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Barbara
Fritchman Thompson Diary
Week
of 30 March 2009
Latest Update: Sunday 5 April 2009 1:520 p.m.
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Monday, 30 March 2009
As I mentioned before Duncan's left hip is getting pretty bad. He
has good days and bad days and really bad days. Bob did some research
on the web and discovered aspirin, the wonder drug for humans, works
equally well in dogs. While we were out Saturday running errands before
we picked up Paul and Mary for dinner we stopped at the pet store. All
human aspirin products are now coated. Dogs need buffered but not
coated. We want to see how he does on aspirin compared to the Previcox.
At this point I just want to make sure he is happy and comfortable
getting round as best he can on that bad hip.
They sold dog aspirin
in two sizes, one for small and one for large dogs; the large dog being
300 mg. Saturday night we started him on the aspirin. His body
weight calls for one a day. Naturally they make them liver flavored and
chewable but that does not work for Duncan. Chewable or capsule I have
to open his mouth and force him to swallow them. I was using ham but he
started spitting out the pill and eating the ham. Same thing with
cheese, hot dogs, etc. He doesn't like peanut butter.
Bob
fooled him the first time making him think he was getting a treat. Next
time he tried it Duncan took the pill, took the treat, spit out the
pill, ate the treat. You can fool some of the people all the
time, you can fool all of the people some of the time, you can only
fool a Border Collie one time.Warm and sunny today. The red bud,
cherry, and Bradford Pear tress are all budding as is the forsythia
bushes. My grape hyacinths and large ones are up along with my
daffodils. I'll wait a few more weeks to get my bedding plants for the
bed I am redoing. We can still get cold/frost/freeze type weather until
mid to late April.
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Tuesday, 31 March 2009
I left work at 4pm to be able to drop in at a
retirement party for one of the library staff. I work about three
blocks from the downtown library but I prefer to use my neighborhood
branch for picking up reserves, etc. It was fun to talk with some of
the staff who are still there and to those who had left or retired.
The reception ran from 2 to 5.
I got home about usual
time. While I changed and headed out to mow the lawn Bob fixed a
casserole to go in the oven. Rain coming in tonight for tomorrow. The
grass was higher in spots than others but the high spots would have
been way too high by this weekend. The next week or so I will most
likely have to start mowing about every 5 days until the early spring
growth slows down.
Tonight I should finish the Dalziel and
Pascoe I started the end of last week. His books take a little longer
for me to read than some of the other authors. Beyond the Wood ties in
a current animal rights group attack on an animal research facility,
the hit and run murder of one of the members, and Pascoe's great
great grandfather's WWII military action. When the animal rights group
storms the research facility one the members stumbles upon some old
bones on the grounds. The question is whose are they and how old are
they. The research facility was used as a hospital during the war. Lots
of loose ends to tie up as I get near the end.
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Wednesday, 1 April 2009
Last night I started reading a new Rhys Bowen
from her Molly Murphy series, In a Gilded Gage that was on reserve at
the library. I have a couple more reserves to get through before I can
get to my TBR shelf as I mentioned I wanted to several weeks ago. So
many books, so little time.
Gym tonight. We had the remaining
leftovers from last nights casserole. We have been watching Michael
Palin's Around the World in 80 Days. I love to read travel books and
watch well made documentaries. We watched some of this series a long
time ago.
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Thursday, 2 April 2009
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I left work today at 2:30 for the doctor's office to have my new brace
fitted. The ones on the web site are "off the shelf" models. According
to Mike, who fit me, he said those are only about $500 cheaper than
having them measured to fit and work twice as well. I linked to
the one that looks most like mine. I cannot tell from the picture but
mine has six straps which must be fastened in order 1 - 6. The main
function of the brace is off-loading the pressure on my knee. The dial
on the side puts pressure toward the inside of the knee where I do not
have a meniscus due to the arthritis. By wearing the brace I will
prolong the inside of the knee by actually separating the two bones and
keep them from grinding on one another.
It comes with a cotton
sleeve much like a legging to wear under the brace for three weeks or
until my skin gets used to the pressure points of the brace. I start
out wearing it two hours with a thirty minute rest gradually adding
half hours until I can wear in 8 hours. During this break in period I
will be teaching my leg and knee to walk differently with the new
brace. Right now, as Mike told, I will have to learn to trust the
brace. I still want to walk with a limp to alleviate the pain and from
fear of the knee not holding my full weight.
