{Rehab} starts for Sky

Our sweet Sky finally started rehab this week! First, we went and met Tena and Annette at Alta Dog Rehab. They showed us exercises and stretches that we could do to help our girl get better faster. Then they helped her walk in the underwater treadmill to help build strength in her leg. She did so good!

Then a few days later we took Sky swimming to help her with strength and range of motion. She did amazing! Almost didn't need any help getting in or out of the water. After only 12 minutes though Sky was so tired! Annette was very proud of her and so was I! Sky is getting better!

Hip {surgery} for Sky

Our sweet 6 month old Border Collie, Sky, injured herself while playing on November 10th. We immediately knew something was wrong and took her to the emergency vet. An x-ray revealed that Sky had dislocated her hip and would require surgery to put it back in place.

On the morning of the 11th, the surgeon reviewed the x-ray and told us that it was worse than just a dislocation, Sky had broken the head of her femur as well. Now rather than a hip placement surgery, she would receive a Femur Head Osteotomy (FHO) surgery. This is the surgical removal of the head and neck of the femur. In simpler terms, it is the removal of the “ball” part of the ball-and-socket that makes up the hip joint.

Once the femoral head and neck are removed, the surrounding muscles and developing scar tissue work to support the area, and act as a false joint. This means that now when the limb is moved, the forces are transferred to the pelvis rather than the leg itself.

We picked up Sky on the 12th from the vet. She was trying so hard to be her happy, active self but it was obvious she was in pain. The vet estimated it would take 6-8 weeks for her to be confident walking on it like normal. On our way home we stopped to pick up an e-collar (cone of shame) just in case and she was a champ walking three-legged into the store. As soon as we got home and she went potty she hobbled into her crate and fell asleep.

Now Sky is healing so well! We took her to visit the vet on Saturday and she said that Sky is doing great with her rehab and her incision looks awesome. Sky still needs to wear the cone of shame until she gets her sutures out. She tries to run and jump but we have to keep her calm and lying down as much as possible. Her activity is limited to four 5 minute walks a day, and she is all smiles when she does get her walk.

It's been a tough week trying to keep this girl contained and making sure she gets everything she needs to heal properly. Next week she will get her stitches out and hopefully then we can increase activity and stop using the cone of shame.

My first {sleep} setback

Yesterday and last night sucked for me. I was so tired from the night before of crate training and having a whining puppy that I had not slept very well. I got an extra half hour but even that wasn't going to help me. By 6, I was exhausted and fading out of every conversation. I could feel the dead stare and my brain slowing everything down, but my eyes were staying open. I was so tired I kept thinking just 5 minutes would help, and then having Jose tell me I had to stay awake.

On our way home I was so tired my eyes kept shutting and Jose would bump me to keep me awake. I got home and went to the bedroom. I knelt down beside the bed and prayed for help staying awake. Though at the time I wanted nothing more than to climb into the bed and sleep. 

At 8 I curled up on the couch with a Dr. Pepper in hand and cried because I was so tired I couldn't think about anything but the headache creeping in and the hours I had left until I could sleep. 

One thing I had forgotten to ask the doctor was if I could go to sleep before the required time. Last night I got my answer. I was so tired that at 9:30 I crawled into bed and hoped that it would be for the night. No such luck. I woke up at 12:30 feeling refreshed and ready to do stuff, but I forced myself to lie there until I fell asleep. So I finally did, but I have to find a way to follow the schedule and not throw it off like that again.  

  

A Diagnosis {Finally}

I have always felt like my sleep habits were weird. Somehow they weren't right. I would not sleep at night, and instead sleep a lot during the day in a series of naps. During high school, this was each class period, followed by a nap after school.

Recently I have had a hard time falling asleep until 2, 3, or 4 in the morning. Then I would sleep until 12, 1, or 2, followed by a nap around 6 or 7. I've become so frustrated by it that a few months ago I went to the doctor requesting a sleep doctor. First we did a blood test and determined I was vitamin D and B12 deficient. So I started taking supplements and then got another blood test. With that, everything was normal, but my sleep habits had not changed. So I scheduled an appointment with a sleep doctor.

Yesterday, I took in my sleep journal, told the sleep doctor everything, and answered all his questions. Then I got the diagnosis.

Delayed Onset Sleep, or Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome 

"...is a neurological sleep disorder in which a person's sleep/wake cycle is delayed with respect to the external day/night cycle. The person is unable to fall asleep until the wee hours, typically somewhere between 2 am and 6am, and sleeps correspondingly longer in the daytime, often well into the afternoon."

Totally me.

So now begins the treatment process. We are going the natural route, trying to adjust my internal clock using habits and light to move the clock up. It's going to take at least 3 months to change the clock. If it works though I will be living a normal humans life schedule. That would be amazing. It would be the first time in my life that I feel like I can live like a normal person and not be tired all the time.

Go here if you want to know more.

First {Home Cooked} Dinner

Jose and I brought fresh salmon home from Pike Place on the plane. So of course, I was excited to cook some up for him and make our first home cooked dinner together special.

 I prepared the fish with some olive oil and salt, broiled for 6 minutes, and then pulled it out to put on the brown sugar. While I was trying to get it out of an under stove oven, I managed to burn my wrist and hand on the coil. OUCH! Initially it hurt, but I ran it under some cool water for a second and then finished preparing dinner.

Jose and I enjoyed a dinner of garlic roasted potatoes, roasted asparagus, brown sugared salmon, and Martinelli’s. Even though I cooked for him before, I was actually so nervous about this dinner because 1) it was our first meal as husband and wife and 2) Jose is very particular about his seafood. He had told me that he doesn’t eat a lot because he hasn’t found some that he actually really enjoys, that doesn’t taste like the ocean. But he gave my salmon 7.5 out of 10! I call that a win considering I’ve cooked salmon once before that night.

By the time we finished eating Jose noticed the burns on my hand and asked me what happened. I told him and we consulted our nurse Ilene for some advice. She recommended a few things and after some consideration and more advice, we went to the urgent care. They cleaned it out really good, put some ointment on it and sent us home with instructions to watch for infection and range of motion problems because of where it is on my hand.

It’s healing now, but I think I will always have a scar from our first home cooked dinner as a married couple... not a bad thing to have a reminder of I think.