Sir Ailbe Knight's Journey - Day 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42

Handsome Boy

5:45 AM - Wake up (Med time)
6:15 AM - Out for a walk/run for my morning break
6:45 AM - Breakfast for mom and me

Well, here I go again without writing on a daily basis.  There really isn't much to keep repeating over and over again about my long days here.  So, I'll highlight the week as best as I can.

SUNDAY (Nov 16, 2014):  The most important thing today is going to Mass.  I really look forward to my Sunday obligation.  The Priest here is so funny and his Homily's are interesting to listen to.  During my wound care this morning thou the Nurse wasn't happy with the way the foot looks.  So, she took a picture of it.  Since this blog is mainly about Ailbe I won't show it here on my blog.  Ailbe is still doing great and the mornings have been pretty cold.  I'm so glad that he doesn't mind the weather.  In fact he wants to walk/run around the track while I rather have him hurry up for I can get back to my room to warm up.  The day just went as usual -- naps for swelling, etc .. I did go to bed by 10 PM after Ailbe's last outing.

MONDAY (Nov 17, 2014):  All I can say is another long and boring day.  I'm still not liking the cold weather.  I got to get brave too stay outside and let Ailbe take his longer walks.  All my nose does is run when its cold... BURR.  Nothing really exciting today except for BINGO at 7 PM.  I won $9 and with the money I have I do have enough to get the Thomas Kinkade Christmas Clock.  So, I'll pick that up later this week.  Lights out at 10 PM.  I'm so use to going to bed at 2 AM, but I can't do that here because they're waking me up at the crack of dawn...

TUESDAY (Nov 18, 2014):  What a great day it was today.  Kate came and brought my mail.  I had some extra Retail books and I took her to lunch in the Hospital Cafeteria.  I told her that I like their subs and it really didn't matter what we had.  So, we had the subs and she liked them too.  I had their salami, ham and pepperoni sub which is really good.  Since I was concerned about my foot looking bad I had an appt with the Podiatry Clinic to have them look at it.  She said it was OK, but decided to do a debridement of the wound.  She said it will help with the wound to close.  I don't see the surgeon till December 10.  At the rate its going it looks like I'll be here till mid Jan to maybe February.  Its like talking to a brick wall with the Ward Doc and Staff.  They have this impression that once the cast comes off I'll be back to walking and driving my car.  The 2nd phase is the camboot with partial weight bearing.  Also, I have to wait till the ankle fusion takes before I can do full weight bearing.  This will also determine when I can drive a vehicle again.  I also have a bad left leg which I can't hop or stand on.  They said I have to learn to stand and cook using my wheelchair... I have to usually climb my kitchen ladder to get into the upper cabinets.  I won't be able to do that for awhile... grrrrrrrr I also would have to use my scooter and wheelchair to get too my car.... How the heck can I take a wheelchair thru gravel...  They had the nerve to say "Why can't your children take you to future appts, etc since you can't drive?"  Very simple people -- They can't take a day off from work to do it.  The VA will not transport its Vets unless they're 100 miles out.  I'm only 70 miles out.  Also, the doors in my house are narrow and I can't get a wheelchair thru them.  Since I can't hop w/ the walker I don't know how they think I'll manage on my own.  I would have to sleep in my recliner since I can't get into my room.  I wouldn't even be able to do laundry because the door is small.  All of these issues and I can't get them to understand that if I can't manage on my own then I'm up a creek without a paddle.  At least Ailbe is there to help me with picking up dropped items.  It will be awhile before I can walk with him by my side.  Again, lights out at 10 PM.

