As of the writing of this blog entry I am now four weeks post-op (and one day). I have taken a picture each of the past Mondays and sent that to my surgeon and his Team just to update them on my progress. According to them I am on track for healing. My actual knee joint feels great! I do still have pain and tightness in all the tissue around the surgery site.
Knee scar Week 2
Knee scar Week 3
The skin glue is starting to sluff off.
Knee scar Week 4
All the skin glue is off now (and I shaved my legs). I've started massaging the site with Vit E oil to soften the scar and facilitate release of any adhesions that prevent flexion.
I can straighten my leg completely. I have been able to pretty much from the beginning. It is flexion I need to work at. Rich found me a stationary bike that I can exercise with and work on that.
Dedicated to My Beloved Gryphon - the bestest dog and all around Good Girl!
We really don't deserve dogs! There! I said it!
I am forever grateful that our distant ancestors let some more brave (or was it just hungry) wolves hang around the periphery of the campsite, and eventually invited them in, tamed them further, and bred them into so many useful purposes to our lives. So many of them have jobs, herding or protecting our livestock, keeping the farmyard free of vermin, getting "advanced degrees" and being the eyes and noses and reach for people with disabilities, or serving alongside our police and military to take down the bad guys with toothy skill. Above all these things, their most important job that almost all of them provide is companionship.
This girl took up that role in 2015.
She has kept my home "decorated" ever since with what my friend calls "Dog Glitter". German Shepherds, or German Shedders as I heard them called, are quite hairy beasts, so don't invite one into your home if you don't like hair everywhere.
She was the bestest toy fetcher! But don't let her outside if the chickens are out. She wiped out my flock once, and tried again a time or two if we didn't keep her on a leash. Chicken chasing was so much fun (for her).
How could such a Doofus be so dangerous? I don't know! She loved people with all her heart. She was suspicious of other dogs. I had to flunk her out of her obedience class when she was a puppy, because she was just so much bigger than all her other classmates, and intimidated them all. She definitely felt like cats should all be eliminated.
Sometimes, when we forgot, and were just being lazy, and let her outside late at night for a last potty break, she would see one of those wild "black and white kitties" (skunks) and got herself sprayed, never remembering to give them their space. In fact, just a week prior to this posting she found herself another one, getting a bath at 2 in the morning. She still smelled faintly of skunk on her last day.
Some of the best moments were when I was waking up, day sleeping for my overnight job, when she would come up on the bed and lay next to me and let me quietly stroke her head.
She was all too soon becoming a "grey muzzle". It is just not fair that they don't live long enough.
She had one really cute trick in her, sitting up as my sister commented "like a poodle". So cute!
When we got her we did already have another dog, Monty, a Jack Russell Terrier. But he went to live with my Mother-in-Law during her final few years as she missed having a dog and liked him. Not long ago I brought another JRT into our lives, Oliver. They became bestest buds.
She was so very patient with him, even letting the short-haired dog snuggle up into her to keep warm. They've been pretty much obsessed with each other ever since. As I write this, the next morning, Oliver seems lost, wondering where his big sister is.
Mutual competing for tossed snacks was mostly a friendly game.
She had not been showing any signs of disease, other than those first subtle indications of arthritis, common with aging. Rich informs me on the previous evening of her last day she did not eat all of the snack bones he gives both dogs as a night cap. In the morning I noticed she had slept on the floor by my side of the bed, which is unusual as she has a nice comfy kennel in the bedroom, complete with a thick dog mattress, and either sleeps in there, or jumps up onto the bed with us. She ate her breakfast that morning, and went outside like normal.
By late morning I noticed she was so much more subdued. I even briefly though I should go find some of the leftover dog pain medicine I had upstairs, and maybe she was just feeling achy, like I do most days. By early afternoon, Rich tried to take her outside. She laid down on the porch and would not move. OK, something serious is going on. I looked at her gums, and they were terribly pale. Bleeding somewhere! I called her vet and they let us bring her in right away.
They started an IV, gave her oxygen, took a blood panel, and assessed her non-invasive first. After her bloodwork, they did pull a syringe full of blood from her abdomen. Internal bleeding. We had already clearly confirmed that there was just NO WAY she had come into contact with any anti-coagulant rat poison. She lives in the house with us, and is never alone outside without us. It was the doctor's best guess without doing exploratory surgery or CAT scan (X-Ray would be useless in this situation) that she most likely had a tumor on her spleen that had ruptured. She may be too weak for surgery, would most likely need a blood transfusion, and if surviving that would need chemo, all of which would probably only buy her a few short months. I decided instead to not put her through that.
She was peacefully released to walk over the "Rainbow Bridge" after a very tearful goodbye from Rich and Me.
I wasn't ready to let her go so suddenly.
She filled my home with love for almost 9 years. I may not have liked all the water she seemed to slop all over the floor with her abundant jowls, or the fur that balled up into dust bunnies just everywhere. If you vacated the bed and didn't flip the sheets back up, she would take the spot, then lick her paws excessively until she left a big wet spot on the bed. I will dearly miss her big goofy self.
Be at Peace my Sweet Girl!
You gave us so much love, and we loved you back.
I'm sorry your time with us was not as long as it could have been.
The above picture taken by Barbara O'brien when Gryphon was just a puppy.
It so perfectly captures her sweet charm she carried with her during her whole life.
Falconry! Or more appropriately for me, Hawking! It is a passion, and a way of life. I happily pursue this sport, with the loving assistance of my husband. Come along with me for our adventures with the birds. Primarily we actively pursue it in the colder months . . . the rest of the time I try to make this blog as interesting as possible. Come let me share my stories, and feel free to contact me. I always enjoy talking about my obsession with this sport.
