Day 10

My sisters Joanne & Debra ♥

To hell with positivity.......today started with a phone call from my mom.

My sister Joanne, who has cervical cancer, is in the hospital.  She has been having alot of pain & has been going for a ton of tests.  Her cancer has already spread to her chest, she will be having more radiation to deal with that.  However , her recent bone scan also showed a mass in her back as well.  This mass is breaking the bones in her spine .  Her bones are brittle from her past radiation so it does not take much to break them.  Her team of doctors have decided she will need emergency surgery to remove this mass.  If her bones break any more it could cause her to become paralyzed. This morning she was admitted to the hospital, I am not sure yet when the surgery will take place , but soon.  They will need to stabilize her spine after the mass is removed.
My mom is so upset, of course she wonders why Joanne, why not her? She has lived her life & Joanne has so much more to live.  It is hard to think positive right now, I am angry, I hate cancer & I hate that it is happening to Joanne.
So, we will say more prayers & think as positively as we can for a surgery with no complications, & for Joanne to recovery quickly with as little pain as possible.

Day 9

Kort playing tug with Wendy yesterday in the park :)

Yesterday I had my Dr appt.  he confirmed I will need at least 6 weeks off of work in order to heal. I told him I was cutting back on the pain medication and he told me that now was not the time to brave, lol.  I need to be able to breathe deeply as to not get pneumonia, if I am in pain I will take short shallow breaths rather then deep ones.  I DID have to take medication when I got home, I was so sore, it was just too much movement for one day.
I am also very sore this morning, maybe due to yesterday???

Wendy came by yesterday afternoon to walk Tate and Kort, she took them both out for a walk then brought Tate back and took Kort out for a longer walk & a game of fetch in the park, lucky Korty ! :)

Insurance has gotten a hold of me so we will see how they are going to rate my van.  I am tired of dealing with it quite frankly,  insurance is alot of paper work so I guess that is to be expected.  I am just thankful I had insurance and they will hopefully give me some money to fix my van for when I am ready to drive again :)

Brad is off work now for 5 days, yeah, it will be nice to have him here, although I am not bored or lonely at all, I enjoy being alone in quiet actually.

I am hoping for a visit from Lync this weekend, maybe tomorrow.  Brad has not met him yet!! That will be exciting :)  If I feel ok I may have Judy leave him with us for a couple of hrs, just to see how it goes. 

Day 8

Day 8 begins without pain medication :)  I did not take any to sleep last night except for my anti inflammatory, not sure if that is pain medication ???

Roberta came last night to walk the boys, she brought her lab Karma , they are on my Scenthurdle team.  The boys were very excited to see Karma, especially Kort !  She even played in the back yard , in the dark, in the cold for a bit with Kort & Karma, bless her!  She brought a curry,beef,squash, rice mixture that was very yummy :)  Roberta is a great cook!

I am still waiting to the insurance adjuster to call, hopefully it will be today, apparently they are swamped with claims due to the hail storms Lethbridge had this year.  The work on my van has been stopped so the adjusters can get a better idea of just how much damage there was.  The guy fixing the van is going away on holidays for Christmas so he was trying to get it done before he left.

I have a Dr appt with my own Dr today.

Today in honour of the American Thanksgiving, & not wanting to write another negative post lol, I am going to list things that I have taken for granted  but won't ever again!!

1. The ability to leave the house whenever I want
2. being able to walk my own dogs & pick up poop in the yard haha!
3. being able to get in my van whenever I need something, groceries, Dr appt etc
4. being able to get out of bed
5. being able to sleep in whatever position I want, other then on my back, in an upright position
6. being able to clean my house, vacuum !!! lol!
7. having a vehicle of my own
8. being able to have a 5 minute shower instead of a 20 plus one
9. being able to bend over to pick something off the floor, or tie my shoe laces :)
10. being able to breathe without pain , a thing we all take for granted  haha!
11. friends!!!!!! I will never take my friends for granted again, not that I did, but man are friends a life saver when you need them !!!  I love my friends!

There are of course many more things on a day to day basis that we all take for granted,  so today lets all be thankful for what we "do" have ♥

Day 7

1 week today I had my accident :(

I have been out of the hospital since Friday & I have not had a stress free moment.  I am feeling worn out and over whelmed.  I am trying to deal with my van & how to get it fixed when we have no money.  My mom & sister have sent me some money to get us started.  Brad bless him, was confused & thought I did not have collision on my van, which I did.  Very very long story short, I have now called my insurance company and I'm waiting for them to call back.  We are fixing the van right now with our money, but I am looking into perhaps getting accident benefits for myself as I can't work for who knows how long, well I do know it is 6 weeks minimum.

