Thursday, July 30, 2009

Post Op Days # 105 - 111 - Weekly Blog Updates

Ok so now that we're starting to trickle out of the craziness of multiple Dr's appointments etc... and I'm finding it harder to remember to do this daily --I've decided to do weekly updates in one post. If I happen to remember to update it daily, it will be in the weekly post so you can just check back throughout the week.

#105 - Monday I had physio and it was hard plus the fact the weather has gotten insanely HOT -- mid - high 90's and supposed to break over the 100F mark during the week. YUK!!!!!!!!!! That is too darn hot for this neck of the woods. ha ha! Chris added some new things to the routine so that was good but they sure make me work hard and sweeeeeeeeeat!
I had to go to Issaquah to pick up a key for a sitting job that I start this week --- YAY!
Hung out in the house for most of the day, though I did swing by the barn for a bit.
Took my 7.5mg of warfarin @ 8pm
I head over to the gym in the main building so I could watch the Bachelorette finale! HA HA! I barely pedalled the bike because I didn't want to overdo it since my physio was so tiring and the damn heat was making me sweat bullets. oh such an entertainig show! ROFLMAO

#106 - Tuesday I had a dentist appointment @ 11am --- teeth cleaning and of course they found a tiny cavity and a stupid CRACK in one of my molars..........ohhhhhhhhhhh no! So ya, I have 2 appointments next week to deal with those issues! Grrrrrr!!!!
I stopped by the ranch to see who was out there and it was a ghost town because the temperature had shot up to 98F! But I decided to give Karma a bath.......hehe, now that felt good for her and I! I spent about 2hrs there(thank goodness for the fans in the barn, otherwise I wouldnt have lasted very long) then head home.
Just hung out in the house for the remainder of the day to stay cool and sane! LOL
Took my 10mg of warfarin @ 8pm

#107 - Wednesday I had physio @ 11:30am --oh man it was hot out, we're talking up to 102F! Definitely short and tank top weather, otherwise my clothes were soaked in sweat from doing nothing. EW! Physio felt like torture because of the heat, even though the building has A/C my body wasn't happy and felt pretty stiff actually so we addressed that with a fair amount of massage etc... ah yes, that FELT goooooooooooood!
After that I drove to the barn and hosed off Mercury and Nikon because they needed it to cool down a bit. Poor horses were soaked in sweat from the heat!
I came home and hide in the house...........ugh, too hot out
Took my 7.5mg of warfarin @ 8pm


#108 - Thursday(Today) I had an appointment with Dr Chi at 11:30am --- that went well, he's happy with my progress and will see how things are in 6 weeks from now. He said I could ride but to not over do it!!!! I mentioned a few nerve sensations in my foot so we'll keep an eye on that as I worry we may have long term issues with pain. :-(

After that I head home for a bit before having my ultrasound at 3:45pm --- that went good, the clots have broken right now to hardly anything, just some small residual blood that has hardened along the wall of the vessels. The lady wanted me to make an appointment to see the vascular specialist about going off the warfarin! YAHOOOOOOO! I'll still have to do the blood tests in a week or so to see if I have any of the blood clotting disorders but if those are negative I'm warfarin FREE! YAY! oh that would be so nice! haha! Anyways I'll let you know how that goes tomorrrow.

I had to stop in and start my cat sitting job in Issaquah -- cats name is JB and he's super cute. I fed and filled up his water, cleaned his litter box, played with him for a few minutes then did the house plant and outside plant watering. Oh those poor plants are having a hard time with this heat. I gave them a good drink but no doubt tomorrow they'll need it again!

I decided to go down to the barn after that and gave Karma a groom then hopped on for a few minutes. Ugh ,it was soooooo hot out, like 102F! I had to hose her and myself off after that, we didn't do anything but sweat doing nothing. HA HA HA!
I left there and came home to get the heck out of the heat and shower!
Took my 10mg of warfarin @ 8pm.


#109 - Friday I went down to the ranch to go riding with Helene, we had a great ride --well minus Karma sinking in the water and going down on her knees. THank goodness that horse has such a great mind and doesn't panic! We sat there for a minute then I was able to rock her back out of the water and up on all 4's! HA HA! Wow, talk about bizarre! We tried again and made it through with no problem so that was great.
We finished up our ride and hung out for a bit with Julie.

I had an appointment with the vascular specialist at 2:45pm in Bellevue so I went to that and the Dr said I was fine to go OFF THE WARFARIN! YAHOOO!

I head back towards home but stopped off to do JB before coming home to relax as all the driving in Friday traffic is not my idea of fun! HA HA!

It felt really weird not having to take my warfarin @ 8pm! haha!


#110- Saturday we didn't do too much just relaxed and stayed out of the heat ---though the weather had cooled a bit, it's still too hot for my liking.
I stopped over in the afternoon to do JB and then we had a bite to eat in town.


#111 - Sunday(yesterday) I was supposed to meet up with Helene and Julie for a ride but missed them and so I ended up riding around the ranch with Pepper(the owner). We had a nice ride around the perimeter trail then did the waterfall trail(Karma was fine, no sinking LOL) and then we head up the access trail to where it opens up to all the old logging roads. We turned around and came back because I didn't want to ride too long as that was the longest I had been on horse for over 3months.

I came back and did the perimeter trail one more time to cool Karma out as she got sweaty from the climb up the access trail. I hosed her off, groomed her then put her away.

I decided to do some ground work with Nikon, a 2yr old Rocky Mountain gelding that Pepper owns. He's a lot of fun but still learning how to be a horse and respect humans so we spent time doing that. He was being so good I decided that Sunday would be the day I RODE HIM! haha! I was wearing my helmet of course, I got him to stand next to the mounting block so I could lean over him to see how he'd react(we'd done that before). He was fine so I swung my leg over and sat on him bareback and he could careless.
I decided to kick it up a notch and see if I could make him walk around the ring a bit with me on his back and YUP we did it! What a good boy, it was so much fun. He wasn't too sure about why I was squeezing his sides to make him walk but he didn't fuss, more like he didn't get IT! HA HA! we made our way around the ring without any problem so I was really happy about that. I was almost done when I heard the ladies coming back from their ride and so I waited so they could see me on Nikon. Julie was thrilled to see me on him and Helene rode Mercury into the ring to toodle around with us for a minute. Then I said "HEY you want to ride down the pathway to the Llama's and back?" haha, so I did it, I rode Nikon all the way down to the Llama's and back bareback with the halter and he was soooooooooooo good!

