Three months ago today (July 17) Motion went in to the vets at Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists to have a TPLO to repair a partially torn cruciate ligament. Today he is 3 months post op, and I am so incredibly lucky to say we have had a relatively uneventful recovery thus far.
Constantly in awe of vets and surgeons. You guys do wicked awesome things.
On July 6, Motion was released from all restrictions and is now allowed to run, jump, swim, sprint and eventually ease his way back into agility. We’ve been having a lot of fun and freedom with the sprinting and swimming, and are building up the nerve to add in jump work. While walking through London a few weeks back, I stumbled across this sign:
and it hit me like lightning. I’d heard the phrase/quote (Eleanor Roosevelt, I think?) before, but it had never seemed so applicable and personal. I had always thought it was cool way to approach life, but maybe a bit impractical. How many scary things can you really encounter every 24 hours? And if you’re afraid of so many things, doesn’t that just make you kind of a coward? Everyday life isn’t scary, right? Right. Wrong. Everyday life is scary, because there’s absolutely nothing everyday about everyday life. Every single day is new and different and undefined. There’s nothing everyday about it. Walking your dog should never be terrifying, but it has been, and I think I’m a stronger (better?) person for it.
Never in my life have I experienced a more forceful gut check than I did after I let Motion swim for the first time since his operation. We had a great time, and then for a while afterwards he laid in the grass as my friend and I stood there chatting. When it was time to go, he stood up. And then he instantly fell over. And I wanted to vomit. Or die. Not sure which.
(He’s fine, he got back up and walked away pain free and limp free and all that good stuff.)
Luckily, my friend has experience with this injury/recovery and said something along the lines of “He’s fine, it’s normal, it’ll probably happen again, breathe.” (Thanks dude, you rock.)
We made a guest appearance at an agility trial yesterday, the first physical contact we’ve had with the agility world since Nationals in March. The break has been nice and refreshing, but I think we’re all itching to get back to it now. We’ll be dipping our toes in some short sequences and whatnot over the next few weeks, and then eventually, we’ll be back. Hopefully the next time we take a break it will be out of our own free will, instead of necessity.
