Weekend Update

It's been a busy couple of weeks. Lots of things going on, most of them health-related. Nothing serious, but a host of little nagging things.

One of our dogs has damaged a tendon in her knee. To avoid surgery on her, the vet recommended three weeks of restricted activity. Basically, she's only allowed to go outside on a leash to take care of business. That's a big change for her - and her sister. They're both used to spending substantial amounts of time outdoors, happily chasing squirrels, deer, birds, bugs, clouds ... anything that moves. The enforced inactivity is driving them - and us - crazy. She goes back for a follow-up exam in two weeks. If the tendon has healed on it's own, great. If not, surgery, a cast, the collar of shame, and all that good stuff. So we're hoping all this short term aggravation will prevent a longer term period of real aggravation.

At the same time, I've been having problems with my knee so I visited the orthopedist. His verdict - live with it or get it replaced. Oh, there's a few things we can try -- activity modification (cut out the walks I enjoy so much and instead spend time on an elliptical trainer or recumbent bike - indoors...boring), mobility assistance (brace, cane, or walker - just like an old person), pain meds and ice, etc. -- but structurally there's nothing that can be done. It's already been operated on three times, but more surgery can't repair six decades of wear and tear. I'm not ready for an artificial joint just yet, so we'll apply Shiners internally as needed and if that helps.

Last but not least, my 94-year-old-father has been feeling lethargic of late. We figured it was just old age, but when he went in for his physical the doctor found out he had an extremely low heart rate - 36 beats per minute. Turns out the chambers in his heart are firing out of sync, so he needs a pacemaker. Fortunately, implanting one has become a fairly routine procedure. The patient isn't even fully anesthetized; he's just given a local and some sedation. He'll stay in the hospital overnight, but if all goes as planned he goes in one day and goes home the next. Thankfully, there's nothing wrong with his mental attitude. His first question was "How soon after the operation can I have a beer?"

Just to complicate things, a stupid mother cardinal decided to build her nest in a potted plant on our front porch. There's four eggs in the nest, and we've had to put up a temporary barrier directing people around to the garage door, which in turn gets the dogs excited, including the one we're trying to keep still. Fun and games...

Couple all of the above with kid-related end-of-school activities and visits from out-of-town friends (12 people for dinner tonight) and we've been hopping. And it looks like this will keep up all summer. Once we get through the next week we've got a backlog of things to do around the house, vehicle juggling (our daughter turns 16 on a few weeks, which means she'll get her driver's license, which means she'll want a car...), then summer camps, vacations, trips, etc.

So much for a nice, quiet, peaceful summer...