Hail Damage...

Remember me mentioning that we had golf ball size hail during our most recent storm?  Well, a few days later while outside inspecting the house we discovered that we had some major hail damage.  There are huge holes through the siding as well as cracks everywhere, shutters have been damaged, and the screens on our windows are a mess.  That was all the damage we could really see, but knew that we needed to have the house looked over by a professional. Below are some pics pulled off the internet to give you an idea of the damage we received...

Shutter damage

Siding damage

Gutter damage

Screen damage

Here is how it went after 2 estimates...

1st estimate:

This company said we will need the following... a new roof, new front siding, new garage door, new screens on the windows, new down spouts, and all new shutters.  They are writing us a formal estimate, but are guessing it is going to be around $10,000 - $12,000!  HOLY COW!  Thank you Lord for insurance!

2nd estimate:

This company pretty much said everything needs replaced that the other one did, however, when they replace stuff there will be a lifetime warranty on most things.  They also said that they would take care off the old satellite off our roof from the previous owner and patch things up where it was.  The estimate will probably be around the same as the first.  

What will happen from here is we will send both estimates to our insurance company and they will send out their own person to do an estimate on the damage to see if it compares.  If the estimates don't match then we may be paying more out of pocket to get things fixed.

The good thing is that until we do get things fixed the house should be okay... so in other words we aren't going to have leaks and such in the meantime.

We are thankful to have insurance, but even with it this will be a big hit to us since we weren't expecting it and we just spent all this money on Remington's surgery.  What do they say... bad things come in 3's???  Wonder what our third will be?

Second EVER 5K!

The plan for Fall 2011 is to run the Ft. Harrison State Park Mini Marathon. Since I have been dealing with a little set back... aka Remington Rhoton... I have not ran at all for almost a whole month.  Well, at least that is my excuse.  Not to worry, I have changed up my training schedule a bit to hopefully be ready for this Mini when the time comes. However, to keep myself motivated I have decided to run a few short races before.  Debbie's husband, Greg and I signed ourselves up for a 5K Run at Eagle Creek Park on July 9th and when time gets closer are planning on doing a 10K Run at Ft. Harrison on August 20th... that way when October 15th rolls around for the Mini, I will be well prepared.

I have taped my new training schedule to my bathroom mirror to hopefully help make me do it!  Uhhhhgggg...

I did my first 2 mile run on Sunday and my legs STILL hurt today!  I'm hoping that my next run tonight will help loosen them up!

Post Anal Sacculectomy - Day 9, 10, 11

Day 9

Every day keeps getting better and better.  We are finally seeing a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel.  Remington is having regular bowel movements now for the most part.  He is not having normal size ones, but I'm hoping that will come with time and they will get better when we change back to his regular food and are done with this soft stuff.  I definitely do not like canned food!

The razor burns are 10 times better than what they were.  Both sides are now completely scabbed over and the hair is growing back.  You would have never known they were as bad as they were by the looks of them now.

Razor burn right side.

Today he started sleeping by himself (thank goodness)!  For the past week he would not sleep unless he was touching us or completely on top of or up against us.  However, today he finally starting sleeping by himself and even took a little nap in his favorite spot... between the toilet and bathtub.

This has been life for the past week...

 This is life now... that's the old Remington right there!

He has also finally started to drink from his very own water bowl instead of one of our cups!  YAY!  Finally he is becoming self sufficient again!

Day 10

Remington was not himself today.  He refused to go to the bathroom all day!  I was getting really upset with him because I knew he had to go.  He just seemed to lay around all day and he didn't even want to move.  I was getting pretty worried about him, but Dan said to just leave him be and let him do what he wants.  Obviously, Remington know how he feels better than I do.

Day 11

Today we switched him back to normal food.  We weren't suppose to do this until day 14, but the soft food was not producing any bowel movements at all for him.  Later in the day Remington had a somewhat normal bowel movement.  This made me happy since I'm constantly worrying about what it means when he doesn't have bowel movements like he use to and I don't want that stuff getting backed up in him.