Yesterday I had a visit from Brian, he brought minestrone soup & it was delicious!! I had a Dr appt with the attending surgeon I had while in the hospital.  It was a waste of my time, & Wendy's time as she drove me.  All he said was , how you feeling? using your breathing apparatus? any headaches? then ok, bye.  Oh,  and I can't give you a Drs note, you need to go to your own Dr.  I should have just went to my own Dr, ugh

 The hair on my carpets is driving me insane!! I can't stand the fact that I have not vacuumed since last Monday!  I might have to give it a try. 

So that's all for now, maybe tomorrows post will be less negative, sorry for that everyone, trying to be positive, but it's kinda hard right now

Day 6

My 3 Sons :)

 Today started with a bill from the city for $311 to cover the ambulance costs, seriously?  It was the cities negliegence in the first place that caused the accident :( 
I am sure we will get it covered by insurance but it still felt like a kick to the sternum, haha, me funny!

Had a horrible time last night again, extreme pain & difficulty getting into & out of bed, I also couldn't sleep.  I am worried about my van, the cost of repairs etc.  It will probably all work out but I am by nature a worrier, so I'm not surprised it is keeping me awake. 

This morning I am feeling pretty good!  I skipped my 7 am pain medication, but did take the 11 am.  I am trying to wean myself off of it, I don't like pain medication, I don't think it is good for your body, however it has it's place & I welcomed it these past days!!

Yesterday was so much fun but I was very tired.  Too much in one day haha!  I got to visit with my puppy!! Tate & Kort had no trouble with him in the house, which I expected.  Lync wasn't worried about them either, even though he only thought there were Flatcoats in the world until yesterday. 
I was happy to see that while Kort was chewing on a deer antler, Lync calmly walked over & got right beside Kort's nose to sniff it.  Kort did not snap at Lync, & Lync did not try to snatch the antler away from Kort, rather he sat back & just watched Kort eat it.  I distracted Lync with a toy & he left Kort alone, what a good puppy he is! 
Lync found the stash of toys I have for him & he would take them one by one & bring them into the living room, apparently he's a hoarder :)
He did get the zoomies in the house, we have a small house but I don' think that will be a problem as when I am better he will be outside exercising to get rid of all the energy.  Kort thought it was great fun & barked & barked at Lync :)

I also received many food items yesterday from my friends, shepherd's pie, spareribs, rice, granola, salad & cookies for the dogs from Judy....pumpkin cake, garden carrots, melon & rawhides for the dogs from Liz....& chili & buns from Andrea....yummy almonds from Kim.  I am so lucky! I can't do much in the way of cooking right now so it is wonderful to have something to heat up easily when I'm hungry.  Brad works 12 hr shifts so he appreciates the hot meal when he gets home.  I find it hard to be on the receiving end of things,  I would rather give, but I am learning to just accept the offers of kindness & not be embarrassed by it.

My family and friends are the best, I am the luckiest girl alive ♥

Lyncoln makes himself at home :)

Day 5

Today is 5 days after my accidient.  Brad has returned to work and I am alone in the house.  I had a rough time sleeping last night, lots of pain, I can't move to adjust myself & need to sleep almost upright as laying down flat puts too much pressure on my sternum. My back is killing me because of the awkwardness of how I sleep & sit.
I am worried about taking so many pain killers but if  I still feel pain when taking them I can't imagine the pain I would feel without them.  The pain killers make me nauseated sometimes though so I am taking ginger gravol for that.  I am really nauseated today & the gravol doesn't seem to be helping :(

Today Liz is coming to walk the dogs, they will enjoy that.  Kort is having a hard time though, he doesn't want to leave the house to walk with Brad even.  He is a funny dog, he gets quite worried if it is not me that is with him, I feel bad for him but I make him go as he needs to get out of the house. 

Also today Judy is bring my puppy by for a visit !!! He is staying with her for a bit of socializing.  Judy owns Lync's mom Kona, & 2 other Flatcoats, so I am pretty sure he is having a blast with her!

I am excited to see what he thinks of Tate & Kort & what they think of him!! Amanda is coming by at the same time so she can keep things in order for me, I am not able to control any chaos should it happen right now.  I am sure there will be pictures so I will post those tomorrow.

That is it for now, I have a Dr appt tomorrow.  I need to ask about being off of work and all that fun stuff, as well as looking into the best way to get some kind of benefits for the time I have to be off.

The Longest Week Ever

It has been quite a week.  I will attempt to sum things up as short as I can, thank god for blogs as they are great record keepers.

