Oops!

Hubby has been rebuilding my PC and I completely forgot to update blog re hospital visit.

General opinion is the swelling is fluid and not an infection but to be on the safe side the surgeons wants another look Tuesday before he heads off on his holiday. So Tuesday hospital and again Thursday, oh the joys of such a hectic social life. Actually I am very grateful not only is my surgeon trying so hard to give me a hand that will eventually have some use but he also genuinely cares too the point where I have his personal mobile phone number and can contact him if I think things are going wrong. So the plan is to keep it in the hood, that's what this splint is called to prevent the index finger flexing up whilst the newly grafted tendon has time to graft and become stronger.

Elmo has been BAD and I mean BAD, only chewed the arm of sofa in the conservatory whilst I was on the phone and when we left him to go to the hospital he chewed up a cardigan I had worn once! and several other things. Any suggestions at stopping his constant chewing and destroying would be gratefully received.

Couple of digi LO's.

First my Mum nd Dad looking very glamorous at the Mayors Ball

and one of Eric and Ben.

Hope everyone has a good Easter, we're doing a treasure hunt Sunday for the Grandsons so paws crossed it stays dry and Elmo doesn't find the stuff before the boys LOL.

Owie!

Wrist is very painful and is leaking fluid out where the drain was removed. After the op I was given intravenous anti biotic so there shouldn't be an infection but the pain seems to be increasing in that area. Going to hand clinic Thursday but really would like to go sooner

Hounds are loving this dry spell and spend most of the day playing outside.

Another couple of digi layouts.

Firstly my car that we got in January, used Misty Blue kit from PBP.

 and this one about my son, using a kit called blessed to have you from Gotta Pixel.

Have a treasure hunt to organise for the grandsons on Easter Sunday and off to crop Saturday .Not that I can actually do anything but it will be nice to go out and I'm sure I can manage to eat cake and chat LOL.

Sue x

Splint

So one has got over feeling sorry for oneself and thought I'd share the photo's of my new best friend, well at least for the next six weeks we will be inseparable LOl.

Eric has nicknamed it Larry Lamp chops after a sock puppet that used to be on TV and thinks we should draw eyes on it. Photo of hand uncovered if you page down and aren't squemish lol

Another digi layout, this one came together so quick I shocked myself.

Hounds are all well and happy.

Eric joined other folk in the village yesterday for a litter pick up session and took Elmo with him, well you wouldn't leave him home now would you (I had gone out) anyway the dark destroyer behaved himself and gained many admirers.

Here he is in his new collar that a lovely lady from greyhound gap had made for him.

photo of hand

Hand update

Mmm where to start.

Spoke with surgeon and he explained what he had done

Cleaned out index knuckle and removed scar tissue

Cleaned up thumb with a view to getting it to move.

Cleaned out lots of scar tissue in wrist, which was beginning to squash median nerve.

Harvested a tendon from wrist (albeit a puny one apparently) and grafted it onto index finger.

New splint holds wrist and forearm still and from the knuckles in hand bends fingers down to a 90 degree angle, apparently index finger must not be allowed to flex or move upwards for 6 weeks as it needs time to graft and strengthen. If it fails there is apparently another tendon he could try when he operates again to fix little finger with ruptured tendon.

Probably other stuff as well but have forgotten already, hand/wrist is black and blue and splint is painful but the worst of it is 6 weeks of not using it, with weekly hospital appts so they can monitor it closely.

One is feeling a tad sorry for one’s self..

A few digi layouts from this week.

Hounds are all well and have loved this week's beautiful weather.

Feeling better

Finally beginning to feel a bit better and looking forward to seeing surgeon on Friday to find out what he has actually done with my hand.

Still quite limited as to what i can do, read, watch TV or a bit of digi but a vast improvement on the weekend of which i spent most of it feeling very sorry for myself lol.

hounds are loving this beautiful warm weather we have and spent most of yesterday on the deck sunbathing.

Have been sorting through some hound photo's and came across these 2, of the 5 dogs only Alfie is still with us, Ranger, Jim, Sandy and Lucky all taken from us with the dreaded bone cancer. Makes you realise sometimes you just don't know how special things are until they've gone.