It was an absolutely beautiful day outside this Memorial Day.  Most of the time Remington and I would be enjoying it... but since he still needs to take it easy we spent most of the day inside.  I did a massive cleaning on the house since it needed it desperately and worked on homework. O'well I got caught up on stuff :)

Week #9 of Kendra's Cooking Challenge: Baked Garlic Lemon Tilapia and Black and White Angel Food Cake

With Remington being on the mend this past week I really don't know how I managed to find the time to participate in my cooking challenge.  Good thing one night he was feeling pretty good :)  Dan and I have been eating peanut butter and jelly most days for lunch and dinner so I decided that I needed to make something that was a bit more filling.

Baked Garlic Lemon Tilapia (www.skinnytaste.com)

Ingredients

• 6 tilapia filets
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 4 tsp fresh parsley
• salt and pepper
• cooking spray 

Preheat over to 400 degrees. Melt butter on a low flame in a small sauce pan. Add garlic and saute on low for about 1 minute.

Add lemon juice and shut off flame.

Spray the bottom of a baking dish lightly with cooking spray.

Place the fish on top and season with salt and pepper. Pour the lemon butter mixture on the fish and top with fresh parsley.

Bake at 400 degree until cooked, about 15 minutes.

Black and White Angel Food Cake (www.myrecipes.com)

Ingredients

Cake

• 1 cup cake flour (about 4 oz)
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 12 large egg whites
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened dark cocoa (such as Hershey's Special Dark)

Glaze

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons tub light cream cheese, softened
• 1 tablespoon 1% low-fat milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 teaspoon unsweetened dark cocoa (such as Hershey's Special Dark)

Topping

Sliced strawberries

Preheat oven to 325°. To prepare cake, lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and 3/4 cup granulated sugar, stirring with a whisk; set aside.

Place cream of tartar, salt, and egg whites in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until foamy.

Add remaining 3/4 cup granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. 

Beat in juice and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Sift flour mixture over egg white mixture, 1/4 cup at a time; fold in after each addition.

Spoon half of batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan, spreading evenly. Break air pockets by cutting through batter with a knife. 

Sift 2 tablespoons cocoa over remaining batter; fold in. Spoon cocoa batter evenly over top of vanilla batter; break air pockets by cutting through cocoa layer with a knife. 

Bake at 325° for 55 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Invert pan; cool completely. Loosen cake from sides of pan using a narrow metal spatula. Invert cake onto a plate.

To prepare glaze, place powdered sugar, cream cheese, milk, and 1 teaspoon vanilla in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Drizzle half of glaze over cake.

Add 3/4 teaspoon cocoa to remaining glaze; stir well to combine. Drizzle cocoa glaze over cake. Refrigerate 5 minutes or until glaze is set. Garnish with strawberries, if desired.

Dan's rating for the fish was an 8 and the rating for the angel food cake was a 9.  The cake was good, but goodness, it was a pain to make and took a long time.  I think I'll just stick with a angel food cake box mix next time.

Post Anal Sacculectomy - Day 6, 7, & 8

Day 6

Things are slowly but surely getting better for Remington.  He had only been having like 1-2 inch poos, but this morning he had a nice normal 6 inch one.  (Sorry if I gross you out with his bowel movement updates, but they are important!) We have been letting him be without his cone when he is on the bed with us, but when we are sleeping or any other time the cone stays on.  He seems to enjoy the moments that he is cone free!  He still is not drinking water very well except when it is poured over his food, so we started letting him drink water out of one of our cups.  For some reason he seems to think this is a special water since his Mom and Dad drink their water like this. I don't care how we get him to drink as long as it works.  I think if we could get more water in him it would help a lot with his bowel movements since it would hopefully flush those meds out of his system faster.  He is still not wanting to walk very much, but Dan and I have been petting him and praising him when he stands and walks normally hopefully to build his confidence up some. The razor burns on his bum are finally starting to scab over.  Once they do this I think it will help with the pain and the walking. He has been sleeping and eating very well, but he wants to physically lay completely on top of us most of the time as if he is seeking protection from some unknown source.

Left side bum burn on day six... and this actually looks better...

Resting without the cone.