On Wed Nov 20 I left for work just like any other day.  I was happy & excited as I only had 3 days of work left & then my new puppy Lync was finally coming home !  If you have been following all my blog posts you know that I have been waiting for my Flatcoat puppy for 4 years.  In January this year Cava came in season & was bred, but she did not get pregnant.
In June Liz bred Cava again, as well as Kona, who is owned by Judy and bred by Liz.  Both of the girls got pregnant, Cava only had one puppy and Kona had 5, unfortunately one of the girls in Kona's litter did not make it.
I was on the list for a male puppy, and Cava's singleton was a girl, so a Kona puppy it was to be :)

When the puppies were about 4 weeks old Brad & I discovered that our finances were not as we had hoped.  Brad had just gone back to work after being off for 15 months due to a bi polar episode. Kort was diagnosed with Sponylosis in July and then Tate who is 11.5 got ill & we thought we were going to loose him.  Taking all of this into consideration Brad & I decided it might not be the right time for a puppy after all.  It was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made, I was heart broken.

A few weeks ago I got a call from Liz, she made me the most generous offer , and long story short, I was able to get my puppy!!! A miracle for which I am so very grateful to Liz & Andy  ♥

Then Nov 20th happened.  I was on my way home from work , I was just turning on to the off ramp when my van hit black ice.  I didn't even see it, the van slid sideways & hit the railing on the drivers side, I took my foot off the gas & concentrated on steering, there was nothing else I could do, the van was out of control & sliding all over the road.  It finally came to rest after hitting the concrete barrier on the opposite side of the road.  The air bags deployed, which I don't remember,  all I know is my chest hurt, alot.

So, I got a nice ambulance drive to the hospital where I continued to tell them the center of my chest hurt.  I finally went for xrays where they told me everything looked ok.  The Dr. in the ER came in to tell me they were going to send me home with percocets for the pain.  I mentioned again where my chest hurt, so the Dr. says " maybe I will send you for just one more xray on your breastbone "
Surprise, my breastbone was broken, along with the # 10 rib, yup, I could have told ya that lol!
So that became a whole new ball game, the impact of breaking my sternum would have been so great that they needed to worry about my heart & all the blood vessels in my chest being ruptured. I was sent for a CT scan which showed nothing ruptured but I needed to stay in the hospital for monitoring as I was now at risk for blood clots, as well as pneumonia, as I wasn't able to take deep breaths.

My  puppy is still with his breeder while I recover.  It will be a very long recovery but I am trying to take it one day at a time and not get too discouraged.  I will be able to have Lync come over to visit as soon as I am up to it.

My friend Amanda has organized an army of people to help out!  She has thought of everything from dog walking, poop pick up, to food!!  Dog people are so awesome & I am deeply touched by all the out pouring of well wishes & support!  I have been out of the hospital for 2 days & I can see just how much help I will need.  I can't lift anything over 5 pounds, my arms don't work well.  I need help getting out of bed,  and then there is the ever present pain :(

 Work is out of the question for at least 6 weeks I'm told.  My entire life turned upside down in a split second, amazing.  I am grateful it wasn't worse & that I am here to feel the pain.
When I got home on Friday I burst into tears when I saw Tate & Kort, to think I may have left Wednesday & not come back was hard to comprehend :(

Brad was a mess during my hospital stay,  I can't even imagine what he was going through.

So that is all for now, I will continue to update on my progress.  I have to do things while the pain meds are at their peak right now, I'm sleeping alot & making sure to do all my breathing exercises so I don't get any of the complications that are possible.

I will leave you with this picture of my puppy that my breeder sent me, she called it Runs with Tongs lol!

Short and Sweet Part 2

On Wednesday Nov 20 my van slid on some black ice and I slammed into a cement barrier, I broke my sternum & a rib, and was in the hospital for 2 days

AND

I couldn't get my puppy because of it :(

Short & Sweet

On Friday Kort got his Canine Good Neighbour title !!!

AND

I got a Flatcoated Retriever Puppy !!!

Much more later when I'm less tired 

And Then There Was One :(

Baby Jack

I love dogs, all dogs.  I have been obsessed with them since I was teeny tiny. I have worked with dogs all my life, starting at 18 right out of high school, I got what was supposed to be a summer job bathing dogs for a local grooming shop in Thunder Bay.  I stayed for 15 years !  I then went on to run my own grooming business for another 15 years.
Brad & I moved to Lethbridge in October of 2007, I started working at Paws On The Run in March of 2008, again, with dogs, not grooming but still with them.

