Today was a long and difficult day for me. We got up early and left at 7:30 a.m. for a 8:15 a.m. appointment. I had an echo ultra sound test and they decided to do a bubble test. Then an EKG. It was a lot of stuff. It turns out that I am still leaking from my atriums. That is not good. On the bright side my right ventricle is getting smaller. Dr. Condon also sent me to get a chest x-ray as there was something not right in the right lung. When he gets x-rays results he will call me. I go to my surgeon, Dr Austin on Thursday and hopefully he can tell me more. I wonder if the leakage is slowing down my recovery.
We didn’t get home until noon today and I was beat. I feel asleep on the couch right away. I was so exhausted. Jeff went to work and I barely remember him leaving. We stopped and got a cheeseburger and milkshake for me for lunch. I was so tired that I only took a couple of bites from my burger and didn’t touch the shake.
About two in the afternoon, Tess was whining (loudly) and pawing at my body. Her extremely loud whining woke me up. I think I was having a nightmare and tossing and turning. Tess has never acted that way before. She was very insistent about waking me up. She has never woke me before and she made sure that I woke up. So I did and then she began to lick my face. I thought she wanted to go potty so I let her out and she stayed next to me.
I got my milkshake and went outside and then tossed a toy for Tess. She was very happy. Nan ran around and barked and had fun. It was nice being in the sun for a few minutes.
I then went back to bed and Tess slept on the floor next to me. Janet came by to drop off Kuro. She has to go to her grandmother’s funeral. Kuro has grown and is turning into a nice dog. Janet took Tess to go and work sheep. Tess was very happy to work for Janet and I think they both had fun. Tess figured out that I was well enough to be by myself. It’s been a while since Tess has worked sheep. Tess came back into the house with her tongue dragging and a smile on her face. Tess has been pretty much by my side for the past three week and she needed a break. It was good seeing Janet and she had the cutest haircut.
After Janet left, I went back to sleep. Tess was whining and licking my face so I let her on the couch. She snuggled next to my feet and would lick my feet and legs and gently put a paw over them. We went to sleep, the two of us, our limbs intertwined. I really enjoyed the closeness that I have with Tess. Nan is slowly getting that way with me. She checks on me and will also stay in the living room with me and Tess. I can tell she gets worried but she is not sure what she can do. She is trying though. When Tess is not on duty, Nan is by my side.
Jeff came home and usually Tess will run to see him. She never left the couch and stayed with me until I got up. I must have not been doing well in her eyes. By her actions, I can tell how I am doing.
I had pasta/beef and green beans for dinner. I had Tess and Nan as my dinner companions and each got a piece after I was done. They were happy.
After dinner I felt much better and I noticed that Tess and Nan decided that I was well enough and left me to hang out in the office. That’s a good sign. I got to watch the Olympics by myself.
I talked to my mom and she was worried about my progress today so she told me that she was coming over tomorrow. I think I will be fine; it was just the long day that I had today that set me back. As it is, I am supposed to go for 4 short walks a day (15-20 minutes) so when I go for several hours to the Dr, that is more than I can handle. Sleep is a great way to recover.
The LaCamas trial is starting and I am bummed that I had to pull out. It is a premier trial with top handlers from all over attending. I had entered Lucy, Nan and Tess. We had been working hard to get into shape. Oh well, we will try for a trial in September.
I have been awake for about six hours and still feel good. The naps must have recharged my batteries. That is good. Before, I would still feel bad and want to go back to sleep. Staying awake for this amount of time and feeling good lets me know that I am recovering as well as knowing that I have turned the corner. I have been home for three weeks and have made good progress and had some setbacks but overall I have been slowly improving.
I asked Dr Condon about my chest and the healing progress. He said that bones take a long time to heal and it would be 6 weeks before I saw a big difference (less pain, etc) He said I will feel tingling and itching for a long while. I have to remember that they opened my chest up twice and they used metal to close me back up. Also my ribs got pulled back to an unnatural position. All of this major work will take time to heal. I guess that I want to be well now so it is hard for me to be patient. But I am learning.
We didn’t get home until noon today and I was beat. I feel asleep on the couch right away. I was so exhausted. Jeff went to work and I barely remember him leaving. We stopped and got a cheeseburger and milkshake for me for lunch. I was so tired that I only took a couple of bites from my burger and didn’t touch the shake.
About two in the afternoon, Tess was whining (loudly) and pawing at my body. Her extremely loud whining woke me up. I think I was having a nightmare and tossing and turning. Tess has never acted that way before. She was very insistent about waking me up. She has never woke me before and she made sure that I woke up. So I did and then she began to lick my face. I thought she wanted to go potty so I let her out and she stayed next to me.
I got my milkshake and went outside and then tossed a toy for Tess. She was very happy. Nan ran around and barked and had fun. It was nice being in the sun for a few minutes.
I then went back to bed and Tess slept on the floor next to me. Janet came by to drop off Kuro. She has to go to her grandmother’s funeral. Kuro has grown and is turning into a nice dog. Janet took Tess to go and work sheep. Tess was very happy to work for Janet and I think they both had fun. Tess figured out that I was well enough to be by myself. It’s been a while since Tess has worked sheep. Tess came back into the house with her tongue dragging and a smile on her face. Tess has been pretty much by my side for the past three week and she needed a break. It was good seeing Janet and she had the cutest haircut.
After Janet left, I went back to sleep. Tess was whining and licking my face so I let her on the couch. She snuggled next to my feet and would lick my feet and legs and gently put a paw over them. We went to sleep, the two of us, our limbs intertwined. I really enjoyed the closeness that I have with Tess. Nan is slowly getting that way with me. She checks on me and will also stay in the living room with me and Tess. I can tell she gets worried but she is not sure what she can do. She is trying though. When Tess is not on duty, Nan is by my side.
Jeff came home and usually Tess will run to see him. She never left the couch and stayed with me until I got up. I must have not been doing well in her eyes. By her actions, I can tell how I am doing.
I had pasta/beef and green beans for dinner. I had Tess and Nan as my dinner companions and each got a piece after I was done. They were happy.
After dinner I felt much better and I noticed that Tess and Nan decided that I was well enough and left me to hang out in the office. That’s a good sign. I got to watch the Olympics by myself.
I talked to my mom and she was worried about my progress today so she told me that she was coming over tomorrow. I think I will be fine; it was just the long day that I had today that set me back. As it is, I am supposed to go for 4 short walks a day (15-20 minutes) so when I go for several hours to the Dr, that is more than I can handle. Sleep is a great way to recover.
The LaCamas trial is starting and I am bummed that I had to pull out. It is a premier trial with top handlers from all over attending. I had entered Lucy, Nan and Tess. We had been working hard to get into shape. Oh well, we will try for a trial in September.
I have been awake for about six hours and still feel good. The naps must have recharged my batteries. That is good. Before, I would still feel bad and want to go back to sleep. Staying awake for this amount of time and feeling good lets me know that I am recovering as well as knowing that I have turned the corner. I have been home for three weeks and have made good progress and had some setbacks but overall I have been slowly improving.
I asked Dr Condon about my chest and the healing progress. He said that bones take a long time to heal and it would be 6 weeks before I saw a big difference (less pain, etc) He said I will feel tingling and itching for a long while. I have to remember that they opened my chest up twice and they used metal to close me back up. Also my ribs got pulled back to an unnatural position. All of this major work will take time to heal. I guess that I want to be well now so it is hard for me to be patient. But I am learning.
No comments:
Post a Comment