Monday, July 18, 2011

Roxie Tendon Injury, 3 Columbus Trips to the Veterinary Medical Center, and some Vegan food!!!

Roxie: Abrasion on back of leg turned Tendon injury!
Initial injury after 1st set of staples... and Roxie getting all but one back out!
 A few months ago Roxie cut the back of her Left leg around her achilles tendon. I took her to have it stitched and examed to make sure it didn't cut any of the legiments and tendeons. They said it looked fine... They stapled it closed and sent her home... 3 different times because she kept tearing them out...
On her 2nd set of staples with no wrap and a cone to keep her away from the staples.... Problem...
She ended up breaking the very pretty pink cone and getting out the 3rd set of staples...

I'm Free!!!



But the last time they stapled her the Vet also wrapped her leg very tight and told me to leave it that way for 4 days. It was wrapped so tight that I took it off on the 2nd day because it was cutting into the back of her leg. It had also caused a very bad burn/rub injury on the front of her leg... but when I took the wrap off there was something else wrong... she would not put any presure on her leg and when she finally started walking on it again a day of 2 later her hock was all the way to the ground...
Kinda hard to see the wrapped leg... But it was wrapped at length and tight! In three layers...

This is me cutting it off....Because it was leaving abrasions

Front of foot after wrap removed.. This was caused by the wrap!

This is the front view of the damage the wrap caused!

When the wrap was removed the actual original cut is almost done healing... But there is now swelling in the tendon...

This picture is upside down... The bottom part is the muscle in the top of her leg.... and the is the other abrasion caused by the wrap... The one I could see above the wrap.. Just sawing away at her skin...

Took her back to the vet he said she needed surgery on the top part of her leg wear the muscle connects into the tendon... I took her to my Family vet and she said she thought the problem was lower in her leg were the staples had rubbed the tendon and caused the tendon to stretch and maybe rupture but not totally away from each other... So she sent me to a specialist at the Ohio State Animal Veterinary place... But the only appointment they could make me was Neurology.. and she thought there was some nerve damage as well so she said once I got in the door they would also have a Orthopedic surgent look at her....

Well on our first trip we went and seen neurology which said yes she had some nerve damage that may correct its self.... And he said he asked orthopedics... but come to find out he just asked an orthopedic student to look at her... So he came back and told us she need surgery.... The Neurology consult cost $250.00 even after they had told me on the phone that it was only going to be $125.00 for the consult!!! They decided to try to schedule for surgery with Dr. Au and said she would also exam her right before the surgery the next day. I asked a million questions, booked a hotel room, and then he went to mark down on Dr. Au's schedule but come to find out then they didn't have any room for her... and because they had an emergency come in they wouldn't be able to do it at all and Dr. Au's first surgical appointment available would be in 2 WEEKS! O but this needed fixed asap!!! what the heck was there issue?.. I was pissed considering I had drove 5 hours to get here and was promised I would be seen by both for full exams and they charged me double what they initially said... I left and drove home! Swearing...

Alot happened in the next two weeks and Dr. Au would be just as astonished and happy as we were...I had spoke with several Vets again in that 2 weeks. Our family vet for a check up and her vaccinations. Since we were taking her for surgery. Then I called Dr. Fallon.. ( He is our Chicken vet but he also does orthopedics) He said that if it isn't fully cut into and even if it is sometimes it can find itself and heal itself.... and I thought yeah I don't think so with Roxie because her hock was totally dropped... But I had hope...

Trip 2 to Ohio.... We go to see the very nice Orthopedics Specialist (Dr. Au) .. She checked her out and I told her how many consults I had had on her and that they all said something different.. and she looked at the chart and said the last orthopedic person was a student that looked at her... I had been lied to.. again ...so I was livid... considering I was told a specialist had looked at her on my first trip... Come to find out also... It wasn't as bad as we thought it was... Because over that 2 week wait she had started walking on her leg again... her hock had actually started to rise on its own and although she was shaky she was doing great!!! Dr. Au... Said she thought instead of it being tore, that it had just stretched because of the way it was wrapped and because of the staples... She said we would order a brace to support her tendon so it would not have further damage and see if she heals on her own. but there is a possibility that she would still need surgery to shorten them tendon. We  got the mold made and ordered her brace... $125.00 consult charge and $450.00 for a specially made orthopedic brace.... that should be in in 2 to 3 weeks. I was supposed to keep her in her kennel and not let her jump around or run outside... We did stay in Columbus at a dog friendly hotel that night...They pissed me off too... because I was promised a room with a fridge and Microwave.... Was it there .... Hell no and the manager said it would cost extra for that.... Well that not what the last guy said... err.... I hate bait and switch and Columbus was full of it...