Also did this one to record Elmo's arrival.

Thank you for all the lovely messages and apologies for not blog visiting, i have 1 finger that i can use to type with currently, i will visit asap.

Sue

fed up

well nothing went quite to plan with the surgery. knuckle wasn't as bad as he thought so some minor work on that. haven't spoken to surgeon but anaesthetist chap says he has tried to repair ruptured tendon on index finger by taking a tendon fron wrist. from where i'm getting the pain i'm guessing he has gone in through the same place as 8 times before. also work done to thumb. in plaster for a week then a splint will be made for a further 8 weeks. had nerve blacker and full ga. was meant to be 45mins for op tops but actually lasted almost 3 hours. if tendon patch is successful i will be a very happy girl but right now i hurt a lot.
had a better night but the reality is just starting to hit me and i feel totally fed up and bored, other hand is really bad from having to bear the brunt couldn't even hold a sandwich in it yesterday. i can either watch tv, read or go on pc for a bit and that's it. silly to feel sorry for oneself especially if it means i may come out of it with one tendon repaired but it is so frustrating and painful, still maybe it will be a bit easier after the sling and cast goes. and i've gained 2lbs flippin eric seems to be on a mission to fatten me up and my willpower is at zero.

hounds are all well and happy and loving this beautiful weather.

perhaps when i blog again i will be feeling happier with life.

sue x

Fed up!

Just back from seeing the surgeon and not good news at all! Whilst he is really pleased with 3 of the knuckles and the bend they have the 4^th (index finger with ruptured tendons) he isn’t happy with at all and says it has to come out, have bone shaved off and a new knuckle implant!!!! Surgery booked for 22^nd March, which means the operations to repair ruptured tendons, won’t take place until after June.

I really thought I would get a date today to repair tendons and finally get rid of the 2 sticky out fingers that don’t bend. So I guess me and the sticky out fingers had better get used to at least another 6 months of not having much use in the hand. 

Poor Surgeon was really  upset for me and said he would do it on day surgery and be first on the list, mainly because he wants a sterile theatre because of the risk of infection with implants and it does give me the best chance of getting home that day as well.

There's either a major hissy fit coming or tears LOL....good job I have crop and Incoming to look forward to tomorrow.

Thank you

So  many lovely comments about Jim's story, thank you to everyone who took the time to read it and leave a comment. I have tried to visit you all but if I didn't I'm sorry BRAIN is still AWOL!

Friday evening we had the family come over to share my birthday cake, think it did us both good to have some company especially the boys. Eric managed to get the tree up so they could hang some bead men I had bought for them, sadly the tree is still awaiting the rest of the decorations, maybe tonight!

Still researching options for Lucky, not easy when your brain is in shutdown mode! considering how early we have apparently caught the bone cancer we are shocked at how lame she is already. Her vet is off this week, so we have a little breathing space to come up with a course of action.

Eric got this lovely photo of Lucky with our daughter Vikki and grandson Ben on Friday evening. Mum is in the background with Mojo and Alfie is on the right, Gangley was sitting on my lap and I was trying hard to stay out of the photo's, when you know you look rough it's not good to have a reminder of it LOl.

Went to crop Saturday (thank you for a lovely day Janina) it was good to go out for a few hours.

Made this LO about the hens digitally here

then printed it off separately and turned it into a hybrid here.

Hand has started to play up !!! few things I'm not happy with and are worrying me so good job we're  going to hospital Tuesday.

Funny old week

Well it's been a bit of a rubbish week!

Jim has seen the vet and had a new pill added to the mix but ideally the vets need an xray to see what's going on. We had decided it was too risky at his age but vet says he could just get Eric to lay him down and keep him calm and take a quick one, wouldn't be as good as normal but all the pulling around he would suffer wouldn't do him any good, so we are now seriously thinking about it. He has really struggled to get about but remains happy and full of cheekiness.

New hens have settled well, slight problem Thursday evening, one had disappeared, spent an hour searching but couldn't find her, up at dawn and Eric found she had got over the 7 foot fence into hedge behind and had roosted there all night, needles to say she will be having some feathers clipped today! Getting plenty of eggs

Hand clinic very pleased with progress!

