Ice packs and knee bling--perhaps pretty common things in agility!

ICE PACKS!!!!!!

Because what active dogs or active owners do not occasionally need these?

I find that when you are icing yourself or your dog on a regular basis you need a lot of ice packs so you can have some freezing while you are using one.


You know I love DIY, so with all that has been going on with my knees and I have Breeze who is a dysplastic dog, thought I would share how to make some cool ice packs.

METHOD ONE:pictured above...
Take 1 part rubbing alcohol + 3 part water. (that would be like a cup alcohol to 3 cups water) You can adjust and may prefer 1 cup rubbing alcohol to 2 cups water, but I like the 3:1 ratio.

Take the alcohol and water plus some food color, so that you know not to drink this... and put into a zip lock bag, and put that bag into a second bag so it is double bagged. If you have a food saver, I think that would be PERFECT!!!!

The trick is that if you like the slushiness this produces you are good to go, if you want your ice pack harder put in less alcohol and more water. The alcohol is what keeps your ice pack from freezing into a hard ice cube. If you want a softer ice pack do the opposite and put in more alcohol and less water. I like it a bit slushy when it is ready so that it conforms around the body area you are trying to ice. Put the whole thing in the freezer a couple of hours and you are good to go!

Method 2:Get cheap gel liquid detergent from say the dollar store. Fill a ziplock bag about 3/4 full, seal and freeze.

JUST MAKE SURE TO ALWAYS PUT A CLOTH BETWEEN SKIN AND AN ICE PACK! NO FURTHER INJURIES NEEDED ;).______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
It took me a bit of time to post about what happened at the orthopedic clinic but I was waiting to be in a good frame of mind ;-) but somehow.....that isn't coming that fast!!!!

One thing is during agility camp the last day I felt like such a Wuss! One of the instructors was doing her best to hide her irritation but I know she was irritated just how slow I was going. I know I am slow but I was surprised at how much trouble I had, it really bummed me out.

Good news is I am not a wuss!!! I am thinking I was a trooper!!!!! Seems my left knee has a torn ligament and the right knee has a torn meniscus! No wonder I could not run, even though I really was trying ;-). I feel stupid now for not just sitting down and admitting I could not do it!

Anyway, the two comments I got the minute they looked at my knee xrays was, "WOW!, that is about as bad as it gets!" and "WOW, most 80 year olds have better knees" WHAT???? I do not think those are good comments!!!! hahahahah.

Seems normally they would do arthroscopic surgery on both knees but the doctor said because of the damage to the knees it was not an option. My left knee with the torn ligament is collapsing on itself when I walk,it has no cartilage left and the right knee with the torn meniscus has a tiny layer of cartilage but no cartilage between the knee cap and the bone.

So what do they plan? Looks like they are recommending a knee replacement of BOTH knees. I so wish I could find my Clean Run with the article about knee replacements but of course, I can not find it for the life of me!

It all sure explains why I have been getting slower and stiffer and stiffer, although right before the injury the knees felt better then they have in years, WEIRD!

So this is Kaiser and my appointment with the surgeon is August 29 when I am sure the plan will take better shape but the doctor said it will probably be four months wait to get it handled. The recovery time sounds like maybe 6 months plus or minus until I might be able to possibly do agility????? If I could find my article from Clean Run maybe I would have more answers ;-).

Worried about my doggie and where we will be by the time I can run again and worried about keeping everyone happy and occupied, day by day, right????

In the meantime, I have to have two hinged knee braces, and a cane, and lots of ice and being careful.



HERES ME JUMPING FOR JOY-AS MUCH AS I AM JUMPING BECAUSE I CAN FINALLY WALK WITH JUST A CANE AND EVEN A FEW STEPS ON MY OWN!!! Whoo hooo, might not seem like much but it is progress!

Bargains ......and a little rant ;-)

Rejoining the "real world" can be rough. I posted my video to youtube and found our my REPLY button to reply to comments will not work. How weird is that?

Being on the injured list has opened up some new experiences..I am not one that get to some of the discount stores that often, but I have been bored and shopping more so I stopped in to a Marshall's see if they had some cheap beds/crate pads for the dogs car crates.