I was really impressed that he was so cool and calm about everything so we'll work on some more ground work and I'll keep sitting on him a bit so he knows that's what happens.

ANyways, we groomed the horses then put them back out in the field before heading home for the day.

I was tired but nothing too bad so I was happy about that. It's easy to forget and overdo things but I can't risk it with my ankle so have to do little bit everytime.

It's just nice to be able to work with the horses again, esp with the approval of the ankle and vascular specialist.

I went home, Adam and I head out to meet up with his friend John in Issaquah plus I had to stop in and check on JB so I did that while Adam stayed at the coffee shop.

Post-Op Day # 104 - Fabulous Sunday Ride

Ok, so I totally remember what I did Sunday morning.......haha, I went riding with Helene and we had a fabulous time!
She decided to try Mercury out and boy, that was great MATCH! :-) I saw a totally different person on and off the horse which was really nice. Mercury is such a good boy, esp for his age so it's nice for Helene to have a horse to deal with that isn't so opinionated and bossy like GG!

Plus the fact he's way smaller then Godiva that seemed to help Helene with be able to feel more in control and ofcourse get on and off from the ground if she wanted/needed to! YAY!

I helped her out in the ring for a bit and she did really well getting Mercury to walk and gait in there. She felt very relaxed, happy and eager to be riding him which is a change from dealing with Godiva. Godiva is great if you can handle/ride her almost everyday but even then shes' an Alpha mare and can have a lot of "tude" LOL

Anyways she took Mercury out of the ring and did some gaiting on the pathway as the gaited horses do much better there then in the softer ring footing. She had him gaiting so well and so I went in and got Karma ready while she toodled around with Mercury in the ring.

I got Karma ready and head out to the ring for a few minutes then we did the perimeter trail once then decided to do the waterfall trail. This was Helene's first time riding Mercury around the property and they had a BLAST! Mercury is so level headed and will do pretty much anything you ask of him and even if he's not sure he doesn't loose his mind over it. It's so nice to have a horse like that, they THINK before reacting!

We did the waterfall trail then took a side trail to check it out then head back on the perimeter trial to call it a day. I have to be careful how long I ride for, don't want to over do it! It takes a while for "riding muscles" to come back haha! Oh ya, I feel out of shape that way.


We untacked them and gave them a good groom before calling it a day. It was so nice to see Helene so happy and so we talked about it then decided she should ask if she could transfer her lease over to Mercury! :-)


I zipped home and had a shower so that Adam and I could head out for a bit.

the weather was starting to warm up quite a bit so we didn't stay outside too long but still it was nice to enjoy some time together <3

My ankle felt pretty good, even with the riding etc... and walking around. It's so nice to be able to walk pretty much anywhere now..........LOL I never want to use crutches AGAIN!


I took my 10mg of warfarin @ 8pm.

I was pretty darn tired and ready for bed around 10pm! ha ha!


Thanks for checking in

Post-Op Day # 103 - Last Saturday

Last Saturday is a total blur to me.............hmmmm all I remember is Adam and I went to Chiptole for dinner, I stayed in Issaquah and walked around Target while he went to the range!

I know I took my 10mg of warfarin @ 8pm

I think I might have stopped by the ranch to give Karma a groom but Im not positive. HA HA!

Oh well, I'm getting older, that's my excuse for my brain fart(s).


Thanks for checking in

Post-Op Day # 102 - Last Friday

Last Friday I know I stopped by the ranch to give Karma a groom and of course there was a bunch of people going on a trail ride. Ugh, oh well I said no because A ) I know it would be too long/ too much for me B ) I had physio at 3:30 and needed to have energy for that because its getting tougher!

So ya, I gave Karma a nice grooming, hung out for a bit then head home to clean up and stay cool. The weather was starting to warm up quite a bit and we had warnings for a heat wave in the next few days.

Physio was soooooooo tiring, OMG! I thought I was going to pass out it was tough doing all the strengthening type exercises plus doing the elliptical trainer for 10mins. I hate that machine.......hehe! Chris could tell i was having a hard time but was good letting me have a bit of "wiggle" room on some of them. :-) He's good about pushing when I need it but also knowing when I'm too tired and could end up hurting myself from fatigue.

I left there in a sweat and needed to come home for a rinse.........ah yes, that felt GOOD!


I got a text from Helene and I said I could meet up with her at the ranch if she wanted to. LOL back again I said, I'm happy to go down and help her out with Godiva.

I was there till about 7:45pm, we had fun and of course I needed to get home to have dinner and to take my 7.5mg of warfarin @ 8pm

Phew, I was tired from all the fresh air and physio but it was all good plus I knew I could sleep in on Saturday morning! HA HA!


Thanks for checking in

Post-Op Day # 101 - Last Thursday

Well I did it again, I forgot to finish the updates the other day so now I'm so far behind! HA HA!


Last Thursday I know I went riding on Karma around the waterfall trail with Emily and Jenny....boy it was fun! I didn't ride too long because I'm so out of shape but it's great to be back in the saddle a few times a week if I can do it.

I can't remember hardly anything so this will be it.....haha! Oh and I know I took my 10mg of warfarin @ 8pm!

Thanks for checking in

Friday, July 24, 2009

Post-Op Day # 100 - Physio Fatigue!

Well Wednesday I slept in a bit again, I couldn't believe how the tiredness from the weekend seemed to be lingering. I was worried I was coming down with a cold or something!

Thank Goodness it was soooooooooo nice and cool out, I almost thought it was going to RAIN!! haha!

Adam and I had some left over fajita's for lunch so that was good.
I did some laundry from the trip plus a few other things around here before my afternoon phsyio session at 3:30pm. I was looking forward to it and of course seeing Chris back after his 2 week break for surgery.

