Home, Sweet Home (I Am Loved)

So this afternoon, we picked Bailey up from her surgery at VSS. She's a little bit sedated, and on a lot of medications: painkillers, antibiotics, antacids, tranquilizers, and a couple more. It's quite the cocktail :)

Bear's quite the trooper...she wanted to share some pictures of her ordeal, so I decided it would be alright for her to blog, just this once...

Here's a reminder of my St. Patty's Day cast before surgery! Erin Go Bragh!


The next couple days where a whirl...so I got lucky with my early appointment, but then Mom and Dad just left me there! I didn't know what to do. Everyone was so nice, and I slept overnight in a new crate. The next morning, they woke me up and shaved me - I didn't like that very much :( They put a needle in my arm, and I started getting very sleepy...I woke up, slept in the new crate again, and the next thing I knew, Mom and Dad were back! I was very happy to see them!

Sitting by Dad on the way home (my parents brought Renzo to make me feel safe - I let him sniff my new cast a little bit)


Check out my new purple polka-dot cast! (But please ignore my shaved butt...that's embarrassing)


Exhausted after a long day...


Maybe if I pretend, I can still fit under the couch?


Dangit Mom, you woke me up!


In two weeks, we'll go back to get the sutures removed. Dr. Anderson will check me out, and then I'll get another new bandage. Sometime after that, I have to go back for more radiographs to make sure everything's alright, and then maybe I'll get my cast off soon? Mom and Dad are telling me it should be off by May, if I'm lucky :) It's not too bad - I've got my cool new cast (see? I can be trendy, too!) and I get to take my pills in Velveeta...it's pretty gross for Mom and Dad, but they know it's the easiest way to get me to take my medicine ;) They also told me that there are a lot of people out there who care an awful lot about me, so I just wanted to say thank you for your prayers and good thoughts. It means so much to me to know that people are thinking about me and making sure my Mom and Dad are doing ok, too :)

X-Rays

These aren't Bailey's but look pretty much the same.

Here, you can see where the tibia has broken away (beneath the patella). It's still attached to the tendon that runs over the patella, and needs to be reattached.



Example of what Dr. Anderson will do during the surgery to correct the break:


Bailey will have a permanent pin in her leg - I wonder if she'll know when it's gonna rain? ;)

Small Miracles

First thing this morning, I called Veterinary Specialist Services (VSS) to see when we could schedule Bailey's consultation, which is required for surgery. Our vet, Dr. Britt, let us know that it wasn't uncommon for it to take a while to get in to a specialist, as they're frequently backed up. When I called, I was told the earliest we could get in would be April 8 - three weeks from now. My heart dropped. I didn't think it would really be THAT long.

I let the receptionist know that Dr. Britt had encouraged us to get in as soon as possible, and because BaileyBear is still growing and her injury could affect her growth plates, we really needed to get in sooner, if at all possible. She took down my number at work and promised to talk to the surgeon to see what we could work out.

At 10:21 AM, my phone rang. The surgeon had a cancellation today, and if we could be there at 11:45 AM, the time slot was ours. Well, I work downtown, and knew that the process of getting Bailey and getting out to Manchester & 141 for this appointment might be pushing it, but I took it anyway.

Again, I hauled ass home, and Mr. P met me there. We got out to VSS with plenty of time to spare, and waited our turn for our consultation, understanding that we'd have to come back in a couple of days for surgery.

Bailey was simply the life of the center - she wanted to love on EVERYONE who would let her! Lori was the vet tech we worked with, and Bailey acted like she was a long lost friend. When Dr. Anderson came in, he used a model to show Bailey's injury, and explained what he would be doing to fix it. Then, to our greatest surprise, he said that if we would be willing to leave Bailey at VSS today, we wouldn't be charged for tonight's overnight stay, and she'd be first on the list for an operation TOMORROW morning!

Bailey's at VSS tonight, has her surgery tomorrow morning, stays at VSS again tomorrow night, and comes home on Wednesday. She'll be in a cast for 4-8 weeks with a couple of follow-up visits, but I swear someone was smiling down on our little family today.

This surgery is definitely a bite to the pocketbook, but I know Bailey's in capable hands and will be treated very well. It was hard to come home today and not have her here to greet me :(

They say that bad things happen in 3's. Bailey's accident was our number 3 over the course of a week, and definitely the one that hit us hardest. After our three bad things, I feel so blessed that Bailey will be taken care of this quickly. She's brought such a light to our lives - I can't imagine what it would be like without her. Please keep her in your puppy prayers - we'll know how surgery went tomorrow evening.

Sorry for the lack of pictures - I've had a little too much to deal with lately. Hopefully I'll get some post-op shots of my pretty little girl soon :)

How We Spent Our Saturday

As you all know, we are obsessed with our BaileyBear. And today we have been given the chance to prove it.

This morning, Bailey was in hyper mode, and ended up landing wrong after a jump off the couch. Squealing ensued in a way I've never heard before. Her back left leg looked like she all of a sudden had two knees...not good. We hauled ass over to Webster Groves Animal Hospital, and our "emergency" prompted a 30 minute wait. (Yes, I was frustrated, but it's not like we really had any other options.)

We happened to get lucky, because Bailey's lovely vet, Dr. Britt, was on call today, and was able to see us. She and the vet tech laid Bailey on her side to check out her leg...after some poking and prodding, she let us know they needed to do an x-ray, and that Bailey needed to be sedated. She would call when they were done.

About an hour later, Dr. Britt gave Mr. P a call, letting us know we could come pick Bailey up, and she'd talk to us there. We rushed back to get our little Bear, and were led into the back room. Not an exam room, the actual holding area where sick animals are kenneled and staff have computers to look at results, etc.

