Happy Tails

Max and Mickey 1
Max and Mickey 1

Since my last post I have been busy with various caregiving activities. I was in NoVa to help some friends with a sick pooch. Some of you may remember Mickey and Max. Max had to have oral surgery. I went down to support my furry friends and their bipeds. On the day of the surgery, Mickey and I guarded the castle together while the others went to the healer. Max is doing fine and that turned into a very nice trip to catch up with 4 of my buddies.

Max and Mickey 2
Max and Mickey 2

The day I returned to PA, my grandpa went to the emergency room. He fell down in the night and hit his head. My dad said that Pappy seemed OK, but they wanted to get him checked out to make sure. I drove straight to the hospital and stayed with Pappy allowing Vance to have a break, get some food, and prepare for a longer stay.

Pappy cracked his C2 vertebrae. He was admitted and fitted with a neck brace. We setup a rotation and had someone from the family there in the room with Pappy 24 hours a day. After four days and three nights in the hospital, with several physical therapy and training sessions, he is being released this evening. His doctor thinks that the crack was minor as these things go and does not see any complications to a “clean heal”. Pappy will need to wear the brace for 6-8 weeks, but he should be fine long term, and he is not dealing with much pain or discomfort.

I cared for one of my local dog buddies the past two days as well. It was nice to do doggie care in my neighborhood again. And it was nice to have some one-on-one time with my pal Bruzer. He was a little too rowdy for Lucas so we did not do many long walks together. Bruzer has been diagnosed with his own canine ailment after a scare at Thanksgiving. On his new drug and diet regiment he is back to his old self, and we had a good time trekking through the rolling hills and fields.

This morning I celebrated one year in Lancaster Young Professionals with a repeat of last year’s volunteer effort doing same day registration for runners in the Arthritis Foundation’s Jingle Bell Run. That is a fun event. I like getting to see all the runners who come in costume!

As you can see, it has been a little busy for Renfroe. Despite the somewhat hectic times, I have the first two sections of the Romance/Heartbreak story edited and am about half way done writing the third section. I have revised my original plan for the piece to avoid interesting but unnecessary sprawl and make myself get to and stick to the analysis and reflection portions of the project. I can tell you now that this has been a healing experience for me and despite how difficult it has been at times, I am so glad I decided to do it.