Physio was good but exhausting --- wow I sure got a good work out! We did the regular exercises plus add a couple new ones and then finished up the day with 10mins on the elliptical trainer --though I did about 13mins because I got talking to the lady on the stationary bike about her knee surgery. haha! I had a good case of "noodle legs" after and had to take a quick break before leaving the building. haha!


I zipped down to the barn to see what was going on and give Karma a brush, as well I worked with Nikon for a few minutes in the ring.

I came back home to rest then later on Adam and I went to the North bend grill for a bite to eat.

I had my 7.5mg of warfarin @ 8pm


I watched a couple episodes of House before taking a nice walk around the short block with Adam......YAY first time in over 3months that I could do it. The temperature outside was amazing, refreshingly cool!


Thanks for checking in

Post-Op Day # 99 - Draggin My Tail

Tuesday was not pretty.......... was so damn tired from the trip and boy did I sleep in. haha!

When I finally got up I lounged around in my PJ's for quite a while enjoying the cool apartment as it was pretty warm outside.

I had an appointment at the ACC clinic to do my INR test at 3pm and my INR was 2.6 --awesome! I was relieved, I thought for sure it would have dropped after my exhausting weekend.

I left Issaquah and decided to stop by the ranch to see who was out there.....it was very quiet, too hot for most people, just one trainer was there so I stayed for a bit to chit chat and gave Karma a quick brush.

I left there and head to the grocery store to pick up a few things before coming back home to stay cool.

We had some fajita's for dinner and then relaxed for the evening --- I wasn't motivated to do anything that required energy.

I took my 10mg of warfarin @ 8pm


I was so glad to be back home.

Post-Op Day # 98 - Bye Bye VI!

Well Monday morning was busy, we woke up on the earlier side so we could get Jill to the Duke Point Ferry Terminal for the 10:15am ferry. She was just going over night and would be back to my moms the next day because she flew back to Ontario the following day.


We left the terminal and head back to my moms place so that I could drop her off and take the car so I could go down to the barn to visit Frosty again.

I had to go to the vet office first to pick up a tetanus shot and pay my bill from the Friday appointment.
I head over to the barn to see her, I didn't have too much time to do anything so just gave her some carrots/apples then talked to N&S for a few bit before heading back to my moms to make sure all my stuff was packed up.

I needed to be down in Victoria for 6pm check in time so I had a bit of time in the afternoon to chill out and actually my friend Reyna came over for a short visit so that was nice.


A friend of my moms offered to drive me down to Victoria so that was nice, one less thing for my mom to worry about plus the fact she had multiple trips to Victoria coming up in the next few days.

I got my stuff together , I said goodbye to mom and Reyna -- I think that was around 4:55pm.

It was nice of Diane to drive me and we had a fun chit chat on the way down! haha I love that lady, shes' so funny!

I got checked in and waited to board the Clipper ferry to head back to Seattle.

I took my 7.5mg of warfarin @ 8pm with my tasty "Vegetarian basket" that I had on the ferry.

Thankfully it was a smooth sailing and we made it to Seattle around 9:45pm. I was tired but happy to be back in WA State and ofcourse glad to see Adam!!!!

I flopped into bed and was OUT like a light....oh man, the bed felt good! HA HA!

well it was a fun but tiring trip for me ---but I did it CRUTCH-FREE! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!! Only took 3+ months to do it. haha!


Thanks for checking in

Post-Op Day # 97 - Ride Em Cowgirl

Well I was super tired Sunday morning and slept in a bit! YAY! Dang that felt good!

I got up, we hung out around the house for a bit then decided to head to Cobble Hill so I could go visit Frosty.

Mom and Jill dropped me off for about an hour to go give Frosty a groom. I brought her in, groomed her then decided to tack her up and go for a ride! :-) I rode in the ring for a few minutes then head out for a short trail ride around the back. It felt great to ride her again(and ride after more then 3months off), I hadn't ridden her since 2004 I think so it was a lot of fun.

I came back, untacked, groomed and put her away. I was tired after it all but it was worth it for a bit of enjoyment with ma pony!

Mom and Jill showed up, we stayed to chit chat with Norm and Sandy for a bit then head back towards Duncan. My mom was taking care of a friends house in Maple Bay so we head out that way to do that before heading back to her house in Duncan.

We got back to Duncan and hung out for most of the day, it was pretty darn hot out so it felt nice to be inside where it was cool!!

later on we planned to have Chinese for dinner so that was yummy! We also watched 2 movies that night, none of us were motivated to do anything else!

Took my 10mg of warfarin @ 8pm

I was definitely ready for bed, it was a long and tiring weekend for me but I was glad I came over for the wedding and decided to take Frosty out for a ride.

Thanks for checking in

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Post-Op Day # 96 - Time To Celebrate!

Well I slept in, boy I was soooooooo tired from Friday haha! I hung around the house in my Pj's for quite a while....haha, think I finally got dressed at 1pm! LOL

I had some lunch with my mom and her friend Jill. We stayed inside because it was so dang hot out again.

I had some time to fart around checking email etc.... before having to get showered and dolled up for the wedding. I bought a really cute black N white dress here in WA, State so wore that, plus some very cute shoes with an inch heel. Yup, I wore both shoes ---though I did take my walking boot with me in the car just incase! :-)

The ceremony was at 3pm and I needed to leave earlier to go pick up my friend Angela, she was my DATE since Adam couldn't go to the island this time.

I pick her up and we head over to the Merridale Cidery where the ceremony was, they didn't have very good signage for the wedding(not my friends fault). Finally we figure it out and start walking down the hill to where the tent was and I nearly died.....it was steep but worse part was everyone was SITTING and waiting for the bride n groom.

Angela and I get to our seats and then we hear the music start.......oh man talk about CLOSE CALL! HA HA! OH well, we made it and it was a fabulous ceremony. Tessa looked phenomenal in her dress and Brendon looked sharp in his tux.

I took a bunch of pictures so I'll have to put a couple up for you to see :-)

The ceremony finished, we got to walk up and congratulate them before everyone started to head back up the hill to where they were going to do their wedding photos.

