Wednesday, October 04, 2006

What a difference a few days makes!

It's been a slow, agonizing process, full of twists and turns but we are beginning to see glimpses of our original kooky Isla. Things were looking pretty bleak in my last post. She was dealing with a massive infection and a positive outcome was anything but assured. This was how she looked last Saturday:



And here she is today:




The twinkle is back in her eyes and mischief is once again on her agenda. Our biggest challenge has become containing that boundless energy to prevent her from re-injuring herself. Her bounce is definitely back! But we aren't out of the woods yet. We are still going in for daily bandage changes and infection checks, and she will have to have another surgery to remove the portion of her large pad that cannot be saved. For now, it is acting as a natural bandage for the tissue underneath that is healing.

But it is so wonderful to see her playful and active again. One of the quirkiest aspects of her injury has been her insistence upon telling everyone her sad story with whimpers, moans and grumbles. The staff in the vet's office has become used to the daily account of how things are going in her world. She fills them in as soon as we walk into the waiting area, vocalizing for all to hear. She's such a character, so full of personality. We are really looking forward to having her back to 100%. She's a handful but we have missed that indomitable spirit.

And, lest you think my knitting has been thrown aside, I am almost done with my vest. I hope to have it finished by the end of the week. Here is what it looks like at this point:



It's actually a pattern for a summer tank but the yarn is heavier blend so a vest seems a better idea for the colder weather. There is a checkerboard pattern along the front yoke which is partially obscured by the variegation in the yarn... just as well since the accuracy is highly dependent upon being able to keep track of the numbers and I'm a bit challenged in that area. You don't have to look to hard to see some "creativity" in the pattern... or, as I prefer to call it: personalization. I do a lot of that.

So, here's to the end of a seven day stretch from hell. My new best friends at the vet's may miss their favorite morning update from Isla but I'm looking forward to returning to a more normal daily schedule. The two shortened days at work this week due to bomb threats was a treat I could have done without too. If a student didn't feel like going to class, why didn't he just cut the damn class instead of disrupting the lives of thousands of people. Another spectacular example of the "me-me-I-I-me-me" approach to life that seems to be reaching epidemic proportions. Come on, people. GROW UP!

OK, enough of my bellyaching! Time to get back to my knitting. My deepest thanks to everyone for your kind words, thoughts and prayers for Isla's recovery. I firmly believe it helped with her recovery and I can't tell you how much it kept me going. Score one for the good guys!

4 comments:

KNIT A NEW DREAM said...

Yeah!!!! Isla looks so much better. What a relief for you -Sue

Anonymous said...

Hi there!
I can't believe all you've gone through with her this past week! And here I was complaining that it rained on my b-day!!!!!!!!!

I'm glad to see she's doing better-- and your super spiffy blog!

metal and knit said...

Hope Isla is still doing well and is back to better health soon

Anonymous said...

Glad your pup is headed in the right direction :)