Tiny steps

As I slept on the night before surgery, a bobcat walked along the side our house, within feet of our bedroom windows. Perhaps he read that I'd said such nice things about him the other day.

The next morning, we had to be at the hospital before dawn had broken so I didn't get see his tracks in our trail. But, my symbol of courage had been there - as this photo shows.

This morning (one day post-surgery), Shyla and I went for walk in the forest. I had a sling on my arm and haze of confusion in my brain. Oh my, the pain meds can addle my brain in a huge way. For example, I forgot my gaiters and got snow down my boots!

Shyla and I didn't walk far but we had fun along the way. She kept stopping to check on slow-poke KB.

I was going so slowly that she finally turned around to watch me carefully as I caught up.

I expect that helping me recover will be a maturing experience for Shyla. It was during my recovery from a major surgery that I felt like K and I became much closer. K seemed to suddenly feel responsible for watching out for me - and we became a team - each looking out for the other. Today, I felt like Shyla was starting to see that I needed her as much as she needed me.

Then, we came home and relaxed by the fire. Because I have this icewater machine that constantly circulates ice water around my shoulder - the fire is very welcome for keeping the rest of me warm. R loves the fire too - he likes to lie on the hearth as close to it as possible.

The quilt made by my friend, Jo, is also very welcome - it keeps me warm and reminds me of a wonderful friend.

My main companion by the fire has been the other patient in our family - R - who is recovering from elbow dysplasia surgery. He is still puppy-like in many ways but also has developed the maturity to know when hanging out close to me is wonderful!

My post-surgery situation is as expected- I am drowsy and dazed from all the pain medicine. But, if I reduce the pain medicine, then the pain is overwhelming. So, there's no escape from the pain pills yet.

I apologize in advance because it might be a while before I can leave comments on your blogs. Typing is very tough, and I know that the start of recovery involves tiny steps forward, interspersed with some setbacks. Despite all that knowledge, I felt reasonably upbeat today, enjoying my Duo and the world around us.