Thomas Kinkade Christmas Clock

WEDNESDAY (Nov 19, 2014):  Today's highlight was getting my clock from the Retail Store.  The only out of pocket expense was the batteries and they were on sale.  The hourly carols music is great and the sounds are light and not overpowering.  What's great is that this clock can be used year round by just removing the batteries for the music part.  I got the clock with the Retail money I got from the Elk's Club.  It's still quite cold out and I still don't have the courage to do the longer walks with him on the track.  I just got to get use too it... BURR  Tonight we had Turkey BINGO.  I forgot about the Elk's money which I used for the clock and I still had BINGO money left from my other winnings.  I have enough to get the Thomas Kinkade lattern.  The biggest highlight of today was the Thanksgiving Dinner we had in our Dinning Room.  I had candied sweet potatoes (like my dads), stuffing, ham, turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans w/ ham bits, roll and pumpkin pie.  I hope we will have something similar on Thanksgiving Day or its going to be a crappy meal.  Ailbe was gone from 8 AM to 7 PM today for his grooming session.  Man did I miss him.  He looks so handsome with his #5 blade clip (1st photo for this blog page).  I hope he can stand the cold snap we're going to have for the next few nights.  I'm so use to the weather I had in AZ.  I'm not use to temps in the 20s or 30s plus the teens.  I do have a winter jacket and bought from the Retail Store a hat/scarf/glove set.  I'm glad I did because they do keep me warm.  After BINGO and taking him out for a walk I went back to my room to thaw out... LOL   I watched a few programs before heading back to the cold outdoors for the final outing for Ailbe.  Then it was lights out at 11 PM (Nurses were late getting the meds out).

THURSDAY (Nov 20, 2014):  YEA!!!  My black polka dots came in to decorate my scooter up as a real Ladybug.  I had so much fun decorating it.  It's still cold out and I don't know why Ailbe loves it.  He just wants to stay out when I want to go back in.  What a silly boy I have.  I did my usual day of naps for swelling and taking Ailbe out for "quick" walks/runs.  I also watched some programs with a very slow internet today.  Then it was off for a final run at 10 PM and lights out at 11 PM.

 FRIDAY (Nov 21, 2014):  Today we had a Holiday Bazaar in the Hospital Mall.  I saw some beautiful stuff, but overpriced on most of the stuff.  I did enjoy the Empanada's thou.  I bought five of them and they were delicious.  I also went to the Retail Store and got my lattern.  Went back to room for a break and the one I bought had a broken glass frame and so I had too return it.  The 2nd one was perfect and I also had to buy batteries for it too.  It looked beautiful on tonight.  The flickering candle look was so awesome. I finally did buy something from one of the vendors thou.  It was made by one of my nurses.  Its a stunning Christmas Wreath.  In fact I can also use it for Easter by just adding a stuffed bunny rabbit or baby chick to the center.  It will only be used inside.  So, Ailbe and I had a fun day on the scooter.  It was so hard to get around with the crowds.  Ailbe had to learn to stay close to the scooter.  He loves being a little bit to far out and so I had to use the traffic lead to keep him close.  Also, Brooke from Mutts With A Mission sent me the fliers and business cards.  I brought them over to the Patient Reps Office where I had a lovely conversation and she LOVED Ailbe.  She couldn't believe how calm he was.  She was excited to know that there was a program out there to help with the Vets looking into getting a PTSD dog.   A dog that they train for their own needs.  I hope Brooke can generate some business from the VA Hospital here.  Ailbe's pic taken the day before I went into the hospital is in the flier.  I kept a few for myself since I'm always bumping into Vets who want to know where I got my service dog.  Most of the Vets are in need of PTSD, TBI and other mental disorder service dogs.  The VA doesn't recognise the Mental Disorder service dogs under their ADI protocol, but do allow Vets to find their own.  Tonight we had BINGO in the "den" for the short term patients.  I won $4 for two games.  After watching my show I took Ailbe out for one more walk in the freezing COLD.  It was lights out at 11 PM.

SATURDAY (Nov 22, 2014):  I took Ailbe out at 6 AM to a blast of Artic air.  It was 18 degrees outside.  It didn't take him long to go pee.  We then went back to the room.  Ailbe isn't hungry and I don't know why he's lost his appetite today.  He didn't eat his breakfast till almost 11 AM and dinner he just picked at it.  So, I'll feed him later then 6 AM for a few days.  He has no problems with his packages.  Yesterday he would only do one and I stayed out in the frigid cold for a half hour twice last evening with zip, nada.  He did his package droppings around 9:30 AM.  I had to make him do three laps before he dropped his load.  I watched a few shows, but the internet was constanly booting me off.... grrrrr   Well, its off to bed... Ailbe is all snuggled in his crate and I'm shutting down for another day ...