Snuggles with his Dad.

Snuggles with his Mom.

Drinking water out of a cup. Don't worry this glass will get washed very good afterward.  Also, notice the right side of his bum.  This is the other bum burn.  This side is not nearly as bad as the left. If you look back at the pictures of his bum right after surgery, there really is a huge improvement.

 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Day 7

I'm pretty tired today... things might finally be starting to catch up with me.  I've not slept well for going on 6 nights because of a sick dog and then last night the storms were crazy.  We actually had golf ball size hail!  I've never been that scared during a storm... I thought our windows were gonna bust!  I'm one tired pup.

Nothing much has change with Remington since yesterday.  I'm getting frustrated mostly because I keep thinking that he should be back to normal by now.  However, I keep reminding myself that this was a huge surgery and it will take a while.  Remington had diarrhea for the first time this morning.  I guess when Dan took him out he noticed his stool was very loose... instead of Remington just finishing out his business... he got freaked out and slammed his tail against his bum causing you know what to get ALL over him.  Dan said it took 15 or more wet wipes to get him cleaned up.  We've been making him drink more water lately so I don't know if that is what caused the diarrhea or what.  The good thing is that Remington is finally letting us look and touch the surgery area.  There are days that I think this whole ordeal is just never going to end.  I sometimes wonder if Remington will ever be the same again.

Dan goes back to work tomorrow.  I'm dreading this.  I have treasured having him around so much these past three days. He is my rock and is able to stay calm in situations when I normally freak out.  I admire this about him.  I'm nervous to have to deal with Remington by myself again even if he is better than those first few days I took care of him.

Dan and I were talking about the surgery last night again and I think we have changed our minds about whether we would do it again.  Even though I have heard some dogs recover fairly easily from this surgery, I probably would not ever do this surgery on another dog again seeing what Remington has gone through.  We knew things were gonna be rough, but his recovery has been extremely hard on him and us both.  Like I said, I worry about him never being the same old Remington he was before.  But, if we hadn't done the surgery now... it was pretty certain we would have had to do it later.  I guess the good thing is we did it while he had fairly healthy glands that were easier to take out than if they were not.  Even so, I would never wish a dog to have to go through something like this if he didn't have to.

On a more random note, I was googling "dogs with razor burn after surgery" just to see what came up... I found the below picture of a boxer after he had just had knee surgery...

Really... I can't complain about Remington's razor burn as I think this is worse... YIKES!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Day 8

Brandy gave us our last follow up call today to see how Remington was doing.  I told her pretty good except for a few things here and there, mostly him still not wanting to walk that much.  She said that she hopes once the razor burn heals he should be back to normal.  She also told me that they had gotten the results back from the lab on Remington's anal glands. I guess they sent them there to see if they were normal or not.  She said that everything checked out okay, that there was only mild inflammation to them.  We won't be talking to her anymore unless we need to... sadly I'm gonna miss her... ALOT!

I do think Remington is finally starting to feel more like himself.  When I got home from work last night he jumped off the bed and grabbed a toy to greet me with.  This is his usual routine, but since the surgery he would hardly move when I came home.  I was so surprised to see him do this and it made both Dan and I soooo HAPPY! It was a little hint of the old Remington Bear :)

The cone is staying off Remington's head more and more now.  He only has it on when he goes outside to potty and when we are not able to watch him.  He spent a lampshade free evening in the kitchen with us last night while I cooked dinner.  I haven't cooked for over a week now!!!  WOW!  He didn't even mess with the surgery site, just mostly wanted to be close to us.

I mean seriously... doesn't he look like he feels 10 times better than he has been!

I'm taking a half day personal day again today so I can be with him during the day while Dan is gone.  Even though I'm taking it to take care of Remi, I think I might use it to get a nap in... I'm exhausted!!!  It's funny how things don't slow down when you need them to :)

We have scheduled Remington's stitches to be removed on June 1st.  That will be 13 days since the surgery.  I wanted them done on June 2nd so he would have them in a day longer, but our family vet was not in that day and I insisted on having Dr. Swengel removed them and check the incusion sites.  They are nice enough to not charge us for the removal too :)  Once those darn stitches are out the cone will be history!  I can't wait!  If I never see that cone again it will be too soon :) 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNT BOO!

