Pooka bear

So I've apparently lost my mind. Today i brought home a new family member. I've been thinking about it for a long time, Finnegan has been lonely since Maggie moved and I decided that he needed a friend to keep him company and someone to play with. Especially because I'll be going back to work soon (i think) and after having me home for 7 weeks he's more attached than ever.

So today Princess Pooka came home to stay. I went to the shelter yesterday just to look and fell in love. So today I had the yard check done and tonight I went and picked her up. When we were on the way home we realized how bad she needed a bath - so if her day wasn't traumatic enough; she had to meet Finnegan and then get a bath - then i saw how messed up her fur was. So down on the floor with a pair of scissors for 3 hours to cut all the matted fur. Her ears were actually matted to her head. It was awful. She has to go to the groomers tomorrow to get her nails cut - they're too much for me to tackle - and she needs her teeth brushed.
She's about 6, was a stray and is the sweetest littel girl. They said she's a Bichon Frise/Poodle mix - but knowing the dogs I adopt we may never know what she really is. :) She let me cut all of her hair - Finn is completely against that - and then cuddled with me and the Finn on the couch. They seen to be getting along pretty well. He's still not sure what she's doing here but he hasn't bit her yet so that's good sign.

On the knee front I still can't walk well at all. It's getting really annoying. I can't get it to hold me up when i walk - it buckles constantly. It's exhausting to keep it from completely going out from under me, which I can tell when I am over tired because it does buckle and I go over. Luckily it's usually where I can catch myself. I am trying to get it to work properly but it's just not working with me. I want to just stretch out my leg but that hurts and the nerves are apparently reconnecting and that's bringing on a big old hurt too.

The good news is the kitchen is done and me and Mike figured out a good way to arrange the living room so that all the furniture is used instead of just most of it.

Plus something good just happened - my mom is the greatest! On Friday I get a new freezer. Oh and dad rocks too - he sent his own Easter card of cash seperate from mom's gift. Everyone should have parents like them :)

Six weeks later

I just got home from the doctor for my 6 week visit. He took x-rays and the bone is healed so I can take the brace off and start to build some strength. With that being said - I'm still not allowed to go back to work. Apparently he has figured out I have a tendency to push myself too much and he's quite worried that I will hurt myself by trying to do too much, he's right and we both know that – I'll do too much and wind up in bed for a few days b/c I overdid it.

I still have pain - if I sit longer than 20-30 minutes it gets pretty bad, I get tired very quickly when I am trying to do anything. I'm good for an hour or so but then I need to rest for a while to make the throbbing stop.

I'm still not released to go to PT. The main deal is I don't have much strength in my left leg and I am supposed to teach my self how to walk in the next few weeks so I can go to PT. All my therapy is still to be done at home, until I can walk with bending my leg and not falling over. The doctor said a month, I argued for 2 weeks, he said he'll see me in three, however if I think I can pull it off after two I'm to call him and he'll consider letting me go back to work then for shorter hours to start.

His major point that's making me listen (I know – I'm actually following advice) is that I'm 30 and if I don't take the time needed to let everything heal the right way and get the muscles strong I could hurt myself in the long run. I need to use this knee for the next 50 or 60 years and 2-4 weeks more for healing isn't that long when you think of it compared to years of pain I could cause myself

Knee-Day 18 & some other things

I obviously have nothing better to do than bitch and moan. I'm bored and I have abandoned my hobbies. TV as a whole sucks, movies are boring and my house is cold. ptttt. OK cranky part over.

I do have something happy to report. The temp handicapped parking pass came today and it's good until the end of June. At least now if I can fit my leg into the car to drive somewhere I won't have to park far. :) I do have to get to the grocery store at some point - there are two people coming for brunch on Sunday and of course the things that I want to make I don't have ingredients for. Plus it's an outing at the least.

Also, I need to get to Lowe's. I've decided to do some of the work in the kitchen since I'm stuck at home. As long as I can work in one hour increments I shouldn't exhaust myself too much and should be able to work sitting down on alot of it. The cabinets will be painted and I'm thinking of making some new knobs, the walls stripped and re-papered and painted (my house has at least 4 layers of paper on the walls and ceiling so painting is not an option.) I bought the new floor with part of my bonus back in November and it's just been sitting there taunting me ...so it's about time we get to work on it. I think if Mike and I work consistently we can get it all accomplished in the next few weeks. There's not alot of destructionl no new walls or any of my regular craziness, just knocking the "decorative" poles out and ripping the carpet up. I'll be recovering the chair seats, maybe repainting the table-depending on the paint cost, and maybe making new curtains.