I took a pair of
shorts with me for the fitting and wore the brace home. It comes with
its own gym style bag for storage and/or transport. All the parts can
be taken off and washed as can the metal frame itself. I had to change
into sweats when I got home for the cool, rainy weather we are still
having. I need to wear it to work and when I will be up on my feet
working in the yard, playing golf, etc.
Hopefully the brace and I will become friends allowing me to put off the knee replace for a few years.
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Friday 3 April 2009
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Sunny but windy especially this morning. It
was like trying to walk in a NASCAR wind tunnel. I am not a light
weight person. Several times during my walk up the hill I was actually
stopped in my tracks even though I was bent at the waist with my head
almost in my chest. It was really rough. By the time I went across the
street at lunch it was still windy but not as bad. Gusts were to be
over 40 mph during the day and into tonight.
I did very well
with the brace today. I am sure the two hours on then rest schedule was
for someone on their feet all day. I did take it off for half an hour
once this morning but wore it without a break this afternoon. I
took it off again when I got home until we walked the dogs after dinner
The longer time periods I can wear it the faster I will adjust. I hate
the cotton sleeve. Even though it is 90 percent cotton it makes me hot
clinging to my leg.
I made a quick stop at the library and
grocery store to pick up a few items we cannot get at Costco. We need
to make a run sometime this weekend to restock what we lost from last
weeks freezer meltdown.
Speaking of dogs, Malcolm has been more maniacal then usual the last
few weeks. With Duncan walking so slow he is not getting enough
exercise during the day. You would think at 9 1/2 he would be slowing
down but shows no signs of that. Once I get fully adjusted to the brace
I am going to start walking him around the block after dinner. It will
do us both some good.
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Saturday, 4 April
2009
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This morning I brushed the dogs and did the
weekly house cleaning chores. I had the dogs out playing for awhile
then came in to rest and eat lunch.
After lunch more outside
playtime before I started on the yard. I edged for the first time.
Getting the trench for the blade to cut into makes for hard going with
the ground still wet and the sappy grass. Other than a little
windy it is a beautiful day with lots of sunshine and temperatures in
the high 60's.
After a somewhat full days activity wearing the
brace I am much less tired than I would have been otherwise. The
limping wore me down as well as the pain. I will give the knee a rest
from the brace this afternoon then wearing until bedtime.
Golf this afternoon, NCAA semi-final games tonight.
Last night I started reading the first book in a series by Diana Killian, aka Diane Brown. Bob had read her Poetic Death Series several years ago. Two years ago when Marcia and I attended Malice we had the pleasure of sitting at her table at the banquet. And, in case you did not know, she and her sisters
have an awesome Celtic music group. I have all their CD's. I felt like
picking up something new and different with her first book High Rhymes
and Misdemeanors. I read about 100 pages last night and really enjoyed
it. Her character, American Grace Hollister, goes to the Lake District
to visit the places of her favorite romantic poets. When she saves
Peter Fox's life she gets involved in a kinds of trouble including
murder.
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Sunday, 5 April 2009
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A lovely spring morning. Dad and I played
nine holes early this morning teeing off around 8:30. It was a little
chilly, high 40's to 50's until the sun got up high enough to start
warming things up. No wind at least. Lunch and visit before heading
back home.
We had planned a Costco run for this afternoon but
Paul and Mary could not go at the last minute. We did not really need
anything urgent so we said we would wait until next weekend. I sat up
until almost mid-night last night watching Carolina tromp Villanova.
Even though I went to bed late I could not go to sleep right away. I
tossed and turned dosing while Duncan did much the same. He would kick
either the wall or the bed in trying to get up or get under Bob's night
stand and scrabble his front paws on the floor. I was up and down about
every half hour.
Bob sometimes likes to sleep out on the den
floor. He started out there staying up with me while I watched the
game. He came back about 3 am because he could not go to sleep either.
At one point Duncan has managed to get up and go down the hall where I
thought he might settle on one of the foyer rugs. Just about the time
we both got to sleep he started again. I got Duncan a pain pill,
Tremedol, while Bob lead him back to bed. He finally settle around 4. I
think I finally when to sleep sometime around 4:30 or 5am but was back
up at 7 am.
We've had several of these up and down nights where Duncan does not settle. I hope he is not in pain but is just restless.
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Copyright © 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002,
2003,
2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
by
Barbara
Fritchman
Thompson. All Rights Reserved.