On Saturday, OH and I were honoured with a visit from the lovely Kate, of iRamble.  Despite a certain lack of confidence in driving herself, this intrepid and determined lady set out on a long and unfamiliar journey with only a lisping sat nav to guide her.  Unable to determine whether her faulty ‘Susan’* was instructing her to take the ‘firft’ or the ‘fird’ exit at a critical roundabout, she ended up lost in the wilds of the fens and it was only the lightning synapses of a local, (moi), who saved her and guided her safely to our house, where the dust bunnies and unwashed dogs were waiting to greet her.  Pretty good, considering how many interesting drugs are circulating in my system right now.

As you can see, The Princess was entranced to meet another greyhound person.  In fact it was quite a while before they were able to enjoy the couch together, because the Princess has a way of blocking the progress of those she likes, by standing firmly in front of them so that they can’t get away but have to stay and pet her, so Kate spent quite a while two feet from the front door, till I took pity on her and called the dog off. Tee hee.

Even my shy and spooky Pirate allowed his grubby self to be fondled and cooed over, which is quite an honour.

Kate is great – she is just as she seems online: bright and sparkly with a certain air of elegant hippydom.  She’s pretty too – and I love her hair!  It was so good to see her – we had some fun, and for a few hours I was able to forget the pain and fatigue. She got to see the famous Depp Room (a privilege granted only to the select few), and silently running her gaze around our poster-bedecked hallway, she agreed that, in all probability, I was every bit as insane as she was herself.  And she got along with OH, too!

Thanks for taking pity on me, Kate!  And for the cards, gift and chicken stock, too!  The dogs are already wondering when you’ll be back!

* All sat navs in this house are called ‘Susan’.  So was the one OH hired in the US.  Sometimes I wonder about that …

I’d like to apologise to all my friends out there in thr Land of The Blogd.

I know I’m being slow to get things written and out pnto thr Intrerweb Thingy since the shoulder suthery.  I know I’m being even slower at getting around the Blofosphrte and leaving vommets, abd I can only commend your patience!  Likewise, I beg your forgiveness forsny typos which ay slip thtoough the net.  I’m typing left-handed at hte speed of a geriatric snail, and for a touch-typidt, thir is bery difficult – not only is it extreely frustratinf, nut I now have yo look at the heyboard to drr where the lettersare, and years os bashibf awayat warp speed has worn a lot od the letters right off!  All rha’s left is an industinxt emudge at best, and six or eight od the most used keys just glow eerily at e in low lifgt cobditios with thr seb-keynoartd luinescence whish is intended yo ake them glow in the dark.  Sasdly this is now impossible since they jusy sain’t there!

Just so you know how fiffivult yhid id for e, I’ve left this, as is, this without correcyinf any midyshrd – apart fro one or yeo I dif onautoativ pilor before /I could stop myself.  And I proider you I made no deliberate erroes.

So you can see why it takes me so uch lobher to type, withour takibf into accoubr all theopiodscloggins up my brain!   They just ake e titr rsdily.  So tanks foe youe patience, and special thankd to my loral regulats who are still leaving lovely – and srpportibe – comments here.

As Arnie said:  ‘Ah’ll be nack!’

Translation -

I know I’m being slow to get things written and out onto the Interweb Thingy since the shoulder surgery.  I know I’m being even slower at getting around the Blogosphere and leaving comments, and I can only apologise and commend your patience!  Likewise, I beg your forgiveness for any typos which may slip through the net.  I’m typing left-handed at the speed of a geriatric snail, and for a touch-typist, this is very difficult – not only is it extremely frustrating, but I now have to look at the keyboard to see where the letters are, and years of bashing away at warp speed has worn a lot of the letters right off! All that’s left is an indistinct smudge at best, and six or eight of the most used keys just glow eerily at me in low light conditions with the sub-keyboard luminescence which is intended to make the letters glow in the dark.  Sadly, this is now impossible since they just ain’t there!

Just so you know how difficult this is for me, I’ve left this, as is, this without correcting any mistakes – apart from one or two I did on automatic pilot before I could stop myself.  And I promise you I made no deliberate errors.

So you can see why it takes me so much longer to type, without taking into account all the opiods clogging up my brain!  They just make me tire easily.  So thanks for your patience, and special thanks to my loyal regulars who are still leaving such lovely – and supportive – comments here.

As Arnie said: ‘Ah’ll be back!’

And, by the way, I think there’s a biscuit crumb lodged under the ‘M’!

Well, the shoulder has been done, and I’m still alive – so that’s good, huh?

I must say I wasn’t prepared for how much post-op pain there is, though I should have been, because I knew that this was a two year old injury and therefore there’d be plenty of digging for shrunk-back ends of muscle and tendon, and I know what that means – and sure enough, there is a huge bruise on my upper arm where something was clamped around it to hold it still, and more bruising around the op sites themselves (that’s plural, because my surgeon did try to do it arthroscopically, but then had to open it up fully anyway).  Also the pre-admission nurse kindly informed me that shoulders were ‘notoriously painful’, and Tennessee Jenn, who had a shoulder repair done only a few weeks before me, said ‘it hurt like a bitch’.

Even the vet, when he rang to talk to me about The Princess, wished me luck, then said that shoulders ‘never seemed to do very well’ and were often ‘not right’ after surgery.  Of course, his patients tend to try to walk on theirs, which I’m not planning to do, so hopefully I needn’t take too much notice of that, but I think his bedside manner needs a little work, don’t you?

On the positive side, I have multiple allergies, and not only did I not have any reactions to anything, I actually now have two new drugs I know I can take – and one of them is Clindamycin, an antibiotic, which doubles my number of known safe ones to two!  Yay!

So, here I sit, watching the clock for the next painkiller dose, and hallucinating mildly when I take all of them at once, and just … well, trying to heal as fast as possible.  The nights, of course, are the worst. and I’ll know I’m on the mend when I have a good one!

Just before I finished this, Kate of iRamble arrived to see me – but you’ll have to wait for that story for another day.  Right now?  I’m going to take another nap.

Just a quick filler post for you, and it won’t be very interesting so you might as well stop reading now.

Still with me?  Oh, please yourselves.

See, I’m in for my shoulder repair today, and they told me to be at the hospital at 7.15am.  That’s right. Seven fifteen ack emma.  This is SO not a civilised time, but I complied – well, more or less.  OH insisted on drinking a second cup of tea (yes, right in front of dry-mouthed little me) and we were a few minutes late.  But clearly, it didn’t matter, because I’d been here for an hour before the surgeon and the anaesthetist turned up and here I sit with two hours more to kill before I’m due to be taken to theatre.

There’s one good thing about having BUPA healthcare, and that is that the private hospital I’m currently sitting in allows laptops and mobile phones, and has nice fast WiFi internet access.  No, it’s not free, that would be too much to ask, but it’s cheaper than many hotels, and it’s a damn sight better than sitting her chewing my fingernails with nothing much to do.

‘Tis cruel, though, the way they’ve been wheeling the breakfast trolleys through with their warm smells of toast and coffee, and it’s interesting, because I very rarely eat breakfast, but today I’d kill for tea and toast.  Actually, I could murder a full English breakfast.  Sausage, bacon, fried tomato, mushrooms .. even baked beans!  Oh, and those Southern potato things they do in the US, with bits of pepper and onion in them.  Yum!

*Sigh*

I’d better stop now before I choke on my own drool.

By the way, does anyone know what ‘ack emma’ actually means?