Sad news....

Our little girl Miss Chico Chops sadly passed away in surgery today..... its heartbreaking. They think she had a cardiac arrest...... she was only 8 years old :(.
2 Anaesthetics in 9 days, and the drive to Hamilton to the vet, and leaving her there was prob all too much for her, as she was an anxious little puppy. But we loved her so much....

Goodbye little Miss Chico Chops - we love you so much, a huge part of my heart has gone too..... Miss you poppet.

Scared.......

I have set up a Facebook Page for Chico and her surgery and recovery.... click 'here'.

I am not going to lie, we are both bloody nervous in regards to surgery and what the consult may tell us. Things like is it worth getting the surgery done or will she be in pain after she has recovered post surgery, we dont know how much arthritis (if any) is there and so many more questions we have unanswered. Currently she is in pain, though she wags her tail, she is not herself.... it breaks our heart seeing her like this. 

If both legs are involved, that could be $8000 and she is 8 years old..... we would really need to make some serious decisions. So many unanswered questions right now. We are hoping for the positive but......

Then add to that, my surgery is 4 weeks later, everything just seems so overwhelming right now. We are not sure of the outcome with that in regards to pain in the wrist etc... as it was originally a bad repair. One thing it is good to know, that the pain I have had the previous years is because of the original bad repair and not just in my head. I am a little excited to know that I could be pain free in that wrist......

I have a friend, who is having the time of her life ticking things off her bucket list, she is so focused and so inspiring. Once both Chico and my surgery's are over and we are back fully recovered, it is time to set ourselves some dreams and to actually be proactive with them, rather than the one day we will do this.......

The only thing keeping us in Rotorua and not moving further away is being near my father right now. But there are many other things I can do off my list (Once I set up one again), in the meantime. We keep saying we will do this and that once we retire.... but some of the things we can do now.

But first, I need to focus on Chico and her recovery, then me and my recovery and then it is time for life to begin...... so that starts November onwards, once my wrist fully recovers, add to that dealing with my daughter and her breakup from her partner of 6 years, this year has been pretty stressful - 2019 has to be a better year than this year thats for sure. 

Another Chico Update...... and -2.3

Chico is booked in for surgery next week Wednesday, we drop her off Wednesday morning, she will have surgery and we pick her up Thursday morning..... The cost is $4000.00 - $4500.00. 

Last night she got excited as she does when David came home and twisted her back leg, let out a yelp of pain and is now walking on 3 legs, we rung the vet this morning, and they have out her on a cancellation list, to see if we can get her in sooner. Poor poppet... When I am not in the lounge she is locked in her cage in the lounge.......... 

This morning we woke up to minus 2.3 degree's, bloody hell it was so so cold........

Here are both puppies enjoying the warmth from the heater on this cold morning....

Steph is coming down today to spend a few days in Rotorua, told her to bring her winter woolies lol.

Thats it for now, catch you soon :)

Stay Safe and Keep Smiling :)

Chico Update......

Yesterday Chico had her vet appointment, she got some lumps removed on her back and also they did her teeth and pulled a few out..... they then checked out her back leg, and feel she does not have patella issues (knees), BUT instead they have said they think she has a tear in her 'Cranial Cruciate Ligament'

They have referred her to a vet in Hamilton, as the ones here apparently dont cover the surgery if it is the more difficult one, there are three stages and until she has the x-rays and possible MRI, they wont be able to tell which surgery she will need. We will also discuss if surgery is the best option or if she has too much arthritis now, how much pain will she be in after recovery, - like long term pain etc....

Yesterday at the vet, for the teeth, removal of lumps and checking the leg etc, was $500 and the surgery is anything from $1500 - $4000 + MRI's etc + hydrotherapy....... good thing we didn't go to Aussie this year lol. 

Here she is after the vet, looking a bit worse for wear.

This morning she has woken feeling a bit chirpier :).

Man it was cold this morning 1 degree and a high of 12 degree's, tomorrow morning is 0 degree's bbbbrrrrrrrrrrrr, and another high of 12. These cold mornings are not doing my wrist any good, though when the sun comes out it feels so nice :). We would normally be at the Gold Coast this time of the year :(. 

Five weeks on Tuesday till my surgery, man what a rough half of the year we will have, with both mine and Chico's upcoming surgery. 

Anyway thats it for now, catch you all soon.

Stay safe and keep smilin :)

Surgery Update...

