I got to lay outside and sniff the breezes
I played Tug with Nala
All in all in was a really good day!
I'll See You in My Dreams
9 years ago
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
A Really Good Day
I had therapy this morning with Chris and Diana at CVSS and then a heart checkup right after with Jamie and Dr. Rosenthal at CVCA. Jamie ran some tests and said I was perfect and Dr. Rosenthal listened to my heart with his special 2 sided stethoscope and said my heart was doing great. He said I might get to go to another pediatric picnic like I did last year which would be lots of fun.
I got to lay outside and sniff the breezes
I got to "see" some of my kids that I hadn't seen in months.
I got to lay outside and sniff the breezes
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Ice is yucky!
I was doing great until the ice came over the weekend. I don't walk well on ice when all my feet work right and I really don't do well with three feet. AP had to shovel the yard so I could go out and do my business and I fell a couple of times until she made me a spot. All my boots are lightweight and smooth on the bottom so they were no help. AP is going to have to try and find me a boot with spikes!
Thursday, January 19, 2012
So Spoiled
AP here:
This is what happens when you spoil the Tonka Dog and he starts demanding attention.
Turn up your volume and make sure you catch the ending.
This is what happens when you spoil the Tonka Dog and he starts demanding attention.
Turn up your volume and make sure you catch the ending.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Therapy is sooooo Hard!
Once a week I go to physical therapy with Chris Allyn Fritsch, M.Ed, ATC, PT, CCRP and Diana Huey, RVT, CCRA. It is a really intense hour where I lay on my side and sometimes they flip me over to the other side. I have to stay down while I get lots of attention and treats and occasionally take a nap. They move my leg and my head around doing these things called nerve glides and make my "nose go towards my toes". I also get cold laser therapy and then finish with this thing called a Cranio-sacral release. You can see from the pictures that it is such hard work for me...... The cool thing is that I can then lift my foot pretty good for at least 4 days afterwards so all that hard work is definitely worth it.
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| Nerve Glide Obturator |
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| Nerve Glide Peroneal |
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| Nerve Glide Peroneal |
Friday, January 13, 2012
Kickin it at the Park
AP has been getting home early enough to take me to the park and therapy has been keeping me mobile.
Mornings are still draggy but when I get to the park in the afternoon with my friends-
Mornings are still draggy but when I get to the park in the afternoon with my friends-
"I'm kickin it"
Life is Good!
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
A Modified Normal
AP here:
So we started down this bumpy road 4 months ago and we have had to modify some things and our daily routine.
This is the Tonka Cave constructed from 2 exercise pens and pvc pipe to make a 4x6 spacious place for him to lounge around in. It has 2 canine cooler pads for him to stay comfy on and he has room to stretch completely out.
We have a multi purpose storage unit for medications, boots, duct tape, puppy pads etc. Note the camera to the left for all day monitoring of the Tonka Cave and the little white camera on the top corner which is one of 3 that are connected to the Lorex Snap baby video monitor. It has a small monitor unit that displays all the cameras with night vision. It is small enough to take to bed and be able to check on him where ever he is during the night
There are baby gates to keep him from trying to use the steps.
Ramp on the side of the house is now outfitted with commercial rubber mats with traction bumps and drain holes.
Sleep space with fleece blanky and toys. The fleece is great at keeping things from soaking the carpet if there is an accident. The dog bed in the back corner is actually a memory foam bed from bigdogbeds.com. and is comfortable enough for me to sleep on. I got it for my last Pyr and neither she nor Tonka would have anything to do with it so it has become mine to lay on when he is having a bad night and I end up sleeping next to him.
Then it’s a fight, and more often than not a bribe to get him back down the ramp to go potty and into the Tonka cave. Some mornings that becomes CM's job especially if I go in early.
I can monitor him on the Tonka cage cam from my phone and my PC at work, as can my parents so we know what he is up to during the day (usually just sleeping). Mid-day my mom or dad comes by to let him out and he hangs out either in the yard, on the porch or out front sniffing the breezes and perhaps taking another nap. It is apparently very tiring being a Pyrenees.
