Day 4267

Today's big event was the first shower I've had in over a week. It felt good to be clean again. Not only did I get the OK from my doctors to take a shower, I am also able to discontinue a lot of the meds the hospital prescribed when I was released. The only drug I need to continue is the Cipro. I'm not entirely happy about this, since Ciprofloxacin has a lot of dangerous side effects. I wish they'd given me something else. Once you start a course of antibiotics, you need to finish it though. I'm basically stuck with this. At least I can stop the laxatives, stool softeners, and the Tylenol. I have no idea why they gave me so much Tylenol. I took a ton of Tylenol last week and it basically did nothing.

I got a lot done today. I called all the people I was asked to follow up with. One doctor said I called too early and another never answered my voicemail. Hey, I did my job though. I talked to the observatory folks and told them I won't be able to come out in September. I talked to a nurse, who answered some of my questions about medications and bruising. Basically, I'm doing everything right and most of my worries are unfounded. It doesn't help that I'm a hypochondriac who is very good at doing online research. I've found all kinds of little inconsistencies in my treatment. I need to just let it go. The doctors still know way more than I do.

Life is fairly boring. There are still a lot of restrictions. No heavy lifting or strenuous activity is allowed. Janet even has to empty the dehumidifier. No alcohol either. That sucks. I'm not supposed to drive for a while, but I probably wouldn't de driving much anyway. A lot of these restrictions go away fairly soon since I appear to be recovering well. I can still walk, although one of the side effects of Cipro is tendinitis. I don't think gentle, slow walks would cause tendon rupture, but who knows. I can't wait to get off these drugs. 

We took our sunrise and sunset walks today. The sunrise walk was pleasant, but the sunset walk was a little hot. Dawn did well though and didn't get overheated. Our little one mile loop is just about right for both of us. It will be at least three weeks before I can begin walking longer. I think they want me to wait six weeks before returning to the gym. It's going to be a long, uneventful month. 

I didn't visit the Dalmatians today, but Janet did. Bullet has gone to his forever home. I knew he'd find a home fast. I marked Bullet as adopted on the website and keep hoping that Charlie and Cooper will find homes as well. They are great dogs, but both have had bite incidents in the past. It's a shame that their past is making it more difficult to find a bright future. Any dog will bite, given the right circumstances. Charlie and Cooper really deserve a second chance.

You watch a lot of television when you are housebound. I'm finally caught up on current events. All I've got to say is that when you sink the ship, you can't really brag about how many lifeboats you have. The way we exited Afghanistan was shameful. What a colossal blunder. We left people behind. We surrendered to the Taliban. And we're no better off than we were twenty years ago. I hope you guys who wanted 'an adult in the room' are happy now. Too bad you got 'Weekend at Bernies' instead.

Tessa is 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