Catching Up
As usual...
Denny had knee surgery on Tuesday, Dinky and I have reached an understanding on her medications and I missed all the excitement at work.
The surgery Denny had on his left knee for a job-related injury back in 2004 turned out pretty well, so when his "good" knee started giving him trouble last fall, he went back to the same orthopedic surgeon to see if the damage could be repaired. Long story short, he had surgery last Tuesday and is now resting and healing at home. He has been staying pretty close to bed, much to the delight of Punkin and Bunny, so before I head out to work each noon, I leave him with a cooler of beverages and one of cold packs as well as snacks and sandwiches within easy reach. After three separate surgeries on his knees, we are getting this post-surgical care down cold.
Speaking of cold--Denny asked me to pack a couple of gallon-sized ziploc bags with snow--instead of ice--to use as cold packs on his knee. I was sceptical at first but the procedure is working quite well. And since we have such an abundant supply of snow at the moment, it is easier than making tray after tray of ice cubes. (I could do that outside if the temperatures were at zero or below but at our present moderate temperatures, it would take too long.)
As for Dinky--she looks and acts so normally, I keep thinking there has to be some mistake in her diagnosis. But I am trying to carry out the home-care instructions I have the best I can. Even with Denny's help, we had real trouble giving Dinky her subcutaneous Tagament injection. Even though I was using a 22-gauge needle, Dinky would cry and twist and flinch--not a happy scene at all. So I asked (and got the go-ahead) to switch her to oral Pepcid every other day. Dinky gets a quarter-tablet, washed down with a spritz of water--ever so much easier than jabbing at her with a needle.
But there is no substitute for the sub-Q fluids. Researching on-line through the great CRF web-site, I found recommendations on needles for giving fluids and was able place an order on-line. I have been wanting a small but effective needle for "doing fluids" for years now, so perhaps this will be helpful. Until my order arrives, though, I still have to deal with Dinky. She is so fidgety that I decided to use the 18-gauge needle, even though it is larger and one presumes more uncomfortable, it delivers the payload faster, so less time spent clutching Dinky and trying to calm her. She has been pretty good, actually, even though she lets me know she doesn't like it.
During my days' off, I missed the biggest news story of the year thus far... Shoot-out at the Airport... Can't say I feel left out, even though all the action took place on the other side of the runway from our facility. Guess there are some good points about not being stationed in the terminal building. I'm looking forward to seeing what the local papers will have to say about this next week.
I also (finally) finished giving The House of Many Cats a face-lift. Now if I can find the time to update and finish the individual pages.
Denny had knee surgery on Tuesday, Dinky and I have reached an understanding on her medications and I missed all the excitement at work.
The surgery Denny had on his left knee for a job-related injury back in 2004 turned out pretty well, so when his "good" knee started giving him trouble last fall, he went back to the same orthopedic surgeon to see if the damage could be repaired. Long story short, he had surgery last Tuesday and is now resting and healing at home. He has been staying pretty close to bed, much to the delight of Punkin and Bunny, so before I head out to work each noon, I leave him with a cooler of beverages and one of cold packs as well as snacks and sandwiches within easy reach. After three separate surgeries on his knees, we are getting this post-surgical care down cold.
Speaking of cold--Denny asked me to pack a couple of gallon-sized ziploc bags with snow--instead of ice--to use as cold packs on his knee. I was sceptical at first but the procedure is working quite well. And since we have such an abundant supply of snow at the moment, it is easier than making tray after tray of ice cubes. (I could do that outside if the temperatures were at zero or below but at our present moderate temperatures, it would take too long.)
As for Dinky--she looks and acts so normally, I keep thinking there has to be some mistake in her diagnosis. But I am trying to carry out the home-care instructions I have the best I can. Even with Denny's help, we had real trouble giving Dinky her subcutaneous Tagament injection. Even though I was using a 22-gauge needle, Dinky would cry and twist and flinch--not a happy scene at all. So I asked (and got the go-ahead) to switch her to oral Pepcid every other day. Dinky gets a quarter-tablet, washed down with a spritz of water--ever so much easier than jabbing at her with a needle.
But there is no substitute for the sub-Q fluids. Researching on-line through the great CRF web-site, I found recommendations on needles for giving fluids and was able place an order on-line. I have been wanting a small but effective needle for "doing fluids" for years now, so perhaps this will be helpful. Until my order arrives, though, I still have to deal with Dinky. She is so fidgety that I decided to use the 18-gauge needle, even though it is larger and one presumes more uncomfortable, it delivers the payload faster, so less time spent clutching Dinky and trying to calm her. She has been pretty good, actually, even though she lets me know she doesn't like it.
During my days' off, I missed the biggest news story of the year thus far... Shoot-out at the Airport... Can't say I feel left out, even though all the action took place on the other side of the runway from our facility. Guess there are some good points about not being stationed in the terminal building. I'm looking forward to seeing what the local papers will have to say about this next week.
I also (finally) finished giving The House of Many Cats a face-lift. Now if I can find the time to update and finish the individual pages.
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