In the afternoon/evening we take our second stump around the neighborhood and again hope that all potty business is taken care of. Then we stump up the up the ramp and in to the house to take a nap before dinner. Once dinner is done its time for another nap before he gets his frozen peanut butter Kong treat. We play for a while with some of his toys or he tries to attack feet or bathrobe sleeves depending on his mood.
Tonka likes to sleep downstairs but he starts off upstairs which means anytime between 11 and 2 he will wake me up by barking and want to go downstairs. So out the door into the cold and down the ramp we go to get from point A to point B (really love this when it is cold and rainy). He tends to pee while he is walking down the little hill to the back door and that means it gets all over his front legs so I have to wash them once we get in the door. It would be much easier if we could start off downstairs in the beginning of the evening but Mr. "creature of habit" is not fond of that. Once downstairs he settles onto his fleece blanket and goes back to bed unless it is a whiny kind of night and then he will whine and cry and want me to stay with him. It is very rare I get a full night’s sleep anymore - usually the night when he has had PT he sleeps at least till 4. The therapists have given me some things to do with his leg that might help settle him down for the night so we are going to try those tonight.
One modified day at a time......
So we started down this bumpy road 4 months ago and we have had to modify some things and our daily routine.
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| Everything we need |
There are baby gates to keep him from trying to use the steps.
Ramp on the side of the house is now outfitted with commercial rubber mats with traction bumps and drain holes.
Sleep space with fleece blanky and toys. The fleece is great at keeping things from soaking the carpet if there is an accident. The dog bed in the back corner is actually a memory foam bed from bigdogbeds.com. and is comfortable enough for me to sleep on. I got it for my last Pyr and neither she nor Tonka would have anything to do with it so it has become mine to lay on when he is having a bad night and I end up sleeping next to him.
Our day now begins at 4:30am so that I have time to get him up and in his boot and stumping around the block. We usually have a little standoff on the corner where we would normally turn to go to the park since he still thinks we should be able to go that far. This is frustrating for both of us and neither of us really wins the battle. On good days he gets around fairly quick and gets done with his potty business for the morning. Bad days we stop a lot, standing in the cold, and when he will poop is any ones guess. Occasionally we run into his friend Marie and she walks with us for a while. Tonka adores her and it is much less of a fight with him when she is around. Then it’s up the ramp and into the kitchen for breakfast followed by a nap (him not me) while I get ready for work. Tonka eats from elevated bowls which are kept downstairs since that is where he used to eat and they don't fit real well in the kitchen. So for breakfast and dinner I have to go downstairs make his bowl and then carry it all upstairs to the kitchen. When he is done I have to carry it all back downstairs again which I don't mind doing - I would do anything for my boy it's just the time factor for everything has changed. What once was something so simple that took a few minutes is now a whole process that adds time to the day. You don't realize that until you have something like this happen. Your normal routine gets changed and the amount of time for that routine has to be changed as well.
Then it’s a fight, and more often than not a bribe to get him back down the ramp to go potty and into the Tonka cave. Some mornings that becomes CM's job especially if I go in early.
I can monitor him on the Tonka cage cam from my phone and my PC at work, as can my parents so we know what he is up to during the day (usually just sleeping). Mid-day my mom or dad comes by to let him out and he hangs out either in the yard, on the porch or out front sniffing the breezes and perhaps taking another nap. It is apparently very tiring being a Pyrenees.
In the afternoon/evening we take our second stump around the neighborhood and again hope that all potty business is taken care of. Then we stump up the up the ramp and in to the house to take a nap before dinner. Once dinner is done its time for another nap before he gets his frozen peanut butter Kong treat. We play for a while with some of his toys or he tries to attack feet or bathrobe sleeves depending on his mood.