We didn't know that we had about an hour or so before the reception started so we decided to head out and go get a cold drink/quick snack at Timmy Hortons in Mill Bay.

After that we head down to the CFB Wardroom which is part of the Naval base in Esquimalt. Wow, that place was beautiful! They had appetizers and a bar for the guest to get some bevies etc.... before moving into the dinning/dancing hall. Neither of us had anything to drink or eat at that point becuase we had Timmy's instead! HA HA!

We all moved to the hall and then the evenings festivities began. Lots of toasts, speeches etc.... and then we had a wonderful buffet dinner! mmmmmmm hmmmm fabulous food!
Oh and we had 4 other people sitting at the table with us and they were SUPER COOL! We had so much fun with them.....haha, we all kept saying that our table (#6 )was the best table there. haha!

I took my 10mg of warfarin @ 8pm! YAY ME FOR REMEMBERING! haha!

We watched Tess & Brendon have their first dance etc.... it was so awesome. After a short bit everyone got up and started to dance the night away! WOOT WOOT! Even Angela and I got up and danced for a while, though neither of us were in great shape with bad ankles! HA HA! Oh well, we did pretty good all things considered.

We stayed till midnight then head back up island home -- I dropped Angela off then made my way back to Duncan to my moms to sleeeeeeeeeeeeep! YAY! Phew, what a wonderful day but wow tiring too!

Thanks for checking in

Post-Op Day # 95 - Off to VI!

Well we got up super early.........EWWWWWWWWWww! I had to be downtown Seattle for 6:30am check in so that was no fun. haha!

I didn't sleep well ofcourse as I worried about oversleeping and missing my boat. haha!

We left the house at 5:45am and got there so I had plenty of time to check in and be on my way to the island for Tessa's wedding! Said bye to Adam, told him to behave......haha, na, he's a good guy, I don't have to worry about him. :-)

The ride over was smooth and I read for a bit but was too tired to do that long, my eyes didn't want to cooperate! YAWN! I didn't nap or anything, I was tired but not tired enough to risk getting a kink in my neck.

I had a yogurt basket on the way over............lets see it had a granola bar, a blueberry yogurt, an apple juice, an apple sauce -- I didn't eat it all, too much for that early. I even had a tiny bit of coffee, boy I was alert after that.

I arrived in Victoria at 10:45am and my mom was there waiting for me :-) I drove home as she gets so tired from all the driving ---just doing it on the way to get me was enough for her.

We got back to her place and I helped her do a few things around the house for a bit. I just relaxed most of the day, though I did go to the barn later on in the afternoon for a bit. It was nice to give Frosty a good groom and hang out.

I went back to my moms and chilled for the rest of the evening because I knew Saturday would be a tiring but fun day.

I had to go pick up her friend from the bus stop around 6pm, she was in Victoria shopping for the day so it was nice to chit chat with her for a bit at the house.

We had a yummy dinner, I took my 7.5mg of Warfarin and watched some TV in the evening -- I think I crashed out around 10:30pm. I couldnt believe I lasted that long without a nap since being up so early in the morning.

Thanks for checking in

Post-Op Day # 94 - Better Pack My Bags!

Well it's been almost a week since I updated this......opps, oh well I was away for 4 days!


Anyways, just a quick recap of last Thursday.

I went to the barn to visit, did some grocery shopping to make sure Adam had some stuff for while I was away in Canada and ofcourse I packed my bags for the trip to VI.

I did my ankle stretches/exercises, stayed inside as much as possible as it was hot out!

Took my 10mg of warfarin @8pm and hung out for a bit with Adam before leaving bright n early Friday morning on the Clipper to Victoria.


Thanks for checking in

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Post-Op Day # 93 - Happy Hump Day Haha!

Ok, so you're thinking Hump Day what the heck? It just means it's the MIDDLE of the week, you know the Wednesday Hump you can't wait to get over because you know the weekend is coming! LOL

Well the day started off with physio at 11:30am -- phew what a work out that was, I was very tired by the end. We did the regular exercises/stretches, the elliptical trainer for 10mins this time and some new exercises which incorporate a rubber resistance bad around my ankles haha! Those really made my legs work and feel like I had noodle legs! haha! I guess my next session will be with Chris again as he'll be back. I liked Rachael alot but who knows maybe I will have her again at some point.

I left physio and came home for a bit to let my legs rest while I had some lunch.

I decided to go to the ranch to see what was going on and so I stayed there for an hour or so before leaving. It was pretty darn hot out again so I wanted to get indoors where it was cooler!

I came home and hung out inside for the rest of the day plus I had to get my bag packed for my trip to VI this weekend.

I did some ankle stretches to keep everything limber plus I was curious to see how my legs felt after my intense physio! LOL

We had some dinner and I took my 7.5mg of warfarin.

After Adam was done work we decided to go watch the new Transformers movie which was really good actually.

Boy I was beat when I got home and it was time for bed!!

Post-Op Day # 92 - Too Much

Well Tuesday I woke up and did my ankle stretches/exercises before heading out to see a client in Issaquah. I was there for about 30mins then head out to get some frozen mice for the snakes from PetSmart haha!

After that I whipped over to Ross Dress for Less to cruise the aisles for a few minutes. LOL It's fun to look at everything in there but very time consuming so I made sure to get out of there quick because I had the frozen mice in the car! I didn't need those things thawing out haha! GROSS!


I picked up some lunch before heading home for a bit to see Adam. We had lunch then I went to the ranch for a few hours.

I worked with Nikon on some ground work and he was really good but ofcourse I was POOPED by the time I was done. TOo much for one day for me, its amazing how tiring it is for my body. I think the physio is partly to blame as I'm having to do a lot more cardio/strengthening so it's making my body fatigue quicker.

I head home and flopped on the bed and was OUT for quite a while. I woke up and felt like crap but had to stay up for a bit otherwise I wouldn't sleep later on when it was bed time.

I took my 10mg of warfarin @ 8pm

I made some dinner, we hung out here for the rest of the evening before I called it a night at like 10:30pm! HA HA!

