A Little Excitement

On Friday I managed to get my bed linen changed and the dirty sheets etc. washed before lunch. After lunch I had a rest and read a book while Margaret also rested between wandering around the house with her wheely walker. She didn't want to go out as it was pretty warm 29C/84F but was worried that she should be going somewhere.

For weeks now Margaret has wanted fish and chips for Friday evening's dinner. I get this from the Noosa Marina fish shop where they have great smooth dory. Suddenly she doesn't want fish and chips and I wasn't prepared to cook anything else at short notice. I had an idea. During the week I had picked up a pack of frozen uncooked prawns marinated garlic and spices. I quickly defrosted these and warmed up some frozen chips in my little toaster oven. The prawns only took three minutes to cook in a hot fry pan. Margaret had Garlic Prawns and fresh fruit salad and I had Garlic Prawns and chips. As the packet was 500 gm we each had a fair number of prawns which were very tasty.

After dinner Margaret was sitting in her chair with her feet up with Louis lying beside her having a few treats when something took his attention and he jumped down using her right shin as a launching pad. He weighs 15 kg and all this weight was transferred through his right front paw to the shin where it made four neat skin tears. With normal skin there may have been some minor marks but with Margaret's steroid affected skin these were triangular tears about 2 cm on each side. Margaret screamed,was in shock and beginning to bleed. Louis fled and hid. These skin tears are a common occurrence so it was out with the medical kid and I applied a 10 cm square non adhesive dressing over the tears and secured it with a bandage. The injuries needed medical attention to pull the shin back over the tears and secure them in place. I took Margaret to our local hospital to see the after hours out patients doctors. The local doctors maintain and after hours servile on a roster basis as the hospital's emergency department is normally overwhelmed by real emergencies and waits for other patients can be four or five hours. We were seen by an Asian doctor who we hadn't seen before. He asked Margaret how the tears happened and she told him that she must have had a fall. I prompted her and she finally remembered Louis was responsible. The doctor had access to Margaret's record and observed that she was very confused. He removed the dressing and cleaned up the tears and carefully stretched the skin back and secured then with steri-strips. After replacing the dressing he said we should see out local GP next Monday or Tuesday unless the wounds became infected, Louis' paws get into some pretty mucky places at times. The doctor was very gentle and caring with Margaret and complimented my dressing skills and prompt action in getting treatment.

We got home about 8.30 pm and Margaret wanted to have an ice cream and go to bed early. I gave her two Panadol in addition to her normal medications. I told her that they would help her sleep. After tucking her in and settling her down she was soon off to sleep.

On Saturday she was back to normal and not in any pain from the tears. I looked out for any signs of infection during the day but she was OK. Her only concern was that “that woman”, the Blue Care RN was coming round and would take Louis away. I have tried to explain that it was her skin condition which had caused the problem not the normal behaviour of an exuberant little dog. Most of the day she rested and after dinner went to bed early – actually I suppose that 8.30 to 9.00 pm has become normal for her and she slept all night.

Today, Sunday, she wants to go out so I may take her to the local air-conditioned shopping mall for a look around and morning tea. It is going to be 33C/92F today and much too hot to push Margaret by the river.