One of my all time favorite people in Dan's family is his Aunt Boo!  What can I say... the two of us have a special bond... at least according to me :)  There are just too many reasons why I love her so dearly, but I'll share with you a few...

1) There is never a dull moment when Aunt Boo is around: When we are around Aunt Boo it is time to have fun!  I love this about her!  She can't stand a dull moment.  She often forces encourages us to play games with her whether it is Pictionary, SkipBo, or the dreaded Phase 10!

2) She is fun to gossip with: One of the sayings in the Rhoton Family is... "If you aren't gossiping about someone in the family then you are probably the one being gossiped about."  I have learned fairly quickly that there is no such thing as keeping a secret from anyone with them.  So... of course I have joined in on this favorite past time of the Rhoton clan... I mean I'm a Rhoton now too!

3) She makes good alcoholic beverages: Yes, that's right folks, she was a bartender in a previous life.  One of her most infamous drinks is called "The Fishbowl".  This drink made my 26 year old husband throw up for an entire night and the next day... I haven't forgotten about this Dan! She also makes a mean Hurricane Alley... this is my special drink when I'm at her house!

Boo's infamous fishbowl drink!

4) She makes me feel like I've always been a part of the family: Even though I have always been welcomed into the Rhoton Family with open arms, there is something special about Boo.  I don't think that I have ever felt shy around her (and I'm shy around most people). I tell her pretty much everything!  And she is probably the only person in Dan's family that has ever seen me really cry.  There is just that something about Boo that makes you feel like you have known her for years and years.  Those of you that know her probably feel the exact same way about her!

Boo, Elliott and I at Pam's 60th Birthday!

So... If you're reading this blog today Boo... which you say you check everyday... then Dan, Remington and I are wishing you a wonderful Birthday!  You are very loved!

Here's to you Aunt Boo! Even though you aren't my "actual" Aunt... I'm glad your my Aunt in-law!

Oh! And don't forget to make a wish when you blow out those candles!!!

Post Anal Sacculectomy - Day 5

Things are much better today than any of the days before!  YAY!  I finally think we have made it past the worst part! Remington pooped for the second time this morning!  Sooooo HAPPY!  Hopefully he can get back on his normal schedule soon.  He is still having trouble with his walking... probably from the burns on his bum that are still healing, but for the most part he is doing great.

We did have a little oops moment this morning.  Dan was taking Remington out to potty and of course he was running around like crazy, laying down, sitting, and so on.  Well, we have a little cement slab right outside the back door of our house and when he got scared he rushed to sit down by the door and he sat right on the slab.  OUCH!  He screamed bloody murder because of course he hurt the razor burns on his bum!  Dan brought him inside and one of his burns were now bleeding... of course this would happen just when they started to be on the mend! I'll be happy when those suckers heal up since I think they are giving him more problems than the actual surgery site.

"Mom, I think I'm starting to feel a little better!"

"But I'm still worn out... can I rest my head on your knee?"

We did decide to give Remington's head and neck a little rest.  A lot of people have told us that as long as they are able to watch their dogs after surgery they will take off their dog's lampshades because it is very uncomfortable for them.  I was a little afraid to do this, but Remington is a very good listener so I knew as long as we were beside him watching him closely to make sure he didn't bother the surgery site that he could probably use a break from that dreaded lampshade too!  Since Dan was home all day today he took it off for a while this morning.  Remington was dead asleep right after it was off his little head.  Dan said he didn't move the whole time he slept.

"Zzzzzzzzz!"

We are now out of pain pills and anti-inflammatory pills.  All that is left is the antibiotics.  I'm feeling okay about this.  I obviously think the burns are bothering him a bit, but for the most part I don't believe he is in much pain.  If I thought otherwise I would push for more meds.  I personally don't think it is good for dogs or people to be on medication for too long, especially if they can tolerate it on their own.

