Reality

Think the reality of Buddy’s injury is starting to sink in. Six months feels like a long time. And it could be longer depending on how his rehab goes.

No camps, no lessons, no clinics, no competitions, no trips, no adventures. Well not for a while yet. These are the things that light me up and make us, well us.

Once again the goals that I set at the beginning of the year seem very far away again.

Please don’t get me wrong, I’m also very grateful that he will be OK. The relief is still very much there.

I know I’m not the only person who’s going through this or has been through it. But it’s the first time I’ve been through this with him. I didn’t have this much time off when I broke my ankle.
Covid did put pay to so many things so 2020 wasn’t a great year for us. It really is true that it’s quicker to heal a bone than a ligament.

I can reframe it till the cows come home. Right now I’m sad, frustrated and disappointed. Again. So taking time to work through those emotions. I’m sure there will be many more ups and downs to come.

Looks like I am going to have to up the cheerleader role again and help others shine. Starting tomorrow by commentating at Poplar Park at the RC ODE.

As you can see Buddy is clearly traumatised by the whole experience. My oversized Labrador is enjoying the snacks.

Good deed

I did a good deed today. Ended up being a bit of an adventure too. I sold a jacket. The buyer wanted it for a showing show tomorrow. She was getting a bit stressed as she wasn’t sure how she could get to me to pick it up.

As she wasn’t too far away, I said I’d drop it off. Wasn’t expecting it to be one of those ‘round the houses’ kind of journeys. Still we finally met in a supermarket car park. And she was very pleased with the jacket. So all ended well.

V-Day

Today has been V-Day for Buddy. After nearly 5 weeks, he’s still not right. So I took him to a lameness locator clinic being held by my Vets. I was fascinated by the process (mixed with mild panic, heart-racing anxiety and a sick feeling most of the time).

Let’s start with the good news. Buddy has sustained an injury that he will recover from. We will still be able to do the things we were doing. He’s going to need some further treatment, fancy shoes and a lot of rehabilitation.

Now the bad news. It could take 6-8 months for him to recover fully. Now we all know that patience isn’t my strong point. Looks like I going to have to embrace a slower pace with my little boy for the coming months.

Buddy was a model patient. He took it all in his stride. Given he’s had nearly 3 weeks off work, I wasn’t sure what to expect when they lunged him. He was as good as gold. Even in the torrential rain.

When the three sensors he was wearing showed low grade lameness in all 4 legs, my sick feeling turned into nearly vomiting in the corner. More data was needed. So more trotting for Buddy.

We knew his off fore was the issue. The data confirmed this. After 3 nerve blocks, his lameness was improved by 72%! And the hind leg lameness was all but gone.

X-rays were clear. So scans next. They showed an injury to one of his ligaments. It looks like an old injury that had been aggravated. But it was healing so the time out was helping.

It was a very long day. Quite the emotional rollercoaster too. I’m so relieved as I had 101 possible outcomes running through my head.

Basically, Buddy has twisted his ankle and needs time to recover fully before we can get going again.

He has a few more people in his fan club, loved the snacks and got a free Willy wash while he was sedated.

The road to recovery starts tomorrow. Tonight I’m shattered…

Close up

Thought I’d take a nice picture of Buddy in his smart rain coat. He had other ideas and thought he’d get up close and personal.

I was reminded of the saying ‘no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing’ today. Went out to poo pick having taken my coat off cause I was getting too hot. As I reached the furthest point from the yard, the heavens opened.

Let’s just say I was very soggy by the time I’d finished. I can’t help but laugh when the rain is running down my nose and back.

At least one of us was dry.

Iris

How pretty is this iris? It bloomed overnight and greeted me this morning when I went to get the bins in. Oh the glamour.

I was due to have a ‘walk & talk’ this morning. That turned into a ‘sit in sunshine & talk’. Afterwards, I took a moment to look around my garden. So much has bloomed in the sunshine. It seems my garden is solar powered too.

Miles and miles

Well I’m back home after another mammoth weekend. Not sure how many miles I’ve done. Quite honestly, I’m too tired to work it out. Thankfully the M25 was very kind to me today as I headed home.

It was smooth sailing all the way back. Unlike my hair, which looked like I’d been dragged through a hedge. I was back to windows open and being buffeted after the joys of AC yesterday.

Still the kittens were pleased to see me. As you can see they were very keen to leave their sunbathing to say hello!

Staying the extra night meant I got to see Mum again before I left. She’s not doing great so grateful to have been able to see her.

Badminton

Well Badminton 2024 didn’t disappoint. It was a challenging XC course that really shook the pack. Not sure I could have called the top 3 before they started. SJ tomorrow will be exciting!

I’m so glad I made the trip. I often wonder if other people do the slightly bonkers things that I do. I only decided to go on Tuesday.

After yesterday’s mammoth journey, the thought of another one wasn’t as appealing as you’d think. Especially after the Comedy Car started making a weird noise. My lovely Dad lent me his car today. I felt very spoilt in such luxury – AC and a very smooth ride.

The M25 had another sting in the tail. It was closed! I kid you not. Two junctions worth in both direction. Cue several detours there and back. Still made it in good time this morning. And good time back to my parents. Staying here again tonight before heading home. Fingers crossed the M25 is kind going home.

I walked nearly 8 miles today. Not a clue how many miles I’ll have done by the time I get home. Let’s just go with a lot…

M25

Well it took me 5.5 hours to get here, but Mum was really pleased to see me.

One of my more challenging journeys after getting stuck three times. Including once for over an hour on the M25. It definitely deserves its nickname ‘the biggest car park’. It wasn’t the most comfortable in the heat. I wasn’t the only one. The people in the car next to me had an umbrella up over the window. Very resourceful.

I decided to take a detour on my way to Badminton to pop and see my parents. Wasn’t expecting it to add that much time to the journey. Good job I’d decided to break the journey up by staying the night here before heading off tomorrow.

Salvia

I was given this pretty salvia today. I’ve done a little favour for a good friend. This was her way of saying thank you. She also fed me, which is definitely my love language.

We haven’t caught up for a while, not sure either of us was expecting to talk for 4 hours though! The time passed in no time. Love it when that happens. And I’m lucky that it happens a lot.

Toilet humour

Spotted this while I was washing my hands today. I love a bit of toilet humour. And a bit of word play.

I popped to the shop this evening to get some salad. It was slim pickings in there. Guessing the nice weather has encouraged an early start to BBQ season. Anyway, managed to find a house salad box that would work for dinner. After I’d paid for it, I managed to drop the box on the floor. The lady in the queue behind me shouted ‘tossed salad’. Brilliant!