Tonka likes to sleep downstairs but he starts off upstairs which means anytime between 11 and 2 he will wake me up by barking and want to go downstairs. So out the door into the cold and down the ramp we go to get from point A to point B (really love this when it is cold and rainy). He tends to pee while he is walking down the little hill to the back door and that means it gets all over his front legs so I have to wash them once we get in the door. It would be much easier if we could start off downstairs in the beginning of the evening but Mr. "creature of habit" is not fond of that. Once downstairs he settles onto his fleece blanket and goes back to bed unless it is a whiny kind of night and then he will whine and cry and want me to stay with him. It is very rare I get a full night’s sleep anymore - usually the night when he has had PT he sleeps at least till 4. The therapists have given me some things to do with his leg that might help settle him down for the night so we are going to try those tonight.
One modified day at a time......
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Pimp my Ride
Pain Meds and the Dribbles
AP put me back on some pain medication since I have been whining a lot and she thinks I might have hurt myself cause I keep falling . We discovered that whatever sensation problem I have with nerve damage is made even duller with pain meds. I hadn't dribbled in the house since Christmas but when I stood up from my nap I dribbled on the carpet. AP says the medication must mess up the signal to my sphincter - whatever that is - so now I have to wear my belly band until the medication is out of my system. I hope that is the cause because I don't like the belly band and I don't like making a mess in my house.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Of Carts and Friends..
AP here:
So Tonka's cart was a bust. I am thinking he needs a softer type saddle/sling so I contacted some other cart manufacturers that have soft saddles to see if we could get something and modify it to work with his existing cart. I was told that they could not help me and that I would have to get a whole new cart. It is a liability issue for them if you start swapping pieces from one brand to another.
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I happened to be walking Nala for Carol in her neighborhood the other day and ran into a friend that I hadn't seen since this all started with Tonka. Tonka has lots of friends in other neighborhoods that we used to walk through and they all miss seeing him. I was telling him all about the whole ordeal and the engineer in him immediately went to trying to figure out away to either build something new or work with the existing. It's nice to know my boy is so well loved.
So Tonka's cart was a bust. I am thinking he needs a softer type saddle/sling so I contacted some other cart manufacturers that have soft saddles to see if we could get something and modify it to work with his existing cart. I was told that they could not help me and that I would have to get a whole new cart. It is a liability issue for them if you start swapping pieces from one brand to another.
--
-
I happened to be walking Nala for Carol in her neighborhood the other day and ran into a friend that I hadn't seen since this all started with Tonka. Tonka has lots of friends in other neighborhoods that we used to walk through and they all miss seeing him. I was telling him all about the whole ordeal and the engineer in him immediately went to trying to figure out away to either build something new or work with the existing. It's nice to know my boy is so well loved.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
I Need a Ride
Well my new ride is not working out. The saddle that my back end sits in is pressing on something and is not only uncomfortable but has made me slide backwards a bit. AP is very disappointed as she was counting on the cart to allow me to get back to some normalcy. I am back to really dragging my foot and have fallen quite a few times. I am really tired of not being able to do what I want. I have therapy next week and hopefully they can get me back to New Years Day status.AP is going to contact the cart people and see if there is anything we can do. It would be nice to be able to walk all the way to the park again.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
The Disappearing Dog
AP here:
The other night Tonka was in the backyard with Nala and wandered over to dig in his digging spot. He ended up falling and getting mulch stuck in his fur and his tail. I retrieved a brush to clean him up and it was the first time I had brushed him standing up in months. I started brushing him out and realized how much size he has really lost in his back end. I was actually shocked at how thin he is becoming. The cart was supposed to let us go further on out walks and let him run a bit to help keep his muscle tone and his sanity but that is not an option at the moment since it seems to be hurting him.
He was due for his vitamin B12 shot so we all went to the vet together and when we got there and I got him on the scale. Carol said "you don't want to look at that" and when I looked up and saw 108lbs it really hit me hard. Tonka is a big boy and at his heaviest was 130, I prefer that he stay at 120-125 but for him to be 108 is scary. Last week he was 122 and at this rate I am afraid he wont be able to get himself up and around at all. He already has a hard time getting up on his own anymore.
