Hip Update

As I said yesterday, I am following the prescribed treatment for bursitis of the hip: minimal walking, maximal resting, anti-inflammatories, and Scout’s lovely dog-walker is taking her out for an hour-long hike each morning with another retriever. Last night’s sleep wasn’t great, but overall the inflammation is definitely reducing.

A massive gale-force storm arrived overnight and this morning the wind gusts were reaching 107 km/h.  Poor Rebecca arrived to pick Scout up, covered from head to toe in waterproof gear. And off they went.

The came back 50 minutes later and she advised me they had gone back to the beach, so Scout “might be a wee bit sandy”.  She was; she was also very happy.  I took Scout straight to the shower, thinking a 2 minute rinse should take care of things.  Fortunately I did remove my sweater and my watch, because what happened next would have ruined both.

FFS, that sand was drilled into her fur.  Half a bottle of dog shampoo, two soap-downs, three rinses, and 20 minutes of wrestling later, we were both cranky, both drenched, and both exhausted.  (She had just spent 50 glorious minutes in 8°C weather, being pelted with spears of rain, and I was using a gentle shower head and warm water and yet you would think I was stabbing her with a pitchfork. What a drama queen – it isn’t that she’s actively fighting me, more passive resistance, leaning and turning away. But she is 60lb; it’s work goddam it.)

About 10 minutes in to this 25-minutes-from-hell-for-all-involved, I felt my hip start to twinge.   Oh no.

But we were only part way done, so I kept bending, and scrubbing, and wrestling, and swearing.  And once she was finally washed, there was the drying, then the shower-cleaning, then the laundry, then the cleaning of the bathroom (we have one more family viewing the house this aft, so I can’t just leave the bathroom a disaster).  Every step I took was painful.  Great, just great.

So basically, all the progress I had made with my hip by hiring a dog walker had been completely reversed by a walk on the beach.  You know, maybe a walk on a sandy beach with two long-haired dogs in a gale-force storm wasn’t the best decision ever?  Just sayin’.

*oh and Lori, yes, I did remove the shower trap and clean it out too.  🙂