We spoke with Brandy in the afternoon and I think she was about as happy as we were to hear he had a bowel movement.  She is going to call us on Thursday to see what his progress is then :)

Since he is obviously on the mend I probably won't be posting day to day updates since I'm sure you don't want to hear about every poop and pee he has from here on out... but I'll probably do 2 or 3 days in one post to keep everyone updated on the progress he's making.  I'm getting very excited to get back to normal life.  For the past week we have practically lived in our bed with him.  I have been neglecting my cooking, running, school work, house cleaning, and quality time with my husband to focus solely on his recovery.  Life has revolved around Remington!!  But of course, that is exactly the way he likes it!

Post Anal Sacculectomy - Day 4

Recovery Period

8:00 am
Things took a bit of a turn for the worse last night.  Not only is this going on day 4 with no poop... Remington is no longer peeing.  I'm freaking out.  I have cried so much in the past four days you wouldn't think I would have any tears left.  I'm fairly strong during the time when I'm with Remington by myself (only because I have to be) but when Dan gets home from work that is when the crocodile tears start coming and they don't stop... We made an appointment with our family vet to have him checked over...

8:35 am
Received a call from Brandy.  I told her all that had been going on with Remington and now him not peeing.  She said that she wouldn't worry too much as of yet.  I guess a few days after surgery he didn't pee for 18 hours.  Since he is not drinking that much water, he probably won't pee like normal.  I have been adding water to his food to get some fluids in him.  This is the only way he is even interested in it.  I told her that he still had not had a bowel movement and she said right now they weren't that concerned since the pain meds are going to make him very constipated. She said if he did not have a bowel movement by this evening then she would tell me something to help it move along.  I asked if we should give him pumpkin or something to help and she said no because pumpkin would just bulk up his stool.  His stool needs to be very loose at this point.  I also asked about an enemia and she said there is no way they could do that with him having the surgery that he did.  She said that they would probably suggest milk of magnesia (something humans would take) to get things moving along.  However, I won't do anything unless the vet suggests it.  She told me she sent all Remington's info to Swengel's (our family vet) so they would have it if they needed it.  I told her we were taking him there this morning.  She said if it will make us feel better to go ahead and do so, but really she didn't think they would tell us anything different.  I had Dan call and he talked to Swengel and Swengel said that he would not worry at this point either... so we canceled... however, it is hard not to worry about Remington.  I just have to remember that Remington is under the care of vets that specialize in this surgery. I can't be freaked out by everything little thing I read and hear that makes me question them.  They are the only ones that really know what they are doing.

9:05 am
Remington had a nice long pee!!!! YAY!  Dan gave him a good face and body brushing that Remington seemed to enjoy very much.  He loves getting brushed.  I always feel so much better after a shower when I'm sick, maybe he will feel so much better after his brushing!

10:10 am
Dr. Steuer from Purdue called (Remington's surgeon) to talk to me about any concerns I was having at this point and to ease my mind a bit. Mostly we discussed about Remington not having a bowel movement yet.  He once again told me they were not that concerned at this point in time.  He said he has seen dogs go up to a week after this surgery without a bowel movement.  He said if Remington doesn't have one by Wednesday then they will prescribe a medication to make him go... but it's important that we try to let him go on his own if possible.  Right now his pain should be pretty well managed he said and that the razor burn is what is probably bothering him at this point.  I told him that is definitely what is bothering him and voiced my concerns on how close they shaved the area.  I said this isn't razor burn... that they pretty much shaved off the first layer of his skin... and that his bum is raw.  He told me that they have to get a very close shave because of the type of surgery it is and apologized if he got too close. I guess there's nothing I can do to change what they did at this point, I'll just work on getting it healed up.

