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A Day of Two Firsts



Even before my surgery, I was dependent upon others to walk Zora: my arthritic ankle limited my ability to walk even a block.  Since my surgery over five weeks ago, Zora has been walked twice a day by friends, neighbors, and family.  It could be quite confusing for her since everyone has different styles and expectations, and, as everyone told me, as soon as she got close to the house, she would bolt home.  I decided I needed help reigning her back in, so I called upon my friend and local dog-walker and trainer, Susan Cortilet Jones, to walk her once a day, training her not to pull.

Sue said that Zora is a fast learner, and, in only two days, I know she has made a difference.  I will never walk as fast as Sue does, so she is also teaching Zora to walk at a slow pace. After her walk, Sue shows me how she handles Zora and teaches me what to do.  My plan was to start walking with her next week, watching Sue and having Sue give me feedback as I take over.  Then, at around 3:00 this afternoon the skies opened up, and it poured!  With wet grass and having already given Zora a bath this morning after she decided to dig a hole in the mulch, I decided to try a walk.  

I was able to walk her about 16 houses -- maybe a block?  I did everything Sue told me.  I had purchased a Martingale collar that gives the walker a lot more control.  I held the leash in my right and and kept her on my left.  If she got ahead of me, I stopped.  When she lost contact with me, I told her "watch," and she looked right at me.  The walk, albeit short, was successful, and I am excited to be able to take responsibility back for walking my baby girl with the greatest of gratitude to all the people who took their time to walk her the last two months!  It might still be awhile until I can walk her on the path, but we are on our way.  


My second first actually happened earlier in the morning.  I decided to try to shower standing, without using the shower chair.  The chair allowed me to shower for the last few weeks, first with my cast and then with the boot.  Showering with the boot meant taking it off, putting the waterproof protector over my sock protecting my still-bandaged stitches (I actually still have all the stitches from the operation 5 weeks ago!), and putting my foot up on a foam pillow on my shower bench.  Then, I would have to take off the cover, put on the boot to walk out of the shower, take off the boot to change the bandages and then put the boot back on.  By the time I finished showering I was exhausted.

Instead, this morning, I pulled the chair out of the shower and put the same waterproof cover over my boot and simply stepped into the shower.  It was a bit slippery, so I held on to the handle for my handheld shower head and totally enjoyed a regular shower!  The simple things become so important!


While looking for a photo of a woman taking a shower, I found a photo of a boot cover: something to brighten up the ugly thing on my foot!  I have tried twice to decorate my boot, but not very successfully.  It's difficult to get something to stick on, and I found a few pieces in Zora's mouth.  I'm still not sure if I am going to have to wear a boot to my daughter Rachel's wedding on June 17th, so perhaps a flowery boot cover will dress it up!


That brings me to another first this week -- I have to go shopping for a dress for Rachel's wedding.  I tried ordering online, but it's too time consuming and frustrating to order, try on, and return!  So Tuesday my dear friend Roberta will take me to Macy's for my first attempt at finding an appropriate dress for the mother-of-the-bride for a dressy casual wedding in Brooklyn, New York.  I assume I will only be able to do one store a day, so I am already setting up a second day in case of failure Tuesday. I'll let you know!

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