How strange or even serendipitous that in the middle of my writing about moving to England and all the changes that has entailed I should meet someone who not only lived in Florida for many years but went to my university at approximately the same time as me. He hates the weather here and sounds as though he hasn't quite settled as much as I have.
He is the orthopedic surgeon who will be operating on Jake. As you may or may not recall, Jake was diagnosed as having severe hip dysplasia. Our vet referred him to the orthopedic surgeon. The first surgery will be next week. He is going to cut off the head of the femur bone, allowing scar tissue to fuse the bone to the hip. Four to six weeks later he will perform the same surgery on the other side. He said it could wait but as Jake is in quite a bit of pain, he'd rather do it sooner than later.
I haven't really written about Jake in a while because my time has been so consumed by him. I take him to hydrotherapy twice a week, where he's become a real star jumping in and swimming after a ball and bringing it back. To begin with, he had to wear a life jacket. I should have taken a picture. Maybe I still will. He's strong enough now that he doesn't need the life jacket. I've had to cut back on the long walks so he gets a couple of short walks daily instead, at least one on the lead. He's managed to pull so hard on the lead that he's ripped my shoulder again. So back to the physio for me. Jake is on painkillers and glucosamine supplements. I am on wine and HRT.
I get quite choked up talking about him. He is such a sweet, good-natured dog who endures great pain with an amazing amount of stoicism. The puppy in him is desperate to chase the ball and jump and do all those puppy things, but the pain in his hips has held him back.
My time is also going to my daughter. I take her to physio twice a week for the damage to her back caused by the car accident she and my husband were in. She also is quite stoic about the pain.
Hubby's pain is psychological. He feels guilty about the accident though he didn't cause it and did everything he could to prevent it from being worse. He genuinely feels bad about Jake, even though his first reaction to the news of possible hip replacements was that he'd put him down before he'd pay for that. His employers are playing hard ball with him, trying to ambush and sabotage him at every step. I bow my head to his office politics skills and his resolve.
The Moving to England series will continue. This is just a commercial break.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
11 comments:
Sending good thoughts to your daughter, husband, and poor little Jakey. And, of course, to you. Sounds like a tough time for your family.
I like the 'I am on wine and HRT' bit! Hope your daughter is on the mend.
poor little jakey. you're doing right by him. your description of the plucky little guy brought tears to my eyes.
do you use a chest halter when you walk him? it can help with the pulling, and save your shoulder.
ah bless your entire family. Definitely not the best start to the year.
Wine and HRT sounds a good mixture but I hope things improve for ou very soon. Poor Jake - and your daughter. You're all suffering.
kaycie: "These are the times that try mothers' souls." We'll get through it and be better and stronger once we're on the other side.
rosie: It's good that she's young so her body will heal quicker. I'll stick to the wine -- and HRT (a lifesaver at the moment).
laurie: He is just the best dog, except for the pulling. I've tried a chest halter, but he pulled badly on that too and would wheeze. Maybe I should try again.
VI: Nope, we've had better times. But it could be worse.
flowerpot: Jake just must accept that he is in pain for a good part of the time. Isn't that so sad? But better days are ahead for him.
Love the bright new look!
I'm loving your moving to England series - just loving it.
Here's wishing your husband, daughter and dog all the best as they face their individual challenges, - and wishing you strength and many good things to come as you help deal with them collectively!
annie: Thank you so much.
Poor Jake!
But isn't veterinary medicine interesting? (read: archaic)
I mean, if a doctor told me that, to cure the pain in my hip, he was going to chop off my femur and let scar tissue form to attach it back to my hip, I'd probably want a second opinion. But that's just how they do it for dogs. Crazy.
candy: The vet said they perform this operation on humans too sometimes,usually the elderly for whom a hip replacement won't be ideal.
Thanks for stopping by! My poor Maximus was dysplastic also. It's a horrible condition and all too prevalent. Having only owned large dogs, I didn't realize the smaller dogs suffered from it as well.
I've longed wanted to move to England. Are you needing any live in help? I'll only bring one small child who hardly eats anything.
Post a Comment