What a week!

There are so many words to describe this past week ... stressful, painful, frustrating, are just a few. And to think it all began with a trip to the dog park at Conestee.

It was Saturday, November 4th, and we decided to take Brunel to go play with his friends at the park. Since I'm scared of dogs, hubby always takes him in and hangs out with him. I tried once, and stayed down at the seat end, but even then, when all the dogs came running I was nervous, so now I stay in the car and either watch them or read my book. Hubby's normally there with him 45 minutes to an hour, and he has a bunch of doggie pals that he plays with, so I was surprised when hubby comes hobbling back about 15 minutes later, his face screwed up in pain.

Apparently, Brunel and some buddies were basically doing zoomies around the park, and on one lap, his pittie friend ran straight into Mark, headbutting his knee.

We drove home and dropped off Brunel, and I took hubby to the Bon Secours Emergency Dept, They were brilliant, but his x-rays weren't. They showed he had a Tibial Plateau Fracture, they said it was quite rare in the position he has it. Of course, when he messes up, he messes up good!

They splinted him, made him the proud owner of a pair of crutches and gave him an orthopaedic referral, but when we called on Monday, we were shocked to find out that the place they wanted to send him to couldn't even see him until after the middle of next week.

We called around and Steadman Hawkins looked at the x-rays and said they could see him tomorrow (November 13th), and we were horrified that it would take that long for him to see someone. 

Then, in talking with Hunter, the owner of Studio Rejuvenate in Greer, where we go for our massages, he suggested CONA and said it was a walk in orthopaedic office. The next morning, Wednesday, we were at CONA. More x-rays, and a new splint, and a referral for a CT scan that afternoon. They also set him up with an appointment to see Dr Gao, the surgeon, on Monday. We cancelled the Steadman Hawkins appointment.

The CT scan went well but showed a more precise picture of the damage and that it was more severe than first thought. When Dr Gao saw the scans, he had his office cancel the appointment for tomorrow, and had them have Mark come in last Friday.

That visit went well, with surgery scheduled for this upcoming Friday, and Mark came away with yet another splint. This last one is adjustable and (Mark says) much more comfortable.

Unfortunately, not content with the knee injury, on the Thursday evening, Mark decided to fall off the front step outside, and it was a struggle between the 2 of us to get him back upright. The crutches actually helped. We were able to secure them against some bricks and leverage him up bit by bit. 

Suffice to say, my blood pressure has been having a fun time of it because I've been worried about him, and then trying to keep up with all the running around.

I am thankful we have insurance as we are already almost $1000 out of pocket, but we have an additional policy that should cover the out of pocket expenses.

Obviously, this has brought the whole house remodelling to a halt. There is nothing in the hallway bathroom, but 2 holes in the ground. He has to cut out the copper water pipes and redo with PEX, and replace a piece of rotted flooring ... and he's not going to be physically able to do either for about 3 months now. Without those 2 basics, the installation of my new walk-in tub, the new sink/vanity and the reinstall of the loo, can't go ahead, so the tub will stay in the box, on the pallet, in the living room for a few more weeks :(

It has also played havoc with my pedalling as I've been exhausted from all that's going on., and I need to get back to it. I have no pedalling schedule anymore, it's just been so hectic. I guess I need to go and pedal as soon as I finish this!

Brunel has been mellow all week, daddy is home but daddy is his play buddy and doesn't want to play. We took him to doggy day care on Friday for the day, so that he had some play time. We're going to have him stay at the Pet Hotel for a couple of days this weekend, so that he's not here for the first 48 hours after Mark comes home from surgery. That makes one less stress that I have to worry about, as he wants to snuggle up to daddy like he used to, and it's constantly causing Mark pain at the mo when he rolls against him.

Today has been pretty good. 

I started my day with "Songs of Praise" on the telly, and then BBC 1 had "War Horse" showing so we watched that. I LOVE that movie, and after watching it a few years ago, I read the book and then saw the stage show. Watching it again was just as good as the first time.

Then we drove to Clemson to deliver an AVON order to one of my customers, and I took all back roads (I don't do highways or interstates) so we had a nice little meander through Central, along by the railway line. It was relaxing, and Brunel had fun hanging his head out of the window (he can't get far as he has his doggie seat belt on) and watching everything go by.

My car ran well, Just goes to show what a new radiator has done for her!

Anyway, that's all folks! Have a great upcoming week!