He has Therapy next week and I am going to have to talk to them about swimming even though he is terrified of the pool but I need to get him doing something to put muscle back on. I need to find a place that will allow either the therapist of myself in the pool with him. Swimming now seems to be the only thing left for us.
UPDATE: - Took Tonka to PT on 1/10 and the scale read in the 120's - so happy the other scale was way off.
The other night Tonka was in the backyard with Nala and wandered over to dig in his digging spot. He ended up falling and getting mulch stuck in his fur and his tail. I retrieved a brush to clean him up and it was the first time I had brushed him standing up in months. I started brushing him out and realized how much size he has really lost in his back end. I was actually shocked at how thin he is becoming. The cart was supposed to let us go further on out walks and let him run a bit to help keep his muscle tone and his sanity but that is not an option at the moment since it seems to be hurting him.
He was due for his vitamin B12 shot so we all went to the vet together and when we got there and I got him on the scale. Carol said "you don't want to look at that" and when I looked up and saw 108lbs it really hit me hard. Tonka is a big boy and at his heaviest was 130, I prefer that he stay at 120-125 but for him to be 108 is scary. Last week he was 122 and at this rate I am afraid he wont be able to get himself up and around at all. He already has a hard time getting up on his own anymore.
He has Therapy next week and I am going to have to talk to them about swimming even though he is terrified of the pool but I need to get him doing something to put muscle back on. I need to find a place that will allow either the therapist of myself in the pool with him. Swimming now seems to be the only thing left for us.
UPDATE: - Took Tonka to PT on 1/10 and the scale read in the 120's - so happy the other scale was way off.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
New Years Day 2012
AP here:
2011 was a horrid year for Tonka with all his medical problems so we were happy to see it go. This morning we got up around 5:00 and at 6:00 I was sitting having my coffee and he was laying next to the chair. All of a sudden he rolled onto his back and belly'd up for just a few seconds. Now you may be thinking "big deal" but it is - IT IS A HUGE DEAL! Tonka used to belly up every night to be brushed and he has not physically been able to do that for the past 2 months.
Granted it was just for a brief instant but I am thrilled.
The whole day has been great.
This was the beginning of our morning walk today. It did not last long before it became a drag and a scuff but he was actually lifting his foot.
This afternoon we picked up Carol and Nala and went to the park and he did really well. His knee seems to be floating a bit because his foot twists outward and his hip is not quite right but it was a real walk and lift not a drag and knuckle. He has not been this good since a month ago. I don't want to jinx it because a month ago we were here and then slid backwards but this is at least going back in the right direction. They tried some new things at Physical Therapy last week and I believe it really made a difference.
Add this to the fact that he has not had to wear the belly band for a week and that my friends is PROGRESS! He has lost 5 pounds in a week and some of that is definitely muscle mass but I think once we get the cart and get back to being able to go further he will build the muscle back up.
Happy 2012 :)
2011 was a horrid year for Tonka with all his medical problems so we were happy to see it go. This morning we got up around 5:00 and at 6:00 I was sitting having my coffee and he was laying next to the chair. All of a sudden he rolled onto his back and belly'd up for just a few seconds. Now you may be thinking "big deal" but it is - IT IS A HUGE DEAL! Tonka used to belly up every night to be brushed and he has not physically been able to do that for the past 2 months.
Granted it was just for a brief instant but I am thrilled.
The whole day has been great.
This was the beginning of our morning walk today. It did not last long before it became a drag and a scuff but he was actually lifting his foot.
This afternoon we picked up Carol and Nala and went to the park and he did really well. His knee seems to be floating a bit because his foot twists outward and his hip is not quite right but it was a real walk and lift not a drag and knuckle. He has not been this good since a month ago. I don't want to jinx it because a month ago we were here and then slid backwards but this is at least going back in the right direction. They tried some new things at Physical Therapy last week and I believe it really made a difference.
Add this to the fact that he has not had to wear the belly band for a week and that my friends is PROGRESS! He has lost 5 pounds in a week and some of that is definitely muscle mass but I think once we get the cart and get back to being able to go further he will build the muscle back up.
Happy 2012 :)
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