A long time ago in a galaxy far far away

I used to think that being stoic in the face of pain was this wonderful, admirable trait. At the age of just under 49 it is not a trait, it is a myth like those you read in college English that the Greco Romans created. You remember it but you certainly don't believe it.

The hammertoe surgery has been sheer hell. First it was way more painful than advertised, the first 48 hours after the general anesthesia wore out it felt as though my foot were in a lawn mower with a blow torch on it. Oh yeah man they give you good drugs, bah ha hah, percosets taken as often as possible didn't touch this pain. You might as well eat M&M candies at least you would enjoy those. Then it became infected (probably because it is standard to wrap it and not look at it for a week) , then the two antibiotics I was on didn't match the culture ( Augmentin and Bactrim do not touch pseudomonas a.) So there I was and there I've been. Doc originally told me Dec 29th for the pins to come out, that has moved to Jan 4th . F U C * it all. Killed my trip to NM dead in the water. So I go through THREE FREAKING HOLIDAYS with this AIRCAST on (low profile my @$$, it is over 2 inches tall so even with a super high rocker sneaker on my right foot I have limped like Quasimodo and everything in my back, hip, knee and ankle are out of line) and steel rods in my toes. The difference between my surgery and this photo is that mine was on the left foot, got infected and also had incisions across the base of my toes ( which is what got infected) due to how crooked those joints were. So I have had to do Thanksgiving including Black Friday shopping, Christmas and now New Years with this freakshow of a shoe and pins on my foot. At least now the 4 weeks of Cipro antibiotic (which by the way is like eating a gut grenade in terms of projectile body fluids) have apparently killed the pseudomonas which was attempting to assimilate my foot.

Also during that time I have flown to FL for the region 7 regional (a fine one it was! and I lived through the extra attention from the TSA folk at both airports fine), attended 4 days of lure coursing in Calhoun, GA and am going to 4 more days of it. Archie will be driving down Thursday night so at least I'll have help on Friday and Saturday with Tory, Vger and RT ( who certified at the last trials). God help me the first two days though.

Had a great Christmas though spent time with my son, his wife, her family, Archie and some of his friends. Got some great clothes, earrings and necklaces for Christmas! Finally bought myself an elliptical machine since it will be God knows when before I can put serious miles on this foot that still has a wound on top of it and no skin over it. The Nordic Track monster is now in the den in front of the TV awaiting my pin removal after much work by Archie putting it together.

It is rather funny when I first went to the doctor/surgeons office after surgery I said I bet I am one of your worst patients, oh no they reassured me certainly not, well after it took 3 visits to remove the stitches, with me going OH MY GOD THAT HURTS, gritting my teeth, holding my leg and occasionally whacking the wall with my palm, they no longer reassure me when I say that at my visits. They just look at me and say I hope you took some pain pills before you came in.

On the dog front news: My old dog Neechee who will be 12 in February is still alive and well, puttering about, sniffing girls and telling the youngsters off. I certified two youngsters at the last trial, and may have some others in the spring too. Keelo who turned 9 on Dec 10 sired a litter of 4 pups in August. So far thank goodness all the DM tests from my dogs have been clear, but I still have at least 3 to do here (Genie, Cholla and Tory). I do not understand why these folks who do have carriers turn up don't test the parents. It is not about finger pointing, it is about letting people know so they will test offspring or littermates of the carrier parent which is not going to happen without the tests.

So a lot to be thankful for even with the surgery(I am keeping the foot thank God), Archie and I still enjoy each others company, my old man Neechee is still with us, 3 dogs of mine finished their AKC conformation championships this year, two of them dual champions! making their mother eligible for the BCOA register of merit ( when I get the paperwork together), had another dog finish his ASFA FCH , his brother got both his conformation majors this year, and it was in pretty limited showing or coursing. My father dying in March kind of took the wind out of my sails for a while but life has to go on.

WTF?

I do not understand how these people can sleep at night and vote like this. Let the ones with money keep it? While denying the SS increase to those who really need it? How in the hell did they get voted in? This is a crying shame whoever voted for this should be ashamed.

Never have hammertoe surgery

On Nov 17th I had hammertoe surgery on the 3 middle toes of my left foot. Kwires were put in to stabilize the bones which had been cut and rotated to straighten the severely deformed and fused joints. They sent me home at lunch after the surgery and I was given a walking cast and told it should be fine for what little walking I would be doing on it for the next week. Well, fine if you call stepping on a landmine OK. When I put my foot down that night to go to the bathroom I discovered I could no more put weight on that than I could run a marathon. I had to crawl/drag myself on my butt to the bathroom. This went on for 2 days until I finally called the surgeons office and said maybe you guys think this is OK but I have blisters on my hand and abrasions on my hiney from scooting on the carpet to go to the bathroom or kitchen. What were you thinking sending someone who lives alone and will be alone all day home without any crutches. So they sent me crutches. That was at least some improvement.

Nov 24 I went back to the surgeon and the toes were extremely red and puffy no exudate but he put me on Augmentin. I was motivating around pretty well on crutches occasionally putting the foot down and taking a step or two. So the next day Archie and I went to Myrtle beach SC for Thanksgiving holiday (4 days) and we did pretty much nothing which was great, lots of rest with my leg elevated, we left once a day went out to dinner. I rode over there in the back seat of the truck with the foot elevated.

Dec 2 I went back to the surgeon in theory to have stitches out, and while the redness and a lot of the puffiness was gone, uh oh the bandages were yellowish green or greenish yellow, now I have had animals for a long time and that is not a good color for any mammal to produce. I said look I am no doctor but that is real infection. He changed me to Bactrim 2x a day as I had just about finished the Augmentin and this time did a culture ( what he should have done the first time). He told me the results would be back Monday Dec 6 and hopefully the Bactrim would be fine but if not he would call in another Rx. I asked him if it would be OK for me to go back to work, no he said not until I know what you have here. What about my trip to FL this weekend, I am flying. Fine he says as long as you clean and change the would dressing daily and keep it elevated as much as possible and take your Bactrim. So I did, cleaning with saline solution in squirt bottle (contact solution) sterile gauze dressing etc. Monday I am back in TN and I call and say what's up. Another uh oh, what you have Miss Moore is pseudomonas, I am calling you in a prescription for Cipro and you cannot go to work this week. I will see you Thursday Dec 9.

So here I am freaking out after I read all the literature on pseudomonas. The Cipro is complicated to take, has to be 6 hours after anything like a multivitamin or calcium or dairy product (like yogurt which I live on) so I have to take it first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. Then you can't take those vitamins or calcium or eat any dairy for 2 more hours afterwards or it interferes with absorption of the Cipro. Cleaning the wound is just vile although there doesn't seem to be a lot of pus now and thanks to my friend Mary Childs who is a home health care specialist nurse for her advice as the doctor gave me no real instructions for how to do it. I am armed with saline solution, q tips, Rx silvadene, gauze and wrap for it. Those who are inclined please say a prayer for me. This is scary stuff for someone like myself who has never missed more than 2 weeks of work and that was after gastric bypass surgery.