Am booked in for surgery on July 23rd, saw the hand surgeon on Monday 10th June, ACC received the referral on Tuesday afternoon, by Wednesday lunchtime it was all approved. Couldn't believe how quick it all went, the surgery could be earlier, if they have a cancellation though. 

The surgery will be a full anaesthetic, and if all goes well it will be a day surgery, but possibly overnight. Surgery will only take about 75 minutes. 6 Weeks of full time splint with hand therapy, then another 6 weeks night splint only and hand therapy. He will be removing the plate and screws and feels that some of the pain in the arm is caused by the screw, if not then they will look at that at a later day. He will also do a tendon transfer and tidy up any tendons that might be frayed due to the screws rubbing against them. I will have a back slab for the first 2-3 days, till I see the hand therapist, where she will mould a splint for me on the first visit which is booked for Friday 26th July. 

Photo below is where you can see two of the screws protruding through the cortex in the lower arm, this is what he believes could be causing the arm pain. He also said that the break was not really well aligned and it was a bit if a messy break. (or something like that lol), but basically the repair was not that great and I already have the start of arthritis in the wrist and that will continue, hopefully at a slow pace - that scares me. The only good thing is we dont have a history of arthritis in the family, so hopefully that will help.

I am hoping to get full movement back in the wrist but wont really know till after at least 6 weeks, I am also scared of the CRPS (Complex Regional Pain Syndrome) returning, but I have no option but to get the surgery.

Onto other things, Chico goes for her sedation on Monday, where she will get the teeth done and will check her hind knee, to confirm or not if it is dislocating and if she will need patella surgery. I am not going to lie, but I really hope they got it wrong at the initial appointment. She is on anti-inflammatory and pain relief pills so is doing ok for now.  

I ordered this from ASOS, but realised after the dress has a cuff sleeve and prob wont fit over the splint bugga. But OMG I love this colour so much....

Tomorrow we are going out for lunch with Davids family, this dress is on the courier as I type this, might wear it tomorrow...... :). 

Anyway thats it for now, and fingers crossed that they got Chico's diagnosis wrong - and we get good news on Monday.

Have a great weekend everyone, stay safe and keep smiling :). 

1 Sleep....

Yip 1 sleep till I see the surgeon.... I know we wont get a surgery date, but will get a lot of answers hopefully :).

Took Chico to the vet on Friday, she has been limping a bit lately on and off, they think she may have patella luxation (knee issues), like Rusty had a couple of years ago, before surgery. The vet could feel the knee popping out, she is going under sedation in 10 days time, where they will clean her teeth, remove a few bumps possibly and the surgeon will check her knee properly and from there we will see what happens. So we both might be going to have surgery at the same time :). We have decided that once these two puppies pass away, we are never getting any more pets, it is just to heartbreaking, and besides when we retire, we both want to be free to travel.

Tried this low carb bread the other day, its so so, its not real bread but good if you want some bread. I grill cheese on it :)

This week has been busy with nails, with a few having postponed the week before, due to being sick, they all came this week. Have a client today as well.

Yesterday we went to the Dutch market here at Rotorua, got my croquette fix - 4 grams of carbs each so not bad, dont have the bread with it, to keep the count down :). 

Week over and wish me luck for tomorrow, I really need to get some answers :)

Changing....

Over the last 12 - 18 months, my clothing style changed from beachy/hippyish/boho to more 50's/vintage style, which I loved for a long time.... (I had always loved vintage but just didn't know of any plus size shops in NZ, but found some, hence why I changed styles for a bit), lately though it just wasn't doing it for me, I just felt it wasn't me, the other day I found some cool sites thats sell some hippyish stuff in plus size and am changing back over to that style again. I think I will always be beachy/hippyish/boho, even when I am 80 lol. Can never have to many rip curl t-shirts :)

I purchased this skirt the other week, and it was only $20 in sale, just wanted to buy something cheaper to see quality etc, it is lovely. The skirt is a little tight for now, but will fit properly soon, could wear it now but it's just a little uncomfortable, but it will be perfect for summer :). Got it from 'Endless Summer'

I also love this and might get it as well...

I also purchased this from 'Isla-Maree', it has yet to arrive, but it looks so comfy, and the sleeves will fit wonderful over my cast/splint :)

We are having such a nice day today, though this morning we woke up to 2 degrees...... bbbbrrrrr but that did mean a nice sunny day, though a little chilly still. Yesterday was raining and just horrible cold, wet and windy. 

Anyway thats about it for now, catch you soon :)