Weekend and More

Where should I start? This will probably be pretty long....

So Coulee and I had a great weekend at the Training Troop agility trial. It was amazingly well run - so well run, I was late for an event and may have missed it all together if Amanda hadn't tracked me down. We got off to a pretty rocky start. I fell in our Gambler's run and then our next run was a Standard run. I can't remember exactly what happened except that it was bad and that Coulee decided to bark "unfriendly-like" at numerous pole setters on the course. Thankfully it got better from there. Our second standard run was flawless - except for the weaves which she still can't do. And then it was Jumpers and Coulee got a Q! It was a pretty straightforward course so unless she knocked a bar, I was pretty confident that we could do it. She didn't let me down.

The next day all had courses with weaves so I knew we wouldn't Q, but we worked pretty good together. Our team run was a bit of a disaster as she got freaked out on the teeter and I couldn't get her to go over it despite a few tries. Our last run was Snooker and she did exactly what I asked but we couldn't Q without going through the weaves so we ended it right before. I was pretty proud of her.

The most stressful part of the whole weekend was the hotel - apparently they have a 2 dog rule... we had 5. No problem, we can smuggle them in. Wait. Our room is right next to the front desk. Luckily Amanda's are small so they all fit in one crate which we just dragged into the room. They didn't make a peep. Good pups! Coulee on the other hand felt she needed to bark at every strange noise (and as I'm sure you know, there are lots of strange noises in a hotel). Between her and Boone hacking up a lung, Amanda and I didn't get much sleep. Don't even get me started about the Starbucks we tried to visit that morning - that is a whole other blog post.

And then Monday came. And my back went. It got worse and worse as the day went on. By the time I went to bed, I didn't think I'd make it. Even with Marlin's help. I collapsed in tears at the top of the stairs and spent some time just recovering. Once in bed things were better, but the next morning was just as bad. We decided I should go to the Dr. I waited until 8 to call and they told me I could get in after 3.... I asked for something earlier and they suggested I call back at 9 to talk to his assistant. I called back at 9 and booked a 11:30 appointment. They called back an hour or so later and moved it to 1:30. I should have just gone to the ER. Marlin had to get a wheelchair to get me into the Dr.'s office. I had a major spasm during the exam as he asked me to stand and my shoelace had gotten caught on the chair. I laughed... bad move. Laughing hurts! After watching that pathetic display he prescribed 120 Tylenol 3, with codeine. 120!!! Yikes. So on the way home, we drove through Starbucks for some happy juice and a cookie and took some pain killers and anti-inflamatories. Soon after we got home, I was feeling much better. My spirits were up, I could move a little more than before and I was feeling optimistic. Then I started feeling nauseous. I called for Marlin to bring me a bowl... then the nausea progressed to pain. Quite a bit of pain. I told Marlin to call the Dr. to find out if it should hurt. Then I was having trouble breathing so while he was on hold, he hung up and called 911. I was freaking out. My hands and legs were feeling tingly and I was really straining to get air.

The ambulance was amazingly quick and the guys were very nice and very soothing. I actually knew 2 of them which helped. My pain disappeared and my breathing became easier. So the good news is, it was just a reaction to the meds. Thank god. I honestly thought I was having a heart attack. We hung out in emergency for quite a while so they could run some tests on my back. They didn't find a thing. The ER Dr. suggested acupuncture which I guess I will try and track down tomorrow. I'm still in much more pain than I thought I'd be but the pain pills help.

Amanda, Jolene, Tara and Sandy have been holding down the fort at the daycare. I owe them big for this! It is such a relief not to worry about work. Marlin has been the best nurse ever! He brings me food, pills and drinks. He's been shuttling dogs when needed and helping me roll over, sit up and make it to the bathroom. I'm going to owe him big too. Although he admits he didn't mind missing work to stay home and watch movies with me all afternoon. :)

Anyway, I'm really not comfortable sitting her so I should probably go. I think I've rambled enough but not really having anyone to talk to for 3 days will do that to a girl! Please excuse all the typos and spelling errors, I don't have the stamina to proof-read.