12:00 pm
I took a half day personal day today so someone was home with Remington in the afternoon after Dan left for work.  This is the last day I'll have to be completely by myself for the next 3 days.  THANK YOU LORD!  Dan doesn't understand why I can't handle being alone with Remington... he doesn't think it is too bad.  My main problem is that Remington is pretty much the same size as me... so when he freaks out because of the pain it is really really hard for me to get him under some kind of control.  Going up and down the stairs is a nightmare.  Remington has also been taking the paint off our walls where he hits it with is lamp shade.  This is something I didn't realize would be a problem.  Right now I don't really care... walls can be fixed, Remington's comfort is what is important. I'm feeling a bit recharged at the moment even though I'm completely exhausted from not sleeping and constantly taking care of Remington.  I'm glad I went to work this morning though just to get away from the situation for a little while as the emotional aspect of it all takes a toll on me the most.  I'm hoping to get my homework done for school this afternoon, but it will be a challenge since Remington wants to lay on my lap most of the time.  Can you picture that... an 80 lb dog on my little lap :)  I think it is his safe spot. I won't complain, instead I'll just work around him.

1:00 pm
Remi had a bowel movement and when Dan was here!  The movement was very small, maybe only 2 inches, but it was one still the same!  I'm soooooo happy!  He had a really hard time getting it out, but he did it.  We will be out of pain meds tonight, so I'm hoping once he's done with those that he won't be so constipated!  Even though he seems about the same today as yesterday, I feel like we are making some progress and we might be about ready to get over the hump.

4:00 pm
Remington has rested very well these past few hours.  He was sleeping during the time it came to take his pain meds so I will give them to him when he wakes.  It is a sigh of relief to watch him sleep more than an hour or so without him jumping awake from pain. Both him and I can now relax just a little bit.

6:00 pm
Remington ate dinner very well this evening... he actually seemed to have an appetite.  He's still not drinking any water on it's own. Walking is still a chore.  He still wants to sit/lay down most of the time so it is walk a little bit, sit, walk a little bit... sit.  I took him out and he did not pee or poop for me... he just proceeded to  slam into my legs with his lamp shade.  My legs are so sore from this and bruised.  Just 4 hours and 30 minutes till Dan is home for the next 3 days.  I think that I might make it!!!

Post Anal Sacculectomy - Day 3

Recovery Period

This has been the most horrible day since the surgery!  I have been pretty much hysterically crying non stop since 10 o'clock last night.  It is even harder because I'm dealing with Remington mostly by myself because of Dan's schedule at the moment.  That is the worst part.  I'll be so ready for Tuesday when he'll be off for a few days.

So... Remington is a completely different dog today compared to yesterday.  I think the reason is because they were giving him injectable pain meds at Purdue and once they wore off the pain was back full force.  At this point he is not wanting to walk at all hardly.  When we take him out to try to go to the bathroom he pees and then he will lay down and not move. He is not hardly drinking any water which is worrisome to me because I'm afraid of him becoming dehydrated.  He is extremely uncomfortable.  His tail is down non stop and if we barely touch his rear end he freaks out and cries like crazy!  It is almost unbearable to be around him because he is so pathetic!  I can hardly stand seeing him this way.  He has not pooped yet.  I think that he has to, but he won't stand up long enough to do his business.

Because of all the changes we have seen today compared to yesterday we ended up calling Purdue to see what they thought we should do.  Brandy was a little concerned I think once we told her what was going on.  She suggested we up his pain meds to 3 pills every 8 hours compared to 2.5.  She also told us about a cream to get (Desitin) that might help with the horrible razor burn he has. We just have to be very careful that it doesn't come into contact with the incision site.  She said she would call me in the morning and evening tomorrow to see how he was doing and if he has had a bowel movement yet.  I asked her what we would do if he doesn't have one soon.  She said that we might have to bring him back to Purdue for a check up.  She said he is obviously producing fecal matter by this point, but he might be in too much pain to expel it.  I'm hoping that the cream will help with the razor burn which in turn might make him comfortable enough to have a bowel movement.

I'm at a compete loss at this point.  I feel soooo helpless not being able to make him feel better.  On a positive note, he has been sleeping most of the time (mostly because of the pain meds) and he is eating and taking his meds without too much trouble. I'm so ready for this 2 week recovery period to be over with....

Post Anal Sacculectomy - Day 2

Recovery Period

Just a warning, some of the pictures included in this post are not pretty so don't look if you get grossed out easily.