Went to Dr's as felt unwell, infection so ab's which means no humeria this week and to add insult to injury I had a high blood sugar reading so had to go back the next day for a fasting glucose test, thankfully it came back normal. Always a concern because my Mum and her Mum have/had diabetes.

Yesterday was a good day, scrapping with Dawn then in the evening off ut with Vikki and Ben to see Christmas lights switched on, met up with Marc, Rach and Harvey and had a great time. Flippin battery on my camera died so luckily Vik took some photo's on her phone. We met Prancer a 3 year old reinderr, he was gorgeous and so friendly, apparently they live upto 10-15 years, spend 4 weeks a year working and the rest of the year running free on a farm. Their coats protect them from the cold but also the heat. He was so chilled out and just after this photo laid down and went to sleep LOL.

Ben, Harvey and me, boys were not cooperating with photo's as they were so excited.

Finally finished the digi DLO, has taken me ages to get it as I wanted, have decoupaged some of it but the photo I took was awful. Photo's are from my Cousin Sandra's youngest son's wedding in July. We all had such a great day and I wanted to use lots of photo's, we had a similar class kit from papermaze last which I sorted of adapted for this.

Hospital

Just back from seeing my Surgeon, he is  really pleased with new knuckles and the progress I've made!!!! still concerned that he couldn't put a pin back in to help the wrist fusion so has said as soon as hand clinic are happy I go back to using wrist splint and just wear this huge one protecting knuckles at bedtime and when out and about. Back to see him in 2 months and hopefully discuss next op to repair tendon ruptures. Looks like hand clinic will be a weekly appt for sometime but at least that means I'm being monitored carefully.

Had a play yesterday and did this digi LO, although I may turn it into hybrid. Photo's of Mojo, kit "apple of my eye" from after five designs. 

Jim is off to set the vet Monday as he is struggling again and really only using his 3rd leg as  a balancing post! Hoping maybe a change of meds might help!

Papermaze crop tomorrow yay !!!

Hand clinic

I'm just back from hand clinic, they made a few adjustments to splint, took out some stitches that hadn't dissolved and were becoming sore oh and more exercises LOl, seeing surgeon Friday and back to hand clinic again next Tues. Oh what fun!

Feeling a bit better now I'm back on meds!

Hoping to get another 2 rescue ex battery hens this weekend from little hen rescue. Not sure what condition they will be in, may need jumpers if they don't have many feathers. Our other 2 young hens are just starting to lay tiny eggs, not daily but they've started.

 

Had a little play yesterday and made this digi LO, photo's are of Vikki being a bridesmaid three times. May turn it into a hybrid, not decided yet. Got a bit carried away with pink LOL.

Looking forward to Papermaze crop on Saturday.

Hounds are all ok. Paws crossed

D Day

Finally after 4 long weeks I was able to start RA drugs this Friday! boy have I been counting down the days.

Went to hand clinic Tuesday, 30 minute slot turned into two hours! adjustments to splints, new exercise splint blah blah blah!!! My morphine has all gone and it's been a difficult week coping with the pain. Still I've kept up with the exercises which are grueling. I have a few worries with certain bits but will discuss with surgeon on Friday. Another hand cinic appt Tuesday, so looking forward to that NOT LOL.... I was telling my SIL about it and she said  she calls the physio therapists physio terrorists, made me laugh!

Anyway I've been working on a DLO (digi) that I just can't get right, so took a break from it and made this instead. kit is from pickleberry pop and is called sick days. Photo was just after cast came off and it had been cleaned up. Eric said it would be a good idea to have it as when I hit a low spot with recovery not going as quick as I want I could look back on this photo and take heart LOL, that man knows too well.

Jim has had a much better week so we've put off going back to the vets for now.

Photo of hand

Had a really lovely day at Bramford crop yesterday, was just so good to get out! Bit tired and sore last night but oh so worth it LOL.  Shall have a quiet day today.

After the plaster cast came off and hand had been cleaned up Eric took a photo before the splint went on, I was quite shocked to see a hand that looked fairly normal with straight fingers, so scroll down if you want a look xx

k.