Check out what great bargains I found:

I can finally get the dogs to the park every day so I tested this Chuck it type of toy, the chucker works OK..I could tell these were cheap balls and I would not let my dogs chew on them too much, but it was too funny that the first time I threw the ball Cricket came back with it deflated on one side of the ball. OH MY!

Second throw of the ball the other side was deflated and the ball was no longer usable, LOL There was a second ball that got lost in the field,..I did not bother to look for it. A cheap version of a real chuck it,but at half the price, it will do for today, after I find some other balls to use with it.

second bargain:

This disc thing is really soft, and red, and was about $7. It was cool! It flies good, Cricket was chewing it but did not put a mark on it,when she runs it folded up and did not get in her way. The red color was easy to see on the grass, I am getting more of these!!!

With the chuck it today I noticed Cricket is used to low flying objects to play fetch. She does not look at me and track the toy, she waits until she sees the toy whizzing by her. The chuck it was a crack up because I kept throwing the ball high, because I can not throw, it was not on purpose, but Cricket would stand in readiness until she heard the ball bounce, she kept expecting it to whizz by and it did not, so she spent a lot of time looking for the ball. LOL

The greatest bargain I got were some Merrell barefoot technology shoes. I love my Vibram toes shoes for agility, and I have a pair of blue/black Merrill's I use for all my everyday wear. My poor Merrill's are looking old, so when I found TWO PAIRS OF MERRILL'S for less then one pair usually costs me, I was all over that!!!! Just a shame they had my favorite style on clearance, but none in my size, so I have some VERY BRIGHT shoes to wear with shorts, but hey people will see me coming ;-).



Tomorrow is an appointment with the Orthopedic clinic. I am going to complain for a second. I have Kaiser insurance and I feel like we pay a lot to have it. When I got hurt I went to Kaiser after a few weeks of not getting better. I saw a physicians assistant, and of course he said you need to see a specialist. FIVE WEEKS later I have finally got in to see someone at the ortho clinic. Five weeks was how long it took when I said I would take the first available appointment,anytime that was open. When I got the appointment card I look and I am seeing another physicians assistant. REALLY? My friend just got hurt Saturday, a knee injury, she saw a specialist on Monday, had a cortisone shot and got an MRI today. Some days I have to say I really do not love Kaiser, ;-). If they want me to get an MRI who knows how long that will take? YEP, I need people to wish me some luck, hahaha!

I'm HERE!

I'm still here, I have not fallen off the earth or been abducted my aliens, LOL!

I actually have just had the worst year for accidents and injuries, earlier this year I broke my foot and then several weeks ago I really did a number on my knee. My poor dogs have been stuck in the house, I can't take them out to play or hike, and agility has been out of the question-I miss all that sooo much! Nothing to put a person into a depression like their doctor suggesting they use a CANE!-well, nothing except trying said cane and finding out I really couldn't walk without it, OUCH!!! That sent me spiraling into a depression-well maybe not a depression, just into a period of quiet ;-). I sort of feel like I needed a bit of a quiet time.

Thank heavens things are starting to be better, I still am about as slow as a turtle but I have felt like rejoining the world, so I am trying to catch up with blogs and get back in touch with my blogging friends as quickly as I can.

Let me tell you I firmly believe all situations have something to teach us and through this whole chapter in my life I have learned to take better care of myself and to really cherish my health. For YEARS my dogs have had chiropractic adjustments, laser light therapy and massages, WELL I have been doing those things for myself, a little late to start but really nice and helpful none the less. I know now why Breeze co operates so well with her therapy, it is nice to be a little pampered.

So here is a little video I did of our first trip back to the park. I could not tug or run around but at least the girls could play fetch. Check out how Cricket understands you don't take Breezes' toy when we play fetch so she holds her toy in her mouth and pretends she is fetching Breezes toy. LOVE how my dogs work it out and get along so well. Not to worry, if we all tug around each other Cricket tugs and Breeze sits back and chews on her ball. Of course I can put Breeze in a down and let Cricket fetch or put Cricket in a down and let Breeze tug, but some days it is just more fun to let them play the game they have worked out .