We passed two important milestones on Wednesday.
I have mentioned before, probably too many times, that we have a regular Wednesday lunch of huevos rancheros at our favorite Mexican restaurant. But for at least five weeks Leah has not been able to attend. She has had a really painful time with sciatica.
I had heard of sciatica but never understood how debilitating it could be. She has been taking a lot of pain pills for a long time with very limited relief. She had an epidural two weeks ago last Monday which hurt like hell and provided no relief . She has promised she will never have another one. On Tuesday she finally got a prescription for gabapentin, which is used for nerve pain. That seems to have helped, because around noon on Wednesday, she suggested that maybe we could eat at the Mexican restaurant. And so we did.
This was the best lunch we have had in a long time. Maria, the waitress who knows us best, served us. The hot sauce was the best we have ever had. I have heard TV chefs talk about chilis having a fruity flavor when prepared a certain way, but until we had this sauce, I had never tasted it. It was exactly the right combination of heat and flavor. The burrito sauce was also good. And the eggs.
So, we passed a milestone: Leah was able to get out of the house and have lunch. I don’t know whether it was a major milestone, but it certainly felt that way.
The second milestone involved a dog.
Zoe has a history of running away. I have told the story of her four-day road trip to who-knows-where, and at least a couple of other all-day affairs. On Wednesday afternoon I took Zoe and Sam into the front yard to play. I put them on about a 10-foot leash so they can get some running in. They had played for a while, and I was fairly relaxed, when they saw a squirrel near a tree at the edge of the yard. Zoe took off and jerked the leash out of my hand. She ran to the tree, and when the squirrel climbed the tree, Zoe kept going into the woods.
I called and called as she disappeared. I couldn’t run after her because I had Sam on his leash (plus arthritis in my knees), but Leah heard me calling and came out. She held Sam, and I was just getting read to hobble into the woods after Zoe when Leah said, “Here she comes!”
Yes, Zoe came back when she was called. It took a little more calling than would be ideal, but she actually came back to us.
So, we turned a corner. We passed a milestone. But I’m still going to keep her on her leash when she’s outside.
She’s lying on our living room couch in the photo. Leah is not thrilled to have her on the furniture, so she stays off until Leah goes to bed. Then she steps up to the couch and asks permission. I pat the cushion and she jumps up. Leah knows she’s doing it, but doesn’t really complain, as long as she doesn’t actually see it.
Congratulations of your two successes. I’m glad Leah is able to manage her situation better than before.
I am still too paranoid to go out to a restaurant. In fact, my wife says we’ve saved an embarrassing amount of money since March NOT going out. Plus I’ve lost 25 pounds. If this keeps up, I may start running again.
I had been wondering how Leah was doing with the sciatica. So good to know that she found relief and that you two could celebrate at your favorite restaurant. Yay!!!
Love the Zoe story. She’s maturing in a wonderful way.
Paul — We have been sneaking out to a couple of restaurants, although I have to admit that some of the things we see don’t inspire confidence. Twenty-five pounds is a lot of weight to lose. Running is not in my future. I might manage to run if I had enough helium balloons to take all but 25 pounds of my weight.
Robin — I have been letting Zoe out of the house off her leash when I take her with me in the car (actually, usually my truck). She runs out and stands next to the car door. If I say, “Nope, not that one, we’re taking the truck,” she runs out to the truck. And straight to the garage door when we return. She might turn out to be a pretty decent dog.