at the hotel... Pibbie was excited to be an only dog for the night!

The next morning she had taken over and was relaxing on her mound of blankets while we got ready to go home

She was having an awesome time.. and i hope she left the bed full of Pibble hair so they had to change and wash the whole Damn thing.. considering I was supposed to have a fridge and microwave and I didn't!!! A-holes!

Well over the next 3 weeks the vet and I talked a couple of times... And finally week 4 she got the brace.... But it was made wrong so she had to send it back... So another week and a half later (total weeks to get brace 5 1/2)  we started on our journey back to Ohio State... I had not let her outside at all but I didn't keep her in her kennel all day every day either...

19 miles outside of Columbus Ohio we pull over to use the rest room at a Dairy Queen that was right off the side of the road... I am sitting in the car waiting on John and My cars starts smoking really bad.. Someone yells your car in on fire... and what do you know... it was... It totally burnt... See my other post....

after all that fun... I did finally make it to get her brace.. About an hour after her appointment.. The vet was glad to see she was doing so well and said to make her wear her brace outside and work her way up in time don't just put it on her and leave...

Pibbie looks awesome ine pink so we had to get Pibble Pink!!!!  :)




And then we were on our way to Whole foods and then home...

7/18/2011
To tell you the truth unless we have her out side... She doesn't wear the brace at all....and when she does wear it I am afraid she will jump and hurt her self. but even without the brace she has been doing awesome and now the scar tissue is even shrinking and her tendon may still look a little bit bigger but you can't even really tell she hurt herself if it wasn't for the scars...She had the best temperament all the way through this... Never once did she snap or act irritated with the vets or with messing with her hurt leg.. She did wonderfully!

While we were there on our 3 trips we found a couple of nice places to get vegan food.. They were so yummy but can be a little pricey!

My Fave Place....

Patty Cakes bakery.... Every trip we made we had such scrumptious, lovely, awesome cupcakes and cookies!!! I love this place and if I lived near it I would be broke and weigh 500lbs... lol.... My fave Cup cake.... The lemon cupcake was so awesome and lemony and just one of the best cupcakes i have ever had!!! the flavor was rig ht on and I have yet to match it at home and I have tried several times!
But they also had great Everything cookies, Chocolate chocolate chip cookies, Chocolate chip cookies, Blueberry Crumb Muffins... I don't know what else we had but we had quite a few things!!!


Merry Me Blueberry Muffin

Everything Oatmeal Cookies

Chocolate xo Cookies..I Think

Lovely Lemon.... Is very Lovely YUM!!!!

We also stopped by the Global Gallary Coffee shop and juice bar for half a vegan pizza.. It was pesto with pine nuts and daiya.. It was expensive but really yummy... I have craved that pizza ever since I had it....  (This place isn't all vegan but has vegan options)



Very small but very yummy....


We also tried some vegan muffins from Whole Foods My fave was the Orange Cranberry Muffin... But none of their muffins stand a chance next to Patty Cakes Bakery!



I think we are all glad that Pibbie's leg is doing awesome and that we don't have to make any more trips to Ohio any time soon!!!

