Here's my update from this month:
I've been under a "gag order" at work, so I can't update much there - except to say "stay tuned for October!"
I went on a weekend getaway with my bestest buddy, J, and our mutual friends paid for us to spend the weekend in Orange Beach, AL with our friend Mrs. Sam. (I have a Mrs. Sam friend and a completely different and unrelated Mr. Sam friend.) Charlie got to experience sand under his paws, a cafe with dogs off leash, and our mutual favorite: a few rides on Mrs. Sam's boat!
We had such a time convincing him to get his butt in the boat the first time! I don't think we would have made it if not for Mrs. Sam and her husband, as well as J and me physically getting him onboard. When the wind whipped up, and he realised staying in the shade on the towel in "down, stay" resulted in a smooth ride, where he could enjoy the salt air and watch the waves without getting wet, he was HOOKED! The next day, I asked him: "Charlie, wanna go on the boat?" and he practically flung himself down the stairs to get to the back door, where we came in from the dock the previous afternoon.
I felt so lazy and loved that weekend. Mrs. Sam and her husband made such delicious food, and we played with yarn. Mrs. Sam let us each pick which guest room we wanted to bunk in, and my bed felt like a snuggly hug on a cloud. We got a sand castle pail with yarn and other neat goodies in it! She is one of the most generous, funny and loving hostesses (and friend) a gal could wish for! We watched their horse race on TV, and she came in 2nd place. Here's hoping she'll come in 1st next time! :D
I've made 2 pairs of socks this month...well, almost. I have to put the heels in the first pair and finish off the second sock. Progress though!
I met with a bone specialist about my limited use in my hands. Come to find out, I have up to 20% usage of them. He wants me to start occupational therapy, and if we see no improvement, I'm looking at having to have surgery on them to tack the ligaments and tendons back into place where they should be and stay. Not good. Since we know it's a connective tissue disorder I have, the doctor is really not happy about the prospect of surgeries. He said I will have to go to UAB or possibly somewhere more presigious out of state to get it done by a surgeon whose whole practice is dedicated to hand surgeries, and in all liklihood, I will have to repeat the process in some years to come.
I now have a walker - I have to use it whenever Charlie and I aren't together. I feel a bit safer with it, at least indoors, because I have somewhere to park my butt when I'm feeling faint - and I also have something on both sides of me to keep me upright. When I'm with Charlie, I know he will help me or find help if I need it, and he can now be trusted to carry things for me, so he's a huge help - plus I get a lot less pity with Charlie and a cane than I do when I have my walker. Another huge perk to Charlie is I don't have to put him in the car, he gets in himself - the walker's a pain and a half to get in and out of the car, just because I end up popping all over, and people keep offering to help me do it - which weirds me out, because uhm...I don't know them, and they're helping me at my car. Makes my brain think of those old 1990's episodes of the Oprah Show where she talks about how to get away from attackers by twisting your arm just so - and if you get thrown in a trunk to kick the taillight out. And then I hear Sandra Bullock in my head from "Ms. Congeniality" go through her routine on stage on how to disable an attacker, and I think: "Can I do that, or will I hurt myself more than I hurt them?". Ugh.
Another adventure from this month makes me wonder if a study has been done on service dog handlers. My dad is disabled, and went with my mom to get a new ID this month. They took Charlie with him while I was at work, and everyone commented to dad "What a handsome dog!", and left it at that. No one tried to touch Dad or Charlie. When my mom or I have Charlie, people come up and invade our space all the time. The creepiest and most destructive is when someone brushes up like a pickpocketer and touches one of us. It's so super creepy and unsettling! I end up being really mean and saying "Don't touch!" or "Stop touching us now!" loudly. I don't understand why people don't see that's creepy! And it's rewarding Charlie, when all "on duty love" needs to come from me, his handler. My health is pretty brittle, and I need his attention and protection. He can handle my "episodes" and get my meds or help. It's scary enough to think I could have a "nervous system reboot" and be vulnerable without society reinforcing that my body and personal space doesn't belong to me. We're not a "cute dog team", we're a "working dog team". I don't know how to handle this right now. Any tips?
Lots of love xoxo
-Beth
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