Day 3167

It's always something. Dash got stung by a bee today. We were taking our morning walk when all of the sudden he yelped and immediately began limping. I suspected an insect bite, but it could have also been a sprain. When old dogs rear legs begin to go, it puts a lot of extra strain on their front legs. Either way, this was not good. Let me tell you, it was not easy getting a dog back home with only one good leg.

I was hoping that when we finally got Dash home, he would relax so I could examine him better. Unfortunately, this is not Dash's style. He tends to panic when things go wrong. He was agitated and we noticed that the leg was starting to swell so we loaded him in the car and headed for the emergency clinic. On the way, Dash finally started to calm down. By the time we arrived, he was semi-normal again.

The admittance nurse said that Dash wasn't having an allergic reaction and didn't appear to have sprained anything. He wasn't limping anymore either. Faced with a choice of waiting in the lobby for several hours until we could see a vet and then getting a $75 bill for a few Benadryl tablets, we decided to just turn around and go home. Dash has been stung by bees before. He completely freaks out for about thirty minutes and by the time a vet is able to look at him, he is all better.

I gave Dash some Benadryl when he returned home and he quickly went to sleep. By the time he woke up, he was back to his old self. Notice that I didn't say "back to normal." Dash will never be back to normal. We all ate our breakfast late enough to be called brunch and then resumed our regular Sunday routine. I kind of suspected a bee sting the moment it happened, but it's better to be safe than sorry. If Dash had seriously injured his front leg, it would all be over.

I think I'm going to have to stop using the arm bicycle at the gym. My wrist started hurting again and this appeared to be the cause. It makes sense. Twenty minutes on the arm bicycle can put a lot of strain on your wrists. Too bad. I like this machine. It's a great upper body workout and seems to be better than the treadmill for elevating your heart rate.

Elevating your heart rate during exercise can be good for cardiovascular fitness. At other times, it's not so good. I noticed on my Fitbit that my heart rate went way up right after Dash got stung by the bee. This was stress. I wasn't sure how I was going to get him home again. I wasn't sure what had happened either. Luckily, everything ended well today, but it definitely wasn't a relaxing day.

I'm sure the bees have moved by now, but I'm a superstitious person and I won't want to take the same route on our walk tomorrow. This might be problematic, because Dash is set in his ways and always wants to take the same route. I wish the city would hurry up and mow the field behind our house. The grass in the park is getting high again and it's hard to tell what Dash and I are walking through.

I guess I'll have to wear the brace on my wrist again tonight. I should have known better than to use the arm bike. It's pretty clear that Dash and I are both set in our ways. We'll try not to injure ourselves tomorrow.

Cammy s today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2754

Showers aren't a high priority when your legs are bleeding and your wrist is in a splint. It doesn't take long to start missing them though. Since the last time I was able to take a shower was Wednesday morning, I thought it was time to give it a try. I carefully removed the splint, covered the wounds that were still oozing, and turned the water on. Other than holding the soap with one hand and trying to avoid twisting my wrist at an awkward angle, everything went well. It felt good to be clean again.

Since taking a shower was a success, Janet and I thought we might be able to take Dash on a short walk together. He's been getting cabin fever by being cooped up all day and we could tell he needed a walk. I held the leash with my good hand and Janet walked alongside Dash to keep him from running or tugging. Dash seemed delighted that he was outside again, accompanied by both of his people. He took a longer walk than I anticipated, but I seemed to be holding up well. I felt good to be outside again too. It was only after we got home that I realized that we may have walked too far. My left leg was swollen again and I felt very tired.

After breakfast, I took a nap with my legs elevated and resting on ice packs. This seemed to help quite a bit. I'd heard that elevating an injured area above the level of your heart can help minimize bleeding problems, but I wasn't sure how effective this would be. I still don't know how long it is going to take for the hemotoma to be reabsorbed by my body. The sooner the better, as far as I'm concerned. Right now my ankles look like I weigh 300 pounds.

The most ambitious thing we did today was take Dash to the vet to get his anal glands expressed. We were going to take Janet's car, but the rear seat was up and it was too much trouble to reconfigure things. I practiced driving in the driveway with my splint on and discovered that it didn't hinder driving much at all. We took my car. The drive was easy. Getting Dash in and out of the car, not so much. Dash is getting older and he can't hop up through the tailgate anymore. I have to give him a boost by lifting him by his harness as he tries to jump. To do this correctly takes a certain amount of coordination and arm strength. I was glad that the hospital gave me an industrial strength splint. Even though lifting Dash hurt, the splint kept everything secure and in place.

Even though this was probably way too much activity for one day, most of it was necessary. I was feeling filthy and really needed a shower. Dash has been licking his butt all day. And I think we all needed a walk. After resting with my legs elevated for a few hours, I don't think I did any real damage.

When we were walking Dash this morning, we passed a field full of Passionflowers in full bloom. This was a sign to me that we took a walk on the right day. I usually only see these flowers once or twice a year if I'm lucky. They usually bloom in the Summer right after a heavy rain. It rained yesterday.

Janet has another doctors appointment tomorrow, but I may not need to accompany her, since she can drive now. It appears that I can drive too in a pinch. Slowly but surely we are becoming mobile again.

Great is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day