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

4th of July: Parade, Food, & the Raptor Rehab

There are horses in the Parade every year.... I have been watching this parade for over 20 years and not one of them have urinated! But This fourth... They ended up stopping and pausing in front on the house and the horse flooded the road! It was awful and funny all at the same time.... so of course thats how our day started...lol

 So on the cooking list for the 4th!
Vegan Chocolate Chip cookies from The Joy of vegan baking (My Faves)

Both Cupcakes recipes from The Joy of vegan baking... The chocolate chocolate cake recipe with an extra 1/2 tsp of dutch processed chocolate... The Vanilla Cupcake recipe with a tsp of vanilla and a little extra vanilla. Then I made Raspberry frosting and Chocolate Peanutbutter Frosting... I think The chocolate frosting was really strong... I icing some of the Vanilla cupcakes with some artificiality clue colored icing.... I made some Raspberry and Blueberry syrup but I didn't have time to drizzle them...


I love the Raspberry Icing... But I liked it on the vanilla more than the chocolate...
A Hawaiian Rhubarb Pineapple Crumble pie... I thought this was really sour.. John liked it... It never got finished.. I through it out....

For dinner I Made Igors Special Pasta from Vegan Vittles )I love that recipe) I also made hotdog sauce and used it as sloppy joes.. John did have some hot dogs though...I just skipped those...

The West Virginia Raptor Rehab
On the 4th the West Virginia Raptor Rescue also came and spoke at the towns celebration. They did a great Job. The person who spoke is also our chickens vet! Dr. Fallon, from Cheat lake animal Hospital
This is Owlice (Like Alice but Owlice) she also has a wing injury and an eye injury after being hit by a car..Click for her story.
Annie the Red Tailed Hawk- Was found with leather tethers around her ankle begging for food and was raised by humans before she was found so should could not hunt on her own.  Click for Story



I am pretty sure this guys name is Mike and I had met him before at the vet clinic with this same Eagle. Her name is Thunder and was shot when she still had her brown head feathers... she was shot in West Virginia through her wing and leg. She now is missing part of her wing and can not be release. Click for Her Story...


Dr. Fallon
At the end of the night, John, Chey, Chey's find and I went to watch fireworks.. The kids stayed down on the play ground though and John and I had the fireworks to ourselves :)

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Farmers Market: Trial and Error & Yard Sale

Today was the 3rd Farmers market in our small town and I finally made it to this one. I baked ... ALOT! yesterday... and I shouldn't have baked quite so much.... But it was an ok turn out and I will probably do it again later on this summer... But I am going to wait till they get more venders I think. Chey came with, and sold some yummy lemonade to go with all the vegan baked goods. Hope everyone loved them. When it was over I went around and gave some away to the other venders and the guy who runs it swapped me for a loaf of his bread. So that was really nice...

Our Little table. The signs on the table had the prices of everything..
They were cute but cumbersome! and even thou the prices were right there..
Everyone still asked... 
Spent the day before making these chalk boards. With an old closet shelf cut into. Then I used chalk board paint I bought at Lowes for 14.98 a pint or a quart.... I have to go look later.... But I put three coats on these to get a nice even coat. They turned out really nice.. Just wish my boards were a little smoother... But if you use a wet paper towel everything comes off really nicely!

Plus they were really cute.. Think I am going to make one for my kitchen.

Chey sitting in the sun. After these were taken we got some umbrellas to sit under to keep from burning up!
After the farmers market I went to a small town yardsale that was benefiting our new food pantry. I bought 3 games: In a Pickle, Cranium WOW, and Cranium Cadoo. I also bought a group of 4  Pyrex mixing bowls. Some were woodland some golden butterfly. Chey bout the Pictinary man game... They had really good prices! Think in the near future I will collect some info from them and then buy some food to donate.... Vegan food only of course! :) Pictures of the bowls when I get the chance...

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Kiss my car goodbye! Thanks to it Catching Fire on my way to Ohio!

We were on our way to Columbus, Ohio's, to go to Ohio State Veterinary Hospital to pick up Roxie's leg brace  (I have yet to blog anything about Roxies leg injury) when 19 miles outside of Columbus we stopped to use the rest room at a DQ my car started smoking. I just thought it was the stirring fluid leaking... But it turned out to be my car was on fire... My passenger side door handle didn't work and John was in the DQ using the restroom...So I went across the seat and jumped out the drivers side door..grabbed Roxie and got away... Not once did I think CALL 911...! I know right... luckily the workers at the DQ did.... It took them a good 20 or 30 minutes for the fire department to get there.... and by then the entire motor was burning.... It was a mess..  Originally the DQ works and my husband tried to get the hood open so they could spray it with the fire extinguisher.... but the hood was stuck closed.. So when the fire department got there they had to pry my hood open with what looked like a mini jaws of life... and then they sprayed with the extinguisher and then the water hose... They totally flooded the car... They ripped the dash open and sprayed through it.... It was a mess...
Did I mention I only had liability??? Stupid me!!!!