New splint

Back from hospital, cast off and new splint on. Have to bend fingers 5 times a day 10 each time i.e. 50 per finger eek!.Two middle fingers I can bend but two fingers with ruptured tendons I have to do with other hand, little finger is very sore think it was squashed in the cast!
Hand looked pretty good, back Tuesday to hand clinic just so they can check it over.

Going to attempt to go to crop tomorrow, more to socialise really, even Eric thinks it’s a good idea for me to go out for a bit. Luckily I have a kit so will just take that and see what I can do, have more usability with splint than cast if you know what I mean LOL.
.
Lucky suddenley became very stiff a few days ago and we rushed her down to the vets, seems the poly arthritis has returned! she is much better now she's on the steroids but would be nice to know what triggered it off again, Jim is very very sore and we're both starting to feel quite anxious.

Finally we got our first egg yesterday from the new hens, about time! LOL....

Made my lovely surgeon a fuuny card digi of course and got him and is super secretary some sweeties, they are both such lovely kind people.

Finally the date for op

Hospital rung and finally gave me the date for next op on hand 28th October, they were concerned that it's a way off and apologised but I was really pleased LOL. Means the wrist has another 6/7 weeks to carry on getting stronger, just have to nurse that pin that keeps on trying to get out. Have to go and have all pre admission checks redone and see surgeon again as he hasn't seen hand since July but at least plans can now be made!

Ruby and Jim are both okay (touches wood and throwing salt)......

Wrist update

Hospital yesterday!

Well the good news is I came home minus the plaster cast!

The not so good news is I have a splint to wear 24/7 but I can take it off to wash it and cream it yay!

The next bit is complicated, there are two pins that go through the bone to fuse it (not fully fused yet), the constant pain I have is because there basically isn't enough room and one is being pushed up and out so the smaller pin (when I say smaller it's still about 6 inches long) needs to be removed but we have to wait at least two months (unless it comes out through skin by knuckle, then it would have to be done immediately) so the wrist can carry on fussing a bit more.
The knuckles also need replacing and the two fingers with ruptured tendons need repairing but that means going back in the area that's had 3 recent ops and risks damaging the nerve further, so surgeon thinks he could cut a tendon from other fingers and attach to ruptured fingers (you have two tendons apparently), complicated isn't it.

Anyway this would mean being in plaster for the next year! Which apart from not being fun wouldn't do the hand any good so surgeon is going to do some research and see if it's possible to combine all the ops!

So today I had the best ever naked hand shower LOL....and if you see me at crop don't ask to see the hand cos I'm not showing anyone it is totally gross and makes me feel sick looking at it!

Last night we noticed Lucky's paws had swollen up and she could barely walk! just as she seemed to be responding to the cushings drugs, so off to vets this morning and the vet is mystified as to whats is happening, so she's going in tomorrow for more tests, poor little love never makes a fuss, it is absolutley heartbreaking, seeing her like this and not being able to get to the bottom of it.

I love this photo of Lucky taken last summer before all her problems started, she really is the sweetest, most gentle little girl.....

 

Ruby

So Ruby the foster greyhound arrived Sunday evening and was very stressed and unsettled after being taken from her family (wife has walked out, leaving husband to cope with kids and dogs whilst trying to work, so he sadly had to return Ruby back to gap after 3 years) and travelling for 6 hours in 4 different  cars down to us. We introduced her to each of our dogs one at a time and no one so much as growled at her.

The first night she was a little restless but since then has settled down so well, she is now very relaxed and I have to say the perfect house guest. Ruby is very affectionate and gentle and loves having her tummy tickled Someone is going to get themselves a beautiful hound. I can't think she'll be here long as there have already been some enquiries about her. Tried to get a good photo but as usual failed LOl. 

Ruby is the one next to the tele...

Have also done another digi LO of Ben on his 5th birthday in December using Dawn Inksips kit making tracks.

Swelling of fingers has reduced alot but the pain continues to be awful, hip is much better just a tad tender now.

3 hospital appts this week, deep joy, so not looking forward to the camera down my tummy tomorrow, shall be mighty relieved when this week is over BUT I have papermaze crop on Saturday to look forward to.

Sue x