Ultimately, Bailey has an "avulsion of her tibial tuberosity." I still don't understand it all, because I'm no veternarian, and medical terms escape me. What I have gathered is that 1) it's basically worse than a broken leg, 2) because she's a puppy and her growth plates are still growing, it requires a couple of surgeries (done by a specialist), and 3) there is nothing we wouldn't do for this dog.

Mr. P and I are both pretty upset. While we know it's pretty traumatic for Miss B, it certainly hurts our hearts to know that she's in pain. The specialist isn't open until Monday, and it sucks that we can't call until then. Hopefully, because she's a growing puppy, they'll get us in as soon as possible. Until then, she's bandaged and on pain meds.

Because I know this requires pictures, here's BaileyBear with her beautiful green bandage. Renzo (the stuffed toy dog, her favorite) and Hedgie (her oh-so-creatively named hedgehog) are keeping guard over their friend.





It's an extra bummer because Bailey was supposed to have another fun weekend, and now she's stuck at home with her overprotective parents.

Anyway, keep little Bear in your thoughts. It's not easy for any of us, but especially her right now. She whimpers a little bit here and there, and we have to carry her outside to the bathroom and make sure her bandage stays dry. All we want is for her to feel better.

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On a side note, not to be forgotten, it's my mom's birthday - Happy Birthday, Mom! We love you (and your "Little Bit" can't wait to be healthy enough to see you again).

Thank You, Simon!

"That was a mess!" Simon is yet again my favorite judge on American Idol. There's something so refreshing about his sarcastic honesty :)

As much as I'm not looking to start something...I HAVE to get this off my chest. David Archuleta is making me crazy! I know he's the "front runner" on American Idol, but I don't understand what's so great about him. Seriously, people. It's an ACT. He's FULL OF IT.

Look at tonight...the pre-song interview story. This whole shy-kid bit is getting old. He acts all "woe is me, I'm the cute little shy kid, I'm so scared" and gets on stage and morphs into this completely different person. WHAT is THAT??? He's been singing/on stage way too long to be shy...GAH!

I think my frustration started when he ruined "Imagine" - a personal favorite. Don't go changing a good song! Sure, I'm a little thankful that he messed up "We Can Work it Out" on tonight's show, but you have to admit that if ANY of the older contestants had forgotten the words, all of the judges would've ripped them new ones instead of just Simon.

Listen to his songs, and compare him to the originals. It's pretty predictable: when David "changes" the song, he simply reverses the high and low notes from the original. Show me something a little more unique or creative, and maybe I'll change my tune (pun intended?)...

I know a lot of folks are rooting for him...if you can explain the appeal, please enlighten me. I just don't get it, and I'm getting sick of it :(

The good news is I got Mr. P to watch American Idol with me tonight :) And, as I sit here typing my rant, he's laughing at me. I'm glad I provide entertainment to someone!

Getting Your Hands Dirty - Turkey Meatloaf

I'm trying to make the commitment to myself to cook more often - I'm not horrible at it, but Mr. P is much better (add that to the list of reasons why I married him)! Last night, I did a quick fridge-raid when I got home to see what I could come up with, and decided to give a turkey meatloaf a shot. Mr. P called to see if he needed to bring anything home, and I let him know I was experimenting. (It should be noted that whenever I cook something "untested" there is cause for panic...I'm the first to admit that I've come up with some doozies in the past...) Ever the loving husband, Mr. P kept his cool, offered a couple of suggestions (which I promptly, stubbornly, and quite confidently shot down), and prepared for the ride :)

I wound up with a wonderful result, if I do say so myself, and intend on repeating with some variations. I guess I have impulse to thank for an easy new recipe (and my leftovers for lunch today)!

Turkey Meatloaf

1 lb. ground turkey breast
1 c bread crumbs
1 onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 egg (or substitute with 2 egg whites), lightly beaten
2 tbsp ketchup
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
½ tsp garlic
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp sage
½ tsp oregano

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease loaf pan (or glass baking dish).

Lightly sauté the onion and bell pepper – just enough to make the onion sweat. Set aside to cool. In large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients, wet ingredients, and ground turkey. Knead mixture by hand for even distribution. (A food processor can be used, but the outcome will be slightly different.)

Form the mixture into a loaf and place in pan. Bake until the meat temperature is 170 degrees – approximately 40 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

We had a salad and fresh green beans on the side, but the comfort-food-queen in me knows that this would be best served with mashed potatoes and dirty green beans...just not quite as healthy :)

Snow Day!

I went in to work early this morning, before the snow had even started. (There were some flurries on the ground, but nothing much.) At noon, I decided to grab some paperwork to take home with me, and slowly made my way through the gloriously uncleared streets and highways of St. Louis ;) Nearly an hour later, as I was pulling on to our street (normally a 15 minute drive), my phone rang...it was my boss. Our Pres. decided to close the office, and she wanted to let me know that I didn't need to work all afternoon if I didn't want to :)

So...since Mr. P didn't have to work either, we had a family snow day! And finally got some fun pictures of our SnowDog, Miss Bailey:

Posing...


Galloping...


Pouncing...


Acting tough...

And, after a very busy afternoon (we were outside for almost two hours, with a break in there somewhere), an extra sleepy puppy. Notice the giraffe tongue?

We had so much fun this afternoon :) Part of me wants to do it all over again tomorrow, but one of the best parts about today was not having to take vacation time! I do love snow - I just hate having to drive in it. And there can never be enough playtime with a puppy outside in winter...