This is the parking lot after the fire. I hope I don't get charged for damage. all I seen was some stains... No real damage.
But the guy took my insurance just in case.. Sad thing is I only had liability... and when I called I found up that it
Won't cover the parking lot if they decide that there is damage... 

 I was upset... But not as much as I expected really... It sucks that I lost my car... but atleast we have a truck to get around in... and I hope John gets his car fixed soon so we can have 2 vehicles again... I can't wait till some of our bills get paid off though... so I can get a newer fuel efficient car... We originally planned on trading his talon and my stratus in on a newer car.. But I guess that won't happen now... :(   After they put out the fire.. we looked decided it was totaled... and decided to leave it with a place called Just Junk It...They offered use $300 for it and I couldn't afford to tow it home and fix it since the motor was gone! So I took the offer... I couldn't get the money without the title though... So right now my car us still there and I have no money and they are waiting on me to send them my title so that I can get my money...

After that the Fire Chief was nice enough to give us a ride to the airport to pick up a very expensive $313 one way rental car to get us home! It was a 2010 Hyundai Elantra with XM radio which was nice... But it sucks how much it cost... I really didn't have the money to put forth.... but what are you going to do.?? Totaling a car has always been my worst travel nightmare...So I guess travel only looks up from here...
Roxie Making herself at home in the backseat of the Fire Chiefs SUV. 

Waiting at baggage claim for John and the rental car.

Roxie was such a good girl at the airport for over an hour. She was nice to every one who came up to us!

XM Radio in the Rental car

The nice rental car


Had a nifty gear shift

We did end up going to the vet and picking up her little hot pink leg brace... Which she wears everytime she goes outside to make sure she doesn't over use her tendon while it continues to heal... She is happier now that she can go outside again.. And I am too because the puppy pads are messy and expensive...Plus after the costs of Roxie Exams, traveling three times to ohio, and the $400 brace... I am broke! and can't afford the puppy pads anymore....
Roxies New leg Brace

She is doing pretty good with it. although she will run around the yard kicking her leg up and to the side...lol

We also stopped by Wholefoods on the way home and picked up a case of Earth Balance stick.. They are 5.99 a four pack here... and it cost 2.89 a four pack at wholefoods... Plus I bought a case that was a little over $5 off plus... I had a $1 coupon for ever pack I bought... So I really got it at a good price! I also got a case of WholeSoy yogurt and 8 packs of lightlife sausage... Wish I would have got a case of the sausage... I didn't know the case would actually give you a better price... But I also had a dollar off ever Lightlife item... It was 2.69 each so I paid 1.69 each... So I was a money saving queen... :) O yeah lightlife sausage here is 3.99 a pack...  and I can't get plain containers of Soy yogurt here... So I stalked up for baking... I also got 6 packs of Tofurky since its cheaper there....

I was going to stop at a couple other places life Trader Joes and a Vegan Bakery but I didn't have the money or the time... So we came the Five hours home...

But at that it looks like, even if John gets his over time back, that we are not going on any kind of vacation this year.. That really sucks... John is from Charleston, SC and we were really looking forward to going there this fall... we havn't been there since his dad past over 3 years ago and I know he wanted to visit his sister....


Other pictures from our trip....

Stopped to let Roxie have a brake and for me to make a phone call and John showed me these... They were so awesome I had to get some pictures...



These high tension power lines make the weirdest sound....

Going through an old town. Thought these buildings looked pretty cool..

a new school they are building in Camron, WV. It looks like it will be very nice.

The old Prison in Moudsville,WV. They do tours but we didn;'t have time to take one. But it looks awesome from outside..