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.

Sky learned to {Swim}

A couple of weeks ago we discovered Barley's Canine Rec Center in Salt Lake. It's a place that not only boards and has daycare for dogs, but also has a dog pool! So we signed Sky up for a swimming lesson. I couple weeks ago she had her first lesson and did awesome, but just to be sure, we did a second lesson this week. This time was so awesome! She was jumping in the pool and swimming around like a pro. The only struggle is that she gets distracted when other dogs are around so we are going to do some reserved swims before trying open swim again. Just for memories and your enjoyment, here are some pictures of our "Otter Collie".

Coming up the ramp

Jumping in for the ball

Swimming with Mike (the instructor)

Halloween {Weekend}

My family has never really been into Halloween. I always liked the idea of dressing up in costumes, and having parties. So this year, Jose and I decided to throw a Halloween movie night with friends. So on the 30th, we had friends over to watch "Wait Until Dark". No one had seen it but me, and so I did have some fun with one jump scare. I made some extra special treats, including drinks. One was a "Witch's Brew"- lime sherbet with Mountain Dew, and the other was "Vampire's Blood"- cherry 7UP with red food dye to make it more blood-like. It was a fun evening but I forgot to take pictures. 

Then on the 31st, Halloween, we went Trick-or-Treating with the Oliver kids (our nieces and nephew). Jose took Sky and I was stationed with the second youngest who, about halfway through, got too much of a headache to keep walking and she took the youngest's stroller. So then Snow White and I walked a long way collecting candy. The older kids were plowing on when sweet Snow looked at me and said, "I'm done" and refused to continue. So Jose and I walked her home while the other kids finished. It was a different experience for me, as I have never taken a child Trick-or-Treating, but I LOVED it! I had so much fun! 

On Monday the 1st, we celebrated Dia de los Muertos with the McBrides. We invited them over to watch the Book of Life and enjoy some popcorn and sherbet floats. The girls told us all about their Halloween with their cousins. It was another fun evening! 

We had so much fun this weekend! We loved spending time with our friends and family this Halloween weekend! 

Big Bang in {Las Vegas}

For Jose's birthday in July, I asked him what he wanted and he told me he wanted to see Big Bang (a K-pop group) in concert when they come in October. So we bought tickets and started planning. Last week, we were able to go to Las Vegas and see the concert! 

On Thursday, we headed down to Vegas. We checked into our room at Mandalay Bay when we arrived, and quickly realized there was no hot water in the room. After a call to guest services and a visit from the engineer, we switched from the 8th floor to the 17th floor and this time, got a view of the strip! It was gorgeous! 

After resting from our drive, we went out for a late dinner at a place Jose found called Maggiano's. It's an Italian scratch kitchen and it was so good! The bread was hot and fresh, the pasta was notably handmade and delicious, the chicken and ricotta meatballs were perfect, and the desserts were incredible as well! The experience could not have been better! 

The next day we went out and walked the strip. We grabbed lunch at Shake Shack, which has the best shakes ever. And we explored the M&M store and the Coca-Cola store. At the Coke store, we tried 16 flavors of Coke from around the world. 

Then it was time for the concert! It was a dream to see a Korean group live! Jose had a huge grin on his face and he sang every song. I'm  so glad I was able to work everything out so that he could see this concert. We had a great time in Las Vegas and we are so grateful to have been able to go!

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.

A {new} chapter

This past week has been HARD. A week ago I said goodbye to my 1 1/2 year old puppy, Korah. She had passed away in Jose's arms within hours of me waking up and heading out on errands. It was completely unexpected. My only saving grace was that Jose held her as she left this world. It could have happened in so many different ways, but this way I didn't have to be there. I didn't have to see it. I can only thank Heavenly Father for that. I know that I would not have been able to handle it.

Since then I have grieved, and celebrated her life. I found several ways to honor her, and so many daily tasks that remind me of her. It's been really tough living in this apartment without a puppy though. I've had moments that I am totally fine, and others where I break down because there is no puppy to cuddle with and love until Jose comes home.

A few weeks ago Jose and I had talked about getting another dog. A border collie. We had emailed a few people and started looking at the finances for one. Once this happened, I thought it would be put on hold until at least November. But I have felt such an absence in my life that we hopped online a few days ago "just to look". We found the girl that would be our new puppy.

It's not that I am trying to replace Korah. I will always remember her. I just need my daily antidepressant cuddles from a puppy. And when you see this girl you will understand why I feel we couldn't wait for a different pup.