Doctor Day

Whew! I'm back home...got my feet up in my lounge-luge, with the replay of last night's Braves-Cards game on TV. Shhh...don't tell me who won...I didn't have time to read the paper this morning to see the score. It'll be like it's happening for the first time. Heck, as tired as I am, I'll probably fall asleep somewhere in the middle anyway...wake up during tonight's "live" game and still won't know the score of this replay. Sigh.

Ah well...I'm just having a late-day energy slump...nothing really wrong. With me, that is...more on that in a minute.

Busy couple of weeks here at Casa 3917. Some of the happenings are garden-related, since it's the time of the year when the summer harvest is coming in fast and furious. This week has been the peak harvest week for the Roma and the Juliet tomatoes, both of which are Determinate varieties...meaning their fruit ripens "all at once" (actually over several days to a couple weeks) and then they are done for the season...well, forever actually.

I've put up 10 freezer bags-full and two half-gallon freezer containers of tomatoes, so far, and we will enjoy them in chili, spaghetti, and soups throughout the coming winter months. Because the green, sweet red, and jalapeño peppers are also ready, I'm making salsa this week, too. Will finish that up tomorrow. Here's the post on our garden blog...click here to go there...

Had to take time out today, though, for Doctor Day...which is what I'm beginning to think that Friday has morphed into. Started out with Abbie's six-months' checkin-visit at the vet's for her bordatella booster...and a much needed nail trim. All's well with our no-longer 'baby puppy,' pictured in her harness on the ride home below. When the tech got her on the scale for the weigh-in...well, I was gob-smacked, as they say across the pond. She now weighs...wait for it, wait for it...

F O R T Y - N I N E and 1/2  P O U N D S ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

No way! It's not like she's fat...next to the Bassets, she still looks model-thin. And she sure is lean and muscular looking as she races around the Way Back. We aren't over-feeding her. If anything, we may have to check to see if we are feeding her enough, based on her weight. I've used the chart for 30-40 pounds when measuring out her 3/4 cup of kibble, for breakfast and dinner. 

For sure, Dr. K had guesstimated Abbie's adult weight (based on her 4-month checkin weight of 21 lbs.) as around 44-48 pounds. And the standards for adult Australian Shepherds (which her momma was) say 35-55 pounds, so we shouldn't be too surprised. But, I've thought of Abbie as a rat terrier (under 40 pounds adult weight) for so long...and I do believe her poppa was a holy terrier of some sort...that I was just floored when the display on the scales registered 49.5. Goodness gracious.

Oh well, something tells me it won't matter one iota when she leaps into my lap and takes up her usual position on the foot rest of my recliner...just like in this pic with Mr. T. 

Now, about that ice pack on his right shoulder...

After returning Abbie home and running a few errands,  it was time to head out to the orthopedic clinic. Mr. T had an appointment with the PA for evaluation of his continuing (and worsening) shoulder pain. Our primary care doc had ordered an X-ray last Friday, which showed what he called "chronic dislocated shoulder with a Hill-Sachs lesion." Say what?

First question: if you had a dislocated shoulder, don't you think you'd know it? Or, at least know when you dislocated it?

Second question: how can something be chronic if you've never had it before...to your knowledge?

Third question: what can be done to fix it...just fix it? 

The cortisone shot he had three weeks ago hasn't helped much, and it's too soon to give another. Celebrex, which is the best anti-inflammatory choice of the NSAIDS, is no longer working as well...and Dr. K (our primary care doc, not Abbie's vet...confusing, isn't it?) has warned Mr. T to stop taking additional aspirin and ibuprofen for pain relief, or suffer the consequences which will most likely be an ulcer. The pain pills (he's tried three kinds) cannot be taken if he has to drive (which is a big part of his job)...and aren't helping much at night. Heat doesn't work. Ice isn't giving much relief. Too much pain to get any help from therapy exercises. Double sigh. Triple, even.

