rise up on my toes. He did x-rays of the bones but did no soft tissue evaluations (MRI or CT). I assumed he knew what he was doing. He sent me to physical therapy which did ease the pain, but never completely eliminated it. But since I could walk more easily I was happy. I was a dog-walker and as long as I could do my job and compete with my dogs, I was happy.
I finished the herding title in March of 2005. The ankle was still bothering me and I was still seeing the podiatrist. I remember the breaking point of all this on again off again pain and with the doctor who wasn't fixing it. I was walking a client's dog in the chilly rain late spring and something in my ankle snapped. I went down on my knees in the middle of the road, at least a half mile away from anything. I couldn't stand and so I just leaned on the dog and cried. After a while the pain eased to where I could hobble back to the house. I called the podiatrist and he was out of the office for several days (this was a Thursday). I explained the pain I'd had to the receptionist and she said to make an appointment next week. I just hung up.
I babied the tendon for a few days and got the pain back to bearable and the ankle usable. I have a high threshold for pain and so was stoic about the amount of pain I was experiencing. As long as I was able to move and do my job, a 'bit' of pain was tolerable.
In the fall of 2005 my mammogram showed a lump in my right breast. I lost my mother to breast cancer so I now had "a history" of breast cancer in my family. My ankle was really painful by this time but the lump was of higher importance. I had a lumpectomy in late October of 2005, in between my National Specialty show and the fall herding trials.
In 2006 I'd finally had enough of the pain and was no longer to walk without a lot of pain, so in the fall of that year (yes, it took me over a year to have someone look at it again!) I sought out an orthopedic surgeon. I knew there was something seriously wrong with the ankle and I wasn't satisfied with what the podiatrist did. At my first visit, the surgeon did x-rays and an MRI. The followup visit confirmed what I'd suspected all along - a partially ruptured tendon with a lot of scarring due to my continued use of it. (And, yes, I was still able to rise up on my toes, albeit painfully!) Surgery was scheduled for the first Friday of December. He'd wanted to do it just before Thanksgiving but since I host the family dinner I put it off until after.
The surgery went well but my recovery hit a plateau that I was unable to get past. So in May of 2007, just a week after my daughter's wedding, I had a second surgery on the ankle. The doctor found that another piece of the tendon had torn. Once it was repaired, my recovery was swift and easy.
The National Specialty and 2008 fall herding trials were the first I'd experienced without pain in a long time. It was great! But in 2009, the ankle once again flared after working the two events. I sought out another doctor as I only give each doctor two chances to 'get it right'. I heard a radio advertisement for a new podiatrist in town so I thought I'd give her a chance.
Dr. Lockwood was (and still is) a fabulous, caring individual. She listened to my long saga, took x-rays and sent me to PT. We both were hoping that in was just inflammation in the tendon, not another rupture. But by January, the ankle wasn't getting better so off for an MRI, which showed a potential tear. I also had a lot of arthritic build-up in my big toe joint causing me pain and altering my foot's stride so we decided to fix that at the same time. Surgery was scheduled for mid-June, 2010, which was when I figured it would least impact my husband while I was off my feet for 8 weeks.
The surgery went according to plan but once again I couldn't get past a plateau of pain. On November 11, I suddenly found my foot swelling inside my shoe as I was standing the the driveway talking with a client. Upon x-raying the foot, Dr. Lockwood found that the fused joint (where she had taken out the arthritis) had snapped. Apparently there was some sort of stress or torquing in there and it finally snapped under that stress. Once again, the surgery had failed. So in December (Thanksgiving issues again), I underwent another surgery to repair the broken bone.
I'd like to say that I am now 100% back to normal. But I'm not. I have a "new" normal, one I can live with since it is relatively pain-free. I have survived another fall of shows and trials. How long will this last? The rest of my life, I hope, but only time will tell.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Welcome Ellie Ferne!
At 2:33pm EDT on Thursday November 3, 2011, Ellie Ferne made her long-awaited appearance!
Poor Tara had a rough go of it. Her first "real" contractions started on Tuesday afternoon about 4:30pm EDT. She labored all night and into the next day. She was "not allowed" to go to the hospital until her contractions were at least 5 minutes apart and of at least a minute long, preferably longer.
I talked to her a couple times by email on Wednesday morning. Then at 1:30pm EDT, Joel called and said they were on the way as the contractions were almost 2 minutes long and 5 minutes apart. Sounded like Baby Sage was coming!