Monday, July 13, 2009

Post-Op Day # 91 - Work For It

Well this morning I got to go back down to the ranch to watch the trainer work with Nikon as well he got me to try a few things so I can work him a bit. I spent a couple hours there and then had to whiz back to the ridge for my physiotherapy at 1:30pm.

My physio went really well, my ankle felt really good and she was happy that my knee hasn't been as sore. we did the stretches and worked on a few new exercises as well we added the elliptical trainer into it! It felt pretty good but wow after 5mins I felt out of breath haha, boy I need to work on some cardio!!! I did that then rode the bike for 10mins so by the time I was finished my legs were pretty tired and we called it a day!

I head to town after that to go to the bank, pick up Adam a few items from town then a quick stop in at the thrift store(too much fun for me to go there).

I came home and have been hanging out, Im POOPED! LOL Oh well that is ok, atleast my ankle and knee feel really good.

Well its almost time to take my 7.5mg of warfarin @ 8pm. Not sure if we're going to the transformers movie tonight or not as I have to be up early in the morning and the movie goes till about midnight.

Anyways, thanks for checking in

Post-Op Day # 90 - Hangin At The Ranch

Well Sunday was not too bad weather wise, a bit overcast but no real heavy rain! PHEW!

I had the dogs to do in the morning before I left the clients house so I did all that and then head home around 11am.

I was very tired because I never seem to sleep well at that place but oh well that is life -- I need the money! LOL

I came back here for a bit to relax, do some laundry then organized some stuff in my closet LOL

I got a text from my friend Helene that she was going to the ranch around 2pm so I was excited to go down and see her.

I head down to RRR and hung out for a couple hours. Helene & I got sort of side tracked because there was a trainer out and he was working with a couple of the horses so we decided to watch. It's always fun to watch and learn as much as possible from any trainer.
Helene did groom Godiva and then let her out in the ring to tear off some spunk later on --actually the trainer helped her with GG for a bit so that was cool!!

After we were done there I came back home and had some dinner with Adam.

I was pretty darn tired again so I just hung out in the house for the rest of the night. I hate not having much energy but it'll come back as I'm able to walk better.

I took my 10mg of Warfarin --- the nurse upped it for Sundays to 10mg so we'll see how that does with the INR.


Thanks for checking in

Post-Op Day # 89 - Rain Rain Go Away!

Well Saturday morning it was raining cats n dogs.....ugh, I know we need some rain but it was coming down pretty darn good!

I did my ankle stretches and it felt pretty good, same with the knee it had been much better!

I started my dog sitting job and so I let them out for a potty break/play time in the back yard for an hour or so. After that I came back home to go with Adam to Bellevue as we wanted to go to the jewelry store to see what they'd give us for the earrings.

They offered $380 cash so we took it, we've had the earrings for over a year and no luck selling them as its harder to sell heart shaped items.

We left there and went to the shooting range to check out a few things for Adam then head back to Issaquah to grab some dinner at Chiptole.

We did that then Adam went to the coffee shop before heading home so I could get organized to get back to the dogs and stay the night.

I was pretty darn tired so head back there early and stayed in for the night.
I made sure to take my 10mg of warfarin @ 8pm

I let the dogs out for a bit again and then we watched some TV on the couch together. haha!

thanks for checking in

Friday, July 10, 2009

Post-Op Day # 88 - TGIF

Well its Friday once again and the weather is very warm! PHew, sweating to the oldies again! haha! Well actually more like MJ's songs as I bought a 2 disc set from Costco the other day with all his hits and love to crank it in the car --- Heeeeee Heeeeeeeeeeeee! HA HA! Hard to sit still listening to his stuff.

Speaking of Michael Jackson, I still find it bizarre he died but actually am relieved for him because I know he had many demons to deal with over the years.
I feel bad for the kids though, how horrible to loose their father at such a young age. :-(

I actually watched his memorial service online the other day and wow, it was very nice --- lots of his songs sang, many people spoke about him( I loved Brooke Shields, she was amazing!) and the worst part was the very end of the service. They had a bunch of people(including his family) singing Heal the world and We are the world then after that MJ's daughter Paris spoke and it was heart wrenching, she didn't say much(my daddy was the best father etc..) but wow, made my throat tighten up! Bla, it wasn't nice to see her so upset.

Anyways, I will remember him for his amazing voice and dancing ability --- a truely talented entertainer!!!


Today my knee felt pretty good so YAY for that! PHEW, what a week I was having, NOT FUN!

I woke up pretty early and had some coffee while waking up haha -- though I ended up getting a major coffee buzz with some heart palpatitions which sucked but it went away after I drank a bunch of water. haha! weeeeeeeeehawww!

I got organized and went to the ranch for a visit, I stayed for 1.5hrs then came back home to rest up. I didn't want to overdo it on my leg just because it was feeling better.


I had to make a few phones calls to set up a vet appointmet for Frosty during my visit on VI so I got that done. Im a bit anxious to get over there and see what the vet has to say -- umm ya, Frosty started to LEAK MILK last week and I'm totally freaked out about it. Unfortunately she could have been exposed to a few young colts at one farm while the leasers had her!! YIKES. I'm on the fence right now between worry and anger but I have to stay sane because I don't know what is going on yet and the vet will figure it out.

I'm praying to God she's not pregnant because she is a maiden mare and having a first foal at 31 is not a good thing. I'm just lucky that she's in excellent shape/health so God forbid she does foal atleast she's got that going for her.
Anyways I'll let you know how that all goes next week. Fingers crossed its a hormone issue or something!

Like I don't have enough things to deal with with my own health.....haha!

anyways I spent most of the day inside because it was pretty darn hot out!


I had a salad and chicken for dinner so that was tasty. Adam had some veggie pasta/stirfry left overs instead because he doesn't eat salad LOL or rabbit food as he calls it.


I took my 7.5mg of warfarin @ 8pm and now I'm just chillin like a villian! HA HA!

I'm hoping the knee behaves over the weekend and it continues to feel better this coming week so I don't have to worry about it for the wedding.

We're heading to Porcello's Jewelry tomorrow to see what they will give us for the diamond earrings we've been trying to sell(they're beautiful but I can't wear earrings because my ears get irritated).

