Quick Update...

Jackie's surgery went great -- thank you so much for your prayers. She has had much less pain than she was told to expect. Today is supposed to be the "worst" day before things start getting better, pain-wise, and I can tell she's hurting today, but she says it's less than she expected it would be. She takes a pain pill and an antihistamine every four hours -- up until today she was taking them every 5-6 hours. The antihistamine boosts the effect of the pain pill and makes her drowsy, so she sleeps when she takes those. That's the best way to get through the uphill part of any post-surgical procedure...

I went to another CFAN Christmas party this morning -- was asked to read something -- so I read THEY CALL ME WALRUS WOMAN from my book Floating Around Hollywood and my new Christmas poem. Our friend, Carol Beitz, watched Jackie while I was away. They wrapped Christmas presents while I was gone.

By the time I got back, I could tell Jackie was hurting. She returned to a recliner and has been there ever since, trying to sleep. I massaged her good foot for 30 minutes; that helped a lot, she said; the pleasure overshadowed the pain.

I hate seeing someone else in pain. I have a very hard time dealing with pain myself so when I see it on another's face, I sorta "feel" it with them. I try to think of ways to alleviate it as much as possible.

Another of Jackie's friends, Georgia, picked up a knee-based roll-about so Jackie can rest her recovering leg on it and push herself from place to place instead of having to use crutches. That has been a real godsend for her.

Anyway, other than that, I'm playing nurse and chauffeur for the next few days for Jackie. I'm reminding her when to place the ice pack under her recovering leg and when to take it out, when to take her pain pill and her antihistamine pill, and fetching her food whenever she gets hungry.

It is for times like these that we actually co-purchased a house and property -- so we can take care of each other when either of us has a malady or some surgery.

The doctor says she'll feel so much better when she's back in action. The snapped tendons "were a mess" and a tangle of blood vessels were being impacted, causing much of the pain she was having. She also had a bone spur that was removed. So she should be able to walk without pain for the first time in a long time. She still needs to get a bunion fixed, but the surgeon said he didn't want to do three things at once because the post-op pain would be too severe. I think today Jackie is very glad she agreed to his suggestion to leave it alone for now!

The puppies are doing well. I have to give them their final puppy shots tomorrow or the next day. I'm looking forward to having that over with so I don't have to "ouch" them anymore for another year -- except for when we have them spayed in a few more months.

Kiki is in seventh heaven with "her" puppies. She has been lonesome, methinks. She isn't anymore -- that's for sure! All three have so much fun together!