Miscellany Monday : February 24, 2014 (One Day Late...Because that's how I roll lately)

I started this Miscellany Monday post on Monday...does that count?

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Nai Nai is coming to visit tomorrow, and we are all so excited!

(shhh...we may not let her leave come Monday.)

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My right elbow has been hurting - worse and worse - over the past couple of months.  I couldn't figure out what I'd done, or been doing differently, to cause it.  The children and I went to our regular monthly chiropractor appointment.   I honestly don't know that I would have remembered to say anything about my elbow if Elisabeth hadn't reminded me to.  I had still been thinking that chiropractic care is focused solely on the spine.  Duh.  Well, Dr. Kathy, our beloved chiropractor-come-friend, knew immediately what my problem was. 

Lateral epicondylitis

I was not familiar with that term.  "Tennis elbow" - on the other hand - I'd definitely heard before.

Turns out that most people who develop "tennis elbow" haven't even been playing tennis.    Repetitive motions are the cause.  And what I'm realizing is that - being right-handed - my right arm/hand/elbow see the vast majority of the action during my daily tasks.  

Like...lifting a 28-lb bundle of love approximately one million times a day.

Or...washing approximately one million dishes and pots a day.

Or...lifting one million pieces of wet (heavy!) laundry out of the washing machine per day.  

Or...well, you get the idea.

It was very sore to the touch as Dr. Kathy poked and prodded my elbow to figure out what was wrong.  But after she made the diagnosis, she adjusted my elbow (and the wrist on the same side)...and it **instantly** felt so much better.  No more tender-to-the-touch.  I was amazed.  Chiropractic care continues to amaze me!

Then Kathy put this bandage on my arm:  

It was the weirdest looking thing...and didn't even cover the elbow itself.  But - WOW - my elbow felt so much better while this was on!  It stayed on for about three days, before starting to peel off.  

Kathy (who has dealt with lateral epicondylitis herself) told me that it would take quite a while for my elbow to heal.  Months, even.  I believe her.  

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(I am intentionally not including graphic pictures with this next section.  But, if you don't like to even read anything graphic...you may want to skip this.)

I mentioned a couple weeks ago that our sweet dog BeBe had been attacked.  After talking with our neighbors we thought it was likely coyotes. And it may have been.  It may also have been some bad dogs in the area.  We just don't know.  

Today marks two weeks since we first found BeBe injured and took her to Dr. H.  She is getting better now, but she had to get worse before she began getting better.  When H mentioned "debridement" to me, I should have realized that she would be worse before she got better...but I didn't at that point.  We had to take her back to Dr. H two more times for him to "debride."  

It got so bad that I simply **could not** handle bandage changes for several days there.  Jas had to take over. I've walked with my children through 14 surgeries...including open-heart surgery that included some pretty impressive tubes/wounds/bandages.  But that was nothing like this.  (Amazingly (and much to my admiration) E and LK still stuck it out and continued being right there to help Jas with all of it. ) 

BeBe ended up with an open wound about the diameter of a tennis ball.   It was too big to be stitched up.  There was no hair.  No skin.  Just open wound.  Noah described it as looking "like a brain."  He - unfortunately - was right on the money.  

We've had to put a cone (aka "lamp shade") on our girl at times because she began to scratch.  

BeBe is decidedly an outdoor dog.  Any question I may have entertained in my mind about changing that has been pushed aside this last week.  She is going stir crazy in here.  She has actually "escaped" a a couple of times when we'd take her out to use the bathroom.  She shows back up later, happily wagging her tail...with her bandage rolled down and grass in her wound.  Ugghhhh.

Here BeBe is fetching a magnolia pod I threw for her.  Buying balls that she almost immediately ends up (inadvertently) tearing up got old.  So we now throw her magnolia pods, which we have in abundance around here!

Just as of yesterday, her wound is starting to look smaller, thankfully...and you can tell she is feeling better and has more energy.  We've been getting her outside some to play fetch...her favorite game evAH!  We're glad our girl is feeling better!

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I have been thoroughly enjoying the mini lessons I've been getting in my inbox every day from this free e-course I mentioned last week.  It's not too late if you're interested in participating.  

I have gone on rants here on occasion about how fat is NOT bad for you, as "they" claim.    Good fat, that is.  There are some kinds of fat that are bad for you.  Vegetable fats, for instance.  Fats that have been tampered with by man.  Fats that have been ultra processed so they look prettier...and they're shelf-stable.  Traditional fats, the kinds that have been around for thousands of years (think olive oil, lard, tallow, etc.) are NOT bad for you...and are - on the contrary - essential to your health and well-being.  

Imagine my delight when Robin hit on this topic a couple days ago.  Read about the history behind fat-phobia HERE....and learn why your body NEEDS fat and the best kinds of fat for optimal health HERE.