I also have to dog sit tomorrow so I get to see my buddies Angus and Harley again. :-)


Well we're just going to hang out for the rest of the evening ,we might go for a walk around the block as the temperature is finally cooling off.

thanks for checking in

Post-Op Day # 87 - Step Up and Pedal!

Yesterday(thursday) I had physio @ 1:30pm -- I made sure I did all my stretching exercises before I got there.

I had a new physiotherapist as mine is out having an operation and will be out for 2weeks. The new lady is very nice and she worked on my ankle stretches. Boy she could massage deep......YOUCH! HA HA! I mean it felt good afterward but wow, during it was painful but I think that is because the calf muscle has a lot of knots in it from shortening up.

She worked over the incision as well but not like the calf, PHEW, I was relieved. No worries I told her when it was too painful to endure! HA HA! I dont like to be tortured, HONEST!

She had me walk over to the step block and do the exercise Chris and I had started the last couple times. She showed me a way to bend more at the hips and bring the knee up which actually elivated some of the pain from the knee so that was GOOD! I did 15 reps of that one on each leg, phew my legs were feeling like noodles after that! haha!

We did some balance work(standing on 1 foot) then she wanted me to try to eliptical bike for 10mins at a very easy pace. It felt pretty good actually, made the knee move without excessive force.
I was definitely tired after my physio session but the knee seemed a bit better so I was very happy -- My ankle felt pretty good too!


Later in the afternoon I noticed my foot was a bit puffy/swollen from all the physio stuff but nothing to be alarmed about plus the knee seemed to be less sore.

I came home for a bit then head out to the ranch for a visit. I watched a couple people ride then head home so I could make my chili and speghetti sauce.


Got home and FIRED UP THE KITCHEN....haha, pots, pans everywhere, tomato sauce, paste, tomatoes, spices, chili pepper, hamburger meat.........gez louise it was like a cook off! HA HA!
Browned up the meat then seperated it into 2 parts, one for the chili and the other for the speghetti sauce.

Adam was looking at me like I was crazy haha! I don't think he's seen me whipping up so much stuff in the kitchen so early in the day! :-)

Let those simmer for a while, had a taste test...mmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmm!

I had some laundry to do before getting dinner organized -- stirfry with veggie pasta

I did my ankle exercises while I waited for the laundry to dry.


We ate dinner a little while later, I took my 10mg of warfarin @ 8pm and then finished up some stuff around the house while Adam went for a walk.

I put some ice on the knee and ankle for a bit to see if I could get the swelling to go down before bed.

Anyways, it was a better day thank GOODNESS!
Thanks for checking in

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Post-Op Day # 86 - Good To Go

Well Wednesday morning I drove the rental car back to Issaquah and then picked up our car........yay, good to go!

I drove to North Bend to get a drink before driving by the ranch to see if anyone was there. Everyone was gone so I stopped in for a few minutes to say hi to Karma while it was nice and quiet out there!

I left and head back home to rest as my knee was driving me crazy again.


Later in the afternoon I did my ankle stretches to make sure it didn't cease up on me as I didn't do as many of them on Tuesday due to my knee being so bad.

I napped for quite a while and then later on Adam & I went to the North Bend Grill for a bit to eat, I had soup because I wasn't that hungry(hmm pain could be a new diet?! HA HA).

I took my 7.5mg of warfarin @8pm

Post-Op Day # 85 - I Give Up

Well Tuesday was hell, my knee was insanely sore but I had to drop our car off in Issaquah to get serviced so I had no choice but to deal with it LOL

I dropped our car off then got a rental car so I could get home and so we had a car to use till the next morning when our car would be ready.

I whizzed home and had a rest, iced/heat on my knee for a bit then decided to stop by the ranch for a few minutes to see who was there. Nothing exciting going on so I didnt stay long and came back home to lay down!

Ugh, another day wasted away by pain! I GIVE UP, this sucks HA HA!

hmmm I took my 10mg of warfarin @ 8pm

I think I was in bed by 10pm

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Post-Op Day # 84 - Breaking Point

Well yesterday(monday) was not fun at all! My stupid knee was bothering me so much Sunday night I didn't sleep much plus I felt feeling hot so had to use a cold face cloth to keep cool.

I woke up, had a shower and got ready to head to Issaquah to the ACC clinic to get my INR testing done --- thankfully the INR was at 2.2 which I was relieved because I've been more active especially with the addition of physio to my weekly exercise. The lady upped my dosage for one day to 10mg instead of 7.5mg because she doesn't want my INR to drop any more as the increase in activity had dropped it a bit(it was 2.5 before).

After that I went to Ross Dress for Less to see if they had any hair clips and or shoes for the wedding but I was in a bad mood(from the knee pain) so I left there and head home to get some lunch before my physio at 1pm.

I got to physio and told Chris how bad the knee was, he was a bit concerned that it had gotten worse and that it was so painful for me. He did all the stretching with my ankle first then he did an ultrasound treatment on the knee to see if that would bring down the inflammation. It felt sore during that and still was very sore afterwards so we did minimal work on the block(standing on a small block and lifting my weight with the bad ankle). After 15 lifts on the block I was done, I couldn't handle it any longer and sort of had a melt down. :-(

I was getting frustrated and upset at the same time because it felt like I was going back 10 steps instead of improving. I was trying to hold back the tears and managed to do it for a bit but then I was working on some stretches at the wall then couldn't do it any longer and became a big emotional mess! HA HA! How embarrassing and Chris felt bad about it but said it was totally normal to feel this way. LOL Bla, what a crappy session plus my ankle was much stiffer due to not being able to bear as much weight on the ankle due to the stupid knee pain.

We're going to try a few more things to see if we can get the knee issue resolved before getting Dr Chi to take a look, see if I need an MRI on the stupid thing to make sure nothing is torn in there.

I left physio a mess and I felt bad that Chris felt bad........haha but I knew he didn't think I was mad at hime, just that I was frustrated as heck with the ankle and knee.

He'll be away for 2 weeks and so I'll have another physio lady working with me ---hopefully we can get through this knee issue and back on track with the ankle recovery!