Baby Kerry

 I have alot of dogs I like at the Daycare, but my heart immediately fell totally in love with a pair of brothers, littermates named Jack and Kerry.  They were hard to tell apart at first.  In the beginning , before we got safety collars for the dogs to wear, they wore their own collars.  Kerry had turtles on his & Jack had flowers, so to remember who was who, I would call them Kerry Turtle & Jack Flower :)

The Boys

The Boys, as they were also known, have been failing in health, this year in particular.  I believe they were about 14 or 15 but they still came to daycare twice a week.  They puttered around, Jack particularly loved to sniff around outside, he would stop by to see me , give me a few kisses and carry on his way.  Kerry is more attached to me, he stands beside me most of the time for pats, if I go into the other dog area he stands & stares at me :)

Wendy phoned me this morning to tell me Jack passed away this morning, I am so sad. I can't imagine how terrible his owners feel, I wonder how Kerry is doing without his sidekick.  The brothers were very close, they would even play with the other dogs at the same time.
As they aged I started to give each of the boys a kiss before they left, I saw Jack last Wed.  I'm glad I got my kiss in .
I can't imagine daycare without my Jack Flower, I will miss him so much ♥

The puppy pictures in this post are of the boys, his mom sent them to me a couple of years ago as she knew how much I loved their dogs, I'm so glad I have them .

Kerry Sept 2011 at Daycare

Kerry Sept 2013 at Daycare

Jack and Kerry, Dec 2011

Rest in Peace Jack

Random Stuff

I was just reading Amanda's blog from Manymuddypaws ,she inspired to me to write random stuff that I have been doing but never bothered to write about lol!

I attended a Nosework seminar with Kort , weeks ago, I loved it , Kort loved it, but we only practiced once :(  Like Amanda said, I think it is the social aspect that keeps me training, if I have to do stuff on my own I lack motivation.  I think that is why I STILL haven't gotten out to track with Kort.  When I lived  in Thunder Bay I went out 3 times a week, I had friends that I tracked with, we had big fields to go to, & my friends kept me motivated .
Amanda is thinking of getting a class type setting going for Nosework, that way there is a weekly class I can go to & get my lazy butt in gear.  Amanda is also starting a focus & attention class that she has invited me to, I think I will do it even though Kort is no longer doing Obedience, he still enjoys learning & it will keep his mind busy, he gets bored very easily, he likes to be busy, unlike his mom, I do not like to be busy, I have to force myself to get moving some days.  What would I do without Amanda ? lol!

I have been thinking of doing some NADAC Agility with Kort, this organization has alot of games, no jumping involved.  They have thing like tunnelers & hoops & barrels, but I still need to make sure Kort can do this stuff as there is alot of twisting in it.  I haven't been back to his Chiropractor as I can't afford it, that is a whole other story , being poor sucks so bad :(

Tate is doing awesome since his mysterious attack of pain in October.  I feel blessed for everyday I have with him, I love him so much ♥

I myself have been having some problems, like sleeping, I don't.  I can be super tired, eyes closing, but as soon as the lights go out I am wide awake.  It takes a minimum of 2 hrs to fall asleep, & then I am up about every 2-3 hrs until morning.  I find I fall asleep in the early hrs, about 5am but then I am awake again by 8:30 on the days I don't have to work until noon.  It is very frustrating & makes my depression even harder to deal with.  My Dr. is finally sending me to a sleep clinic, hopefully I will get some answers. 

My sister Joanne has seem an orthopedic surgeon about her "broken" pelvis.  He does not think it is broken, ugh, stupid Drs!  He does think it is effects from her radiation however.  The lump in her chest has grown again, her CT scan is coming up & her oncologist has prepared her for it being cancer , so she will be getting radiation again, I am beyond sad :(  stupid Cancer

Our local dog show is this coming weekend.  I love dog shows! I have to work until noon on Friday but then I will be ring stewarding for Obedience at 1.  I am also ring stewarding Saturday & Sunday.  I love watching all my friends in the ring!! I think I will even be able to watch Collies one day & Flatcoats one day between ring stewarding , so yippee!
On Friday night I have entered Kort for his CGN test!  I am excited, I tried to get it when he was about a year & a half old, he failed.  I could not get him to walk calmly by the strange dog portion, he was way too reactive then, not aggressively, but wanting to go & visit, I think he is under better control now, at least I hope!  It will be fun anyway to be doing something with him again :)
Then on Saturday night we have Scenthurdle, there are only 4 teams racing so we will probably only get 1 or 2 races but that is ok! Kort loves doing Scenthurdle!!

I am going out to Blazingstar in about a half hour.  There are still 2 puppies there, 1 boy left from Kona's litter & Cava's singleton.  I am looking forward to seeing them !

So there you have it, random stuff that has been going on in my life, thanks for the idea Amanda!

Superstar :)

The Collie Club of Canada compiles statistics each year in Performance Events as well as Conformation.  The 2012 statistics are just in and Kort did amazing!!

In AAC Agility Kort finished in 6th place overall in Collies, both varieties!
He also finished 3rd place over both varieties in the Started Class, as well as 5th place over both varieties in the Specials height division!!  How cool is that!

So proud of my Kort ♥