Just as promised I'm going to keep documenting Remington's recovery so others that have to have this surgery done can have a better idea what to expect, since it was extremely difficult to find anything on the subject during the time that I was researching this.

We picked up Remington this morning at 9:00.  I think that both Dan and I were very nervous to actually see first hand the outcome of this surgery!  YIKES!  Brandy greeted us soon after we got there and took us to a room to explain Remington's take home instructions.  They are as follows:

Appointments
We need to schedule an appointment with our regular vet in 10 - 14 days for incision recheck and suture remnant removal.

Specific Instructions
Remington will need to wear an E-collar for the next 10 days. If he doesn't there is a chance that he will cause trauma to the incisions and the surgical site could become infected. He has absorbable sutures that may not need to be removed, however, if at his recheck there are suture remnants, please have those removed. If Remington has not had a bowel movement by Monday afternoon, please give Purdue a call.

Medications
1) Tramadol (50 mg) - Give 2.5 tablets by mouth every 8 hours for 3 days. This is a pain relieving medications that will help Remington stay comfortable while his incision heals. Side effects include sedation and constipation. If sedation occurs, give 2.5 tablets by mouth every 12 hours.  We began the medication today at 1:00 pm.
2) Rimadyl (75 mg) - Give 1 tablet by mouth every 12 hours for 3 days. This is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication that will decrease the inflammation around Remington's incision and will provide some pain relief. Side effects include GI upset (anorexia, vomiting, diarrhea). If any side effects occur, stop giving the medication and call Purdue. We began medication tonight at 8:00 pm.
3) Metronidazole (250 mg) - Give 1.5 tablets by mouth every 12 hours for 7 days. This is a antibiotic directed towards bacteria in the large intestine, it will help to reduce the risk of incisional infection. Side effects include staggering (walking abnormally) and GI upset (anorexia, vomiting, and diarrhea). If any side effects occur, please call Purdue. We began medication tonight at 8:00 pm.

Brandy told us that Remington had not yet had a bowel movement.  This is probably because he fasted so long and it is taking his system a little while to warm up.  I really wanted him to have his first one there because I'm scared to death about dealing with his first one at home!  YIKES!  The Doctor who did the surgery came in soon after and talked to us about the surgery.  He said that they did not have to cut through any muscle and he is very confident that Remington will not suffer any bad effects (incontinence) from this surgery! YAY!

After they were done giving us all the information it was time to bring Remington in!  He of course was a complete wiggle monster!  He was running all around giving us hugs and kisses.  I was soooo thankful that Dan was with me because he is able to get control over Remington a lot better than I can.  We put him in the car and headed home!  He was a trooper on the car ride and spent most of his time looking out the window.  He loves his car rides!

Once home we tried to see if he wanted to poop... nothing.  We've been home for pretty much 7 hours now and he is not showing any sign of wanting to go.  I'm just hoping Dan is home when he does his first one because I'm very nervous about it.  I'm not sure if he just doesn't have to, or if he is kind of scared to. I'm pretty sure I would be!  Most of the day he has been sleeping.  He seems pretty exhausted.  Not that he didn't sleep at Purdue, but you always sleep better at home in your own bed.  His bum seems to be bothering him a bit.  He is constantly trying to bite/lick at the area... this is obviously why they want an E-collar on him always :)  He has ate pretty well most of the day and taken his meds for me without any problems.  For the most part he seems to be doing as well as can be expected at this point.

Below are some pictures from the day and the surgery area...

My sweet boy is home!!!  He is running into everything with his lamp shade, including us... my legs are gonna be bruised :)

Shaved spot on left front leg where IV was.

Shaved spot on back where I believe they were injecting pain meds.

Surgery site. On each side of his bum hole is the incision sites and where the stitches are... this is kind of difficult to see, but it is the part that is scabbed over a bit.  His whole rear is shaved down and he has razor burn very bad, but this should disappear in a couple of days.

This is how Remington spent most of his first day home.  I got everything done on Friday night so I could be his on call nurse all weekend.  Probably not as good as Brandy, but I'll do my very best :)

Are we happy we did the surgery you ask?  Yes... however, we'll feel much better once he is completely back to normal.