I left there and came back home to lay down, I was so exhausted(mentally/emotionally/physically) and just wanted to sleep it off! HA HA!

I napped then woke up but didn't feel much better and the knee was extremely sore so I got the ice pack, took some tylenol and laid down with that for a bit. I also felt hot, like I was burning up so not sure what the heck that was all about. I asked Adam to feel my head and he said I felt a bit hot. My stupid thermometer needs a new battery or I would have taken my temp to see what it was at.

It wasn't even hot out yesterday, the exact opposite so I know it wasn't from the weather.


Later on I decided to get out of the house for a bit and went to the barn to visit -- I stayed there for about an hour or so but still wasn't feeling great so head to North Bend to pick a few items up then came back home to crash out again.

Umm ya, it was a real crappy day to say the least :-(

I had a salad for dinner, made Adam some fajitas and then watched an episode of House while icing my knee.

Took my 7.5mg of warfarin at 8pm

I head to bed early because I just didn't have the energy to stay up.

Thanks for checking in

Post-Op Day # 83 - Completely Useless

Yup, Sunday I was completely useless because my knee felt like it was on fire -- the pain was so bad, even Tylenol wasn't doing much for it. Heating pad, ice pack, thank GOODNESS for those but still they don't totally wipe the pain out. :-(

I slept in because I was so miserable...............ugh, totally sucked!

Once I got up I had a shower, that felt good but didn't take the pain away ofcourse.

I just lazed around with the foot up for a bit.

I took my 7.5mg of warfarin at 8pm

I had my INR test scheduled for Monday morning then physio at 1pm -- I wasn't looking forward to physio.

In the evening Adam pushed me around the block in the wheelchair to get some fresh air :-)

Anyways, the day wasn't fun so I'll just finished this up now. haha!
Thanks for checking in

Post-Op Day # 82 - Happy 4th of July!!!!

Well Saturday morning I finished up my dog sitting and head home to figure out what the plan was for the 4th of July.

My knee was very sore still so I wasn't in too good of a mood -- poor Adam, he's been so awesome through all of this medical crap.

I did my ankle stretching exercises though they aggravated my knee a bit but still needed to do them or my ankle will start to cease up again.

It was VERY hot out on Saturday so we spent most of the day inside where it was cool.

Around 11am I heard a bunch of noise and looked out the window to find hundred's of people walking by our building with kids on bikes all decorated with American flags etc... it was so cool! I took a few pictures of the kids plus the old fire truck that drove by honking/beeping its horns/whistles HAHA!

The day sort of whizzed by and it was time for people to start letting off fireworks --- man, it went on for HOURS. It started around 6pm with the odd one going off but by the time 8pm came it was non stop till about 11:30 then we'd hear the odd one go off till Midnight or so.

It was awesome, we could stand on the patio and watch fireworks going off in all sorts of directions up here on Snoqualmie Ridge. :-) No need to drive anywhere to watch a firework show, we had a grand one going on in our own neighborhood! haha! I took a few pictures so I'll post them on here.

I made sure to take my 10mg of warfarin --- its easy to get busy then glance over at the clock and go "OH CRAP its 7:59 or 8:01" haha!


I was in bed around 11pm and watched the fireworks from my bed looking out the window. my knee was so dang sore so I called it a night.

Adam stayed up, I think he went over to see if the pub was open but they closed it down early.
Thanks for checking in and Happy 4th of July to all the Americans who visit my blog!

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Post-Op Day # 81 - Finally Friday

Well the week was finally coming to an end...........ugh, what a week of pain! ACK!
Friday my knee felt a bit better but still tender when I walked and so I made sure to rest the leg as much as possible(doing heat/cold on it plus Tylenol).

I slept like crap at the clients house but that is typical for some reason I always worry about oversleeping there and so I don't get much rest(my brain seems to worry all night long haha).

I stayed there till about noon , the dogs had a great time outside while I threw the ball for them.

I decided to come home briefly to give Adam a veggie sandwich for lunch then head to the barn to see Karma. I groomed her then took her in the ring to do some groundwork. After that I hand grazed her for a few minutes then put her away.

I came back home and put my foot up ---dang knee was starting to get sore from walking/standing too much. Popped a Tylenol, cranked up the heating pad and lounged in the nice cool house for a bit.

I did my ankle stretches and that felt pretty good -- rubbed some Vit E over the scar and massaged it really good.

I had a nap because I was pretty zonked plus the heat was getting to me. LOL Even with all the fans cranked up, it was a hot day!

I woke up later on and drove back to the clients house to let the dogs out for a bit. I threw the ball, cleaned up doggy do(haha, such a glamorous job) and then let them lounge around outside for a good hour or so. I had a few things to do inside so did that then put the leg up for a bit as it was starting to ache like crazy again.


After a bit I head back home but decided to stop and get my hair cut first --- it was time to get it a bit shorter in the back. Finished up there and then came home for a nice cool shower..........ah, it felt AMAZING! Haha! Gosh it was so hot out yesterday, I had all the fans cranked right up -- this is where I wish we had A/C in the house(TG for the A/C in the car for driving).

I hung out with Adam, we had a bite to eat, did a few things around the house and then I rested my leg for a bit before heading back to the clients house for the night.
Took my 7.5mg of Warfarin @ 8pm

I got there, let the dogs out for a bit, watched a couple medical shows then went to bed......soooooooooo tired and my knee was so freaking sore. Popped a Tylenol before bed haha!

Thanks for checking in

Post-Op Day # 80 - Laid Up

Well Thursday was not fun, my knee was so sore I could barely walk -- even resting my leg didn't help the pain. UGH! I took a tylenol to help with the pain, put a heating pad on it so it would sort of dull it out a bit.

I stayed in the house for most of the day(it was super hot out anyways) except for when I had to go let Angus and Harley out mid-day for a potty break. I started dog sitting Thursday and will be staying overnight till Saturday --maybe Saturday night too.

I managed to get up and down the stairs at their house but then needed to rest the leg. I can't believe the amount of pain coming from my knee, it's almost worst then my ankle was the first 2 days post surgery. I was so tempted to take a 1/4 of a percocet to take the edge off but decided I better not because I was taking Tylenol.