Enter the PA today. She conducted a physical exam and didn't mention a dislocated shoulder, other than to say "if your shoulder were dislocated, you couldn't rotate your arm like that." She thinks it's a torn rotator cuff. And to confirm that, Mr. T needs an MRI. So, that's scheduled for...wait for it, wait for it...next Friday.

Or, should I say "next Doctor Day." Stay tuned...

Is There A Doctor in the House?

No, I don't need another doctor...it's just that we've seen our share of them lately.

First up was Abbie, who saw Dr. K on Monday for her next-to-last puppy appointment. She weighs 20.8 pounds, which sounds like a lot, but means that she didn't double her weight from Month 3 (12.4) to Month 4. Still, Dr. K feels that Abbs will top out between 40-44 pounds (supposedly, you can arrive at a good guesstimate if you double the dog's weight at 4 months). So, a few puppy shots and one rabies vaccine later...and a mani-pedi for some severely sharp little nails...and we were back in the car, headed home. Here's a pic I snapped as we buckled up for the ride.

While we were there, I tried to talk to Dr. K about ideas on dealing with the chew, chew, chewing. Abbs is such a sweetie-pie...most of the time. But when she is over-tired or over-excited, she puts those needle-like teeth into action, with painful results. Both Mr. T and I have the scabs, scars, and scratches to prove it. However, from the moment she entered the building, Abbie was a quivering jelly-belly...and Dr. K just laughed at me. "What? This sweet little puppy...biting?!" Right.

Next up: me! Saw my GP (do they even call Family Practice doctors "GPs" anymore?) today for my six-month checkup. Bloodwork taken on Monday was excellent, blood pressure and cholesterol great, and my weight continues that slow but steady drop (more on that in a sec). Biggest complaint? Ah-choo! Seasonal allergies...just like many of his other patients, I'm sure. I have been trying to manage things with a prescription nasal spray and Benadryl, although I did try (yet again) to use the Allegra-D he's prescribed before. I simply can't handle the "D" part...the decongestant that I need which comes in the form of pseudo-ephedrine, which causes me to want to curl up in a ball...so depressing. So he's changing it to just Allegra, and adding another nasal spray. We shall see...

I chatted with him about living with Bell's Palsy. That's how I've started thinking about it, you know...as opposed to "recovering from" BP. I still have some muscle weakness in my left jaw, my taste buds have never returned to normal (leading to a decreased ability to enjoy food...and a downright aversion to some things I used to love, like pizza...hence that weight loss I mentioned), and I deal daily with the synkenesis or involuntary muscle movements, like a twitching and winking left eye. In all my reading about BP, I'd come to the conclusion that whatever level you reached at the end of six months was what you were likely to have to consider your "new normal." Today marks 10 months for me, if you are still keeping count with me. So I assumed this is it...live with it.

Dr. K (no, not Abbie's vet...my GP...:-) said to give it some more time. His view is that it takes 12-24 months to recover completely from other neurological "events" like a stroke, so why should we cut off hope at 6 months. OK. I'm game if he is! He wants me to continue with my therapy exercises and start back with daily doses of Gabapentin (to help with the nerve recovery). And to "hang in there."

So, that leaves Mr. T. And this is a case of saving the worst news for last. Many will remember he endured a couple of surgeries on his right knee, including a total knee replacement, 8 years ago. Now it's the left knee. He's scheduled for an MRI on Friday to see what is going on in there. And then we wait until next week to hear the results from the orthopedic surgeon. And we all know how much Mr. T likes to wait.

What? You thought I was going to say "we all know how much I like to wait?" This one isn't about me...and, trust me, he makes me look like a most patient patient.

What is going on with all these knee replacements lately? Everywhere I turn, I hear about one. Friends, friends' husbands, cousins...well, technically one is a cousin-in-law. But MA has been in the family as long as I can remember, so I always forget to attach that "in-law" part.

Anyway, we have seen/will see our share of medicos this week. Mostly good news. Maybe our luck will hold through Friday. Fingers crossed...toes, too.