Two other things happened in the last two days that made me feel completely loved and I'm unbelievably honored:) Yesterday my cousin Amy called, mother of my favorite short person, Sarah, and asked me to be the Godmother of my soon to be nephew! So come June I'll be the Godmother to Joseph Jack Klein!! I'm so touched. Then today my girl Karen called and asked me to be in her wedding next June!! Apparently there's a stipulation from her and Aaron - I have to bring the Flanigan as my date. I of course asked what if I'm in a serious relationship by then and after she was done laughing at me, she said they'd just have to add one. :) Plus (BONUS) she's picking the color and we get to pick the dress so there's a chance I won't look like a linebacker next to her size 0 sister! (love Annie but seriously - could she at least be a 2???)

The knee is getting there - by a week from Monday I'm supposed to have it bending to 90 degrees non weight bearing. The incision looks really good and I really don't think there will be much of a scar and Dr. Cautilli doesn't think so either. So now I just have to work on my bending.

Knee: Day 14

Today is the 2 week mark of gimpdom and I'm getting cranky. I don't like that I can't do anything for myself and now that I'm pretty much off the painkillers it's way more obvious to my non-foggy self.

I still really can't be left alone for any extended period of time. It's not really painful persay but more of a constant ache and majorly uncomfortable. Imagine trying to get through the day without bending your leg - now do it for at least 42 consecutive days - I'm only at 14 and i'm annoyed.

It's the little things. It takes a half hour to prepare to even shower. If I want to make a cup of tea I need to disconnect the ice from my leg which is down by my ankle, hook my hand into the velcro on the bottom of the immobilizer, then get the crutches, then pull myself upright with little weight on the bad leg, if i'm upstairs i need to get myself into the chair to go downstairs and make it to the kitchen. So mainly I just have to suck it up and ask Mike to do it. The sick part is this is getting around "good".

Finnegan is of course thrilled his mom is here all day but he doesn't understand why I can't play or let him out. His confusion is lessening but it'll be quite the adjustment when I go back to work for him. Poor little guy :(

Anyone that would like to give Mike a break from my bad attitude is welcome. Please call first and realize that within 30 minutes you'll be sick of me. Because quite frankly my attitude sucks, but I know it and I'm trying to work on it. If I snap at you or have snapped at you recently, I'm sorry just try to imagine how you would be dealing with this. Probably about the same.

Knee: day 3

So we're into day 3, including the surgery day, and I'm not doing too good. Yesterday's post was written while I was still feeling the anesthesia and Demerol, about 3-ish yesterday they wore off and it got very very bad pain wise.

Last night trying to get me up the steps for bed was absolutely horrific. I feel so bad for Mike and mom b/c they had to help me and I'm sure it freaked them out completely. I am seriously not whining about it, just need to write this down so there's something to remind me in a few weeks of how much better I feel :)

Plus people keep asking and this is way easier.. I know I'm allowed to be cranky and crying b/c of what I had done - but I really hate being such a girl about it. The pin through the bone seems to be causing the most pain (duh) which if you think about it means every time I move my foot or toes, etc. it sends shooting pain up my leg. Plus the not moving is not helping the arthritis in my knee and hip, both caused by the knee problem I've had for 6 or 7 years.

Knee Surgery -

The knee surgery has been scheduled for February 20th, it's called a tibial tendon transfer. I'm scared as hell BUT really excited at the same time b/c it means I'll be able to walk normally, climb stairs, kneel, squat (you'd be amazed how often you need to do this when you CAN'T), run etc. hopefully within 6 months.

I really like my new surgeon - along with being one of the best he's human - listened to all my problems and talked without rushing me. It's been very rare in my experience with surgeons to have someone who cares and shows it. ..It's an overnight, then 6 weeks in the immobilizer - I'm supposedly out of work for 4-6 weeks and I have to do what I'm supposed to or I could really mess my knee up worse than it already is - something about time to heal, blah, blah, blah.