I'm going to continue to take Tylenol, put hot and cold compresses on it and stay off it as much as possible till I go back to physio on Monday.
I made sure to do my ankle stretches but just the ones I could do while sitting.

I came back home for a bit to hang out with Adam and have dinner. I couldn't do anything else really.
I took my 10mg of warfarin @ 8pm then head back to the dogs to stay overnight. I let them out then parked my arse on the couch to watch some TV so I give my knee a break. I think I went to bed around 10-10:30pm.
I didn't sleep great because my knee hurt so much plus the house was hot(even with a fan directed at me, ugh, so hot).

That's it for Thursday, it was horrible and I just wanted to cut my leg off! HA HA!

Thanks for checking in

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Post-Op Day # 79 - Sooooo Sore!

Well my knee sure was sore this morning and stayed that way all day! ACK! I had physio @1pm and that went pretty good. My ROM improved a bit so that was great even though my knee felt like it was going to explode.

I told Chris and he looked at my knee, moved it around a bit to see what was going on and ya, he thinks the ligament is being pulled a bit by the way my foot wants to hit the ground when I walk. We're going to really work on getting the foot to hit the ground flat instead of it wanting to use the outside edge. Other then the knee pain, the ankle felt really good and moved quite well. He massaged the incision site again and it didn't hurt as much(PHEW haha) but I think thats because Ive been doing it everyday to help desensitize it.

He told me to get some Vit E capsules to rub on the scar to help soften it a bit and hopefully make it lighter(its quite thick). That really feels good when I massage the ankle and makes it easier.

We did the regular exercises plus added a small step block to the mix so that was interesting. It was a hard one to do but it didn' t seem to aggravate the foot so that was nice.

After physio I came home for a bit to help Adam with a few things then head to the ranch to give Karma a groom.

I groomed her then hung out with the girls on the deck while soaking up the sunshine! haha! I left around 6:15pm and whizzed home because we had to go to Issaquah to meet a guy who was going to buy Adams watch.

We met up with him at the coffee shop, the exchange went down(haha, gangsta style) and then we grabbed some dinner at Chiptole.

We came home and are relaxing with the windows/sliding door screens across, there is a LOVELY breeze tonight. The weather lately has been so nice but today was almost perfect and the evening temperature is divine!

Took my 7.5mg of warfarin @ 8pm --- trying to get this updated so I can watch a couple House episodes before bed. haha!

Thanks for checking in

Post-Op Day # 78 - Tired on Tuesday

Yesterday I was pretty darn tired plus my knee was sore so I didn't do much. I stayed home for most of the day then stopped by th e barn for a few minutes to give Karma some treats.
After that I went grocery shopping then came home to make some sloppy joes! Mmmm haven't had those in a long time. haha!

I did my ankle exercises atleast 3 times so that was good, even though my knee was a bit sore I was careful not to overdo the walking without the crutch.

I napped a fair amount too, I was just tired and needed to recharge a bit.

I made sure to take my 10mg of warfarin @8pm


Boring day, oh well. haha!

Thanks for checking in

Post-Op Day # 77 - Getting Better

Well Monday I had my physio with Chris again and it went really well. He took the ROM measurements at the start and they were way better then the previous time so that was a great way to start the session and week!

He gave my foot a good workout, massaged over the incision(YOUCH) , I did the exercises from the previous session and had a few new ones to add into the mix. The ankle felt pretty darn good so he said to use the one crutch if I needed it but to start to practice walking without either if I felt like I could do it. I told him I had done some walking without them on the weekend and it went pretty well. Though I did notice my knee bothering me again, so my stupid foot wasn't hitting the ground right and was pulling my knee as well. We're working on correcting that but its' going to take time.

After my physio I went to the ranch and gave Karma a good groom. I hung out for a bit then head home as I was pretty tired.

Adam had to go meet up with a guy so I stayed home and got the dinner started(tilipia w/stirfry).

We ate dinner then took a short walk to the grocery store to get him some creamer for his coffee then I called it a night.

I took my 10mg of Warfarin @ 8pm -- watched a few episodes of House while elevating the foot.


Thanks for checking in

Post-Op Day # 76 - Up Up and Away

Well I do remember Sunday but that is because it was a very good and fun day.

I went down to the ranch to give Karma a groom and got through with that but then decided to be naughty and RIDE! haha!

I tacked her up in a western saddle, led her to the ring, managed to mount from the offside(easier on my ankle), rode for about 5mins in the ring(walk/gait/canter) then did the perimeter trail once before heading back to the ring, dismounting on the offside(again easier on the ankle) and then called it a day. I think I rode for 15mins total but it was fun! I untacked, groomed her and then let her graze for a few minutes while I watched a few other ladies ride.

I felt pretty good all things considered but I know I need more time yet till I get back to riding consistently. My whole left side is so out of whack, I felt like I was falling to the right side a lot and so I need to strengthen my left ankle/leg/hip and upper body. All the time on the crutches really took a toll on my body, it's very crooked so I need to get that worked out before riding.

Anyways, I stayed at the barn for a while then head home so Adam & I could head to Bellevue to do a few things.

On the way back from Bellevue we decided to try the new pizza place in Issaquah called Tutta Bella and it was quite good actually. We both had a Calizone(think that is how you spell it?) and it was very tasty.

We head home after that for a few minutes then head out to check out the river -- that was fun except the stupid ground was so uneven so it was very hard for me to navigate.

I took my 7.5mg of Warfarin @ 8pm

We came home and called it a night -- I was tired from the fresh air, riding and a fair amount of walking without my crutches. I made sure I did my ankle exercises before bed to give it a good stretch.

Thanks for checking in

Post-Op Day # 76 - Hmmm I Forget!?!

haha! I can't remember what we did on Saturday --guess it wasn't anything too exciting.

I know I would have done my exercises for my ankle, been outside when it was cool enough and taken my 10mg of Warfarin @ 8pm.

Hmm ya, good memory --this is why I need to keep this updated daily! haha!

Thanks for checking in