I called Mike at work and told him to try to get the next day off so we could go to Indiana to see the newest family member. We got a bit impatient at bedtime when we'd not received a call but still expected to be awakened during the night with good news. When morning arrived (after a restless night's sleep) and still no call, impatience was replaced by concern. But with no phone call we had to assume that things were still progressing. So we continued with our plans to head east.
I called Joel after we got onto the highway. I was expecting to just get voicemail and to say that we were on our way. But Joel picked up. He sounded beat. He said still no baby due to 'complications' he didn't want to go into over the phone.
Okay, now we were in full panic mode. About 11:30 Tara called to reassure us that she and baby were fine. The complications were that labor had basically stopped. She was following in my childbirth footsteps! They were exploring options, hoping to avoid a C-section. That call eased our worried minds.
When we were about 5 minutes from the hospital, Joel called again to ask where we were. I told him and he said, "Okay, the doctor wants her to start pushing but we will wait for you." Mike was appalled but I was excited that the baby was almost here!
We got up to the third floor and Joel met us at the hospital and took us to Tara. As it turned out, the doctor was delivering another baby so Tara was on hold. So we visited for about 15 minutes before the nurse came in and said that the doctor wanted Tara to get started pushing with the nurse. So Mike and I went to the waiting room. That was about 2:20pm EDT.
What a LONG wait. It really was only about an hour but seemed much, much longer. Just after 3:30, Joel came to get us. He wouldn't tell us what we had, a boy or a girl, so we had to go and find out for ourselves.
Tara looked tired but happy. Baby Ellie was laying on her chest nuzzling and licking Tara's skin. She was absolutely beautiful! We stayed for about another hour and by that time, both Tara and Joel were fading. They hadn't slept, except for fits and starts, since Tuesday morning!
So we kissed everyone goodbye (and pried baby Ellie out of Gramps' arms) and made arrangements to come back for a visit on Veterans Day since Mike is off work that day. Can't wait!
I talked to her a couple times by email on Wednesday morning. Then at 1:30pm EDT, Joel called and said they were on the way as the contractions were almost 2 minutes long and 5 minutes apart. Sounded like Baby Sage was coming!
I called Mike at work and told him to try to get the next day off so we could go to Indiana to see the newest family member. We got a bit impatient at bedtime when we'd not received a call but still expected to be awakened during the night with good news. When morning arrived (after a restless night's sleep) and still no call, impatience was replaced by concern. But with no phone call we had to assume that things were still progressing. So we continued with our plans to head east.
I called Joel after we got onto the highway. I was expecting to just get voicemail and to say that we were on our way. But Joel picked up. He sounded beat. He said still no baby due to 'complications' he didn't want to go into over the phone.
Okay, now we were in full panic mode. About 11:30 Tara called to reassure us that she and baby were fine. The complications were that labor had basically stopped. She was following in my childbirth footsteps! They were exploring options, hoping to avoid a C-section. That call eased our worried minds.
When we were about 5 minutes from the hospital, Joel called again to ask where we were. I told him and he said, "Okay, the doctor wants her to start pushing but we will wait for you." Mike was appalled but I was excited that the baby was almost here!
We got up to the third floor and Joel met us at the hospital and took us to Tara. As it turned out, the doctor was delivering another baby so Tara was on hold. So we visited for about 15 minutes before the nurse came in and said that the doctor wanted Tara to get started pushing with the nurse. So Mike and I went to the waiting room. That was about 2:20pm EDT.
What a LONG wait. It really was only about an hour but seemed much, much longer. Just after 3:30, Joel came to get us. He wouldn't tell us what we had, a boy or a girl, so we had to go and find out for ourselves.
Tara looked tired but happy. Baby Ellie was laying on her chest nuzzling and licking Tara's skin. She was absolutely beautiful! We stayed for about another hour and by that time, both Tara and Joel were fading. They hadn't slept, except for fits and starts, since Tuesday morning!
So we kissed everyone goodbye (and pried baby Ellie out of Gramps' arms) and made arrangements to come back for a visit on Veterans Day since Mike is off work that day. Can't wait!
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Still Waiting
Daughter, Tara, was due to have her baby last week Wednesday. Today is Thursday, November 3rd, and we are still waiting for Baby Sage to make his/her appearance. This is more nerve-wracking than having it ourselves and ranks just above waiting for Trey to whelp. But at least with dogs you know that they will whelp 63 days after they ovulate. Tara is a week and a day "late".
We are driving over to Indy today since I will be gone all weekend. Hopefully our visit will shake things up and encourage the Sagelet to make an appearance!
We are driving over to Indy today since I will be gone all weekend. Hopefully our visit will shake things up and encourage the Sagelet to make an appearance!
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