The stockings were hung...

I'm ready for Santa. I hear he knows when I am sleeping and he knows when I'm awake, so I'm being good for goodness sake!

On the inside looking out

Hey, I remember that patio! But I was always outside trying to get in. Now I wish I could go outside, walk wherever I want and eat whatever I find in the yard again. I'm pretty tired of being indoors so they let me explore a little more so I won't get bored.

My tortoise mom made a little obstacle course in my exercise area of the kitchen. I'm not impressed as it's more like a speed bump, but I'll do whatever it takes to rebuild my muscles!

Anatomy lesson

The diamond-shaped plates on my shell between the two pieces of tape on my feeding tube shows approximately where my stomach is, or at least how far the feeding tube goes past my esophagus and into my stomach. That way I can't choke when they feed me and I still get to enjoy eating my green leafies myself. I haven't been wild about hibiscus flowers yet, but I'm sure my jaw muscles will get strong enough to enjoy them again too. Meanwhile, I like my lettuce straight up--fresh, cold and crispy!

Back in business

I'm starting to look like a mummy with even more bandages, but I got a new feeding tube installed yesterday so I'm good to go until I can gain some more weight and muscle.

Dr. Wright hoped to just restitch my old feeding tube where it came loose in my neck but I would have none of that. So since I needed anesthetic anyway, he replaced the whole shebang. I came home extra sleepy yesterday afternoon, and the world was still a slow and blurry place most of this morning, but some Christmas music, extra warmth and play time in the kitchen snapped me out of dreamland.

Besides the new feeding tube, Dr. Wright put extra tape where the tube is anchored in my neck with stitches. It's like a turtleneck for the tube. It's bulkier but more secure which is important since I'm pretty active now. Also we now have a small catheter which can be used as a "plumber's helper" to make sure the feeding tube doesn't clog up. My tortoise mom is threatening to fire up the coffee grinder to beat the Oxbow Critical Care hay bits into submission so they won't clog up the syringe or my feeding tube anymore. I say, Go for it! Whatever works.

Did you know the "plates" on the top of my shell actually mark my spine? The second vertebral plate marks how far my feeding tube goes into my stomach, which is about 1/3 of the way down my shell. You can see it in the space between bandages that hold the feeding tube flat on the top of my shell.

I need to do a lot more lettuce crunching to build up the muscles in my head. My tortoise mom has plans for some toys and platforms to keep me stimulated and active during my kitchen/gym workouts. I did drag around my favorite yellow box today.

Do I hear the theme from "Rocky" as I step up my rehab training? Only three more weeks until my patch change and I'm really hoping to be bulked up by then.

Blew a gasket?

We have to find out if my feeding tube is out of position so we're checking with my favorite vets at Arizona Exotic Animal Hospital. My next appointment is set for 12/19 but it looks like my tube is coming out as there's space between my skin and the stitches that hold it in.

I've been a lot more active so we had to add extra sticky band-aids to keep the tube from moving around. Also it has been clogging up lately. And then there was that nasty syringe problem, so there are several reasons why my feeding tube isn't sitting snug in my neck. But it's also been more than eight weeks since it was installed during my surgery.

As you can see from my green beak, I've been enjoying feeding myself more lately. I'm awake, alert and ready to chow down as soon as my tortoise mom shows up every morning.

I guess we'll find out soon enough if the feeding tube needs to be fixed, removed or just left alone for a few more weeks. Good thing I don't have to figure this stuff out as I know I'm in good hands. (yawn) And now it's time for a little nap in my favorite yellow box. Even with a green beak and orange feeding tube, a gal needs her beauty sleep!

Yesterday was a "bad hay day"

I don't know what happened, but suddenly hay mixture was squirting all over my shell and the wall and then the washing machine was running because hay squirted on the bath curtain too so it had to be washed. Who knew hay mush could squirt so far?

My tortoise dad brought home a new syringe last night and used extra water to flush out my feeding tube so things went better today. When you're getting powdered hay and vitamins from a syringe in a feeding tube, sometimes "Clogs Happen!"

Happy Thanksgiving!

Here's my usual hangout. See why I'm extra thankful this year? I've got luxury digs indoors with all the amenities. Plus I'm about a pound lighter without that giant bladder stone I'd been hauling around. And now I have my own radio as music perks me up so I eat better. So far I've been listening to Christmas songs but that might get old pretty soon. I'm not thrilled when dogs or chipmunks sing, but I am happier now that I know the dog barking next door can't get near me. Anyway with the extra heating light and music, I'm really chowing down now. This is good because I have to build up weak muscles in my head and jaw from when I was too weak too eat.

So I'm working on being an eating machine. Hey, a gal needs to have goals! I only eat the greenest part of romaine leaves and leave the ribs. I know what I like! They keep offering me hibiscus flowers but they're a little harder for me to bite right now. I know I need more variety in my diet but I'm working on it.

I've never been awake for the holidays before. This is a lot different than being tucked away in my burrow for the winter, and I have always liked coming indoors. Years ago, at another house, I figured out how to open the sliding patio door with my toenails so I could enjoy the cool tile floor in the kitchen. This surprised my tortoise mom every time I did it. I guess no one expects a tortoise to do this, but you might be amazed at what we can do. Did you know we can walk 7 miles in a day? Not so pokey afterall. And my yard buddy, Tortellini, thinks she's an acrobat. She's pretty good at hanging by her front toenails wherever there's a place she can climb and wedge herself. She's the tortoise equivalent of a mountaineer, but without the technical gear or ego. She's hibernating now and doesn't know what she's missing.

This is Tortellini checking out a temporary barricade last summer. They put it up so we couldn't "help" the a/c repairmen. See what I mean about her climbing ability?

BTW did you know we hibernate according to the amount of daylight, not temperature? That's why we tuck in our burrows even when it's still hot outside. But our body clocks say "it's time" so our metabolism slows way down and in we go. The temperature is pretty constant in the burrow so we can conserve energy while we're hibernating. Dirt is great insulation, one of Nature's amenities.

Urates R Us!

I've had quite a week. The temperature dropped and I thought about hibernating so they cranked up the infrared light for overnight heat. Suddenly it's June 21 again.

Then I got a new batch of Oxbow Critical Care, which is really powdered hay and vitamins mixed up for my feeding tube. But this batch just isn't the same and I haven't been as sweet or interested in anything, including my favorite lettuce and cartoons. So they're making a switch tonight. Yay!

But the big thing I did was "express my bladder" on Wednesday. It's something I should have been doing to flush out the urates so I wouldn't have a bladder stone. But six weeks after the surgery, let's just say I outdid myself. My tortoise mom e-mailed a photo of the urates in question to Dr. Johnson to ask if this was normal or of any concern. He assured her that I was just doing my tortoise business in thorough fashion. You'll notice that there's no photo and I think the towel I "expressed myself" on is still out in the back yard. Evidently no one knew I could be so expressive as it caused quite a stir. But I plan to do more of that so I won't ever need surgery for a bladder stone again!

Thanks, Tortoise Dad!

I really enjoy dining, in ladylike fashion, on romaine with a hibiscus flower for either appetizer or dessert--sometimes both! Let's see, does a flower on the right side of the shell mean I'm available?

When I get to go back outside next summer, I'll find three new hibiscus plants covered with red flowers. Plus we're getting a replacement Desert Willow tree because I love all the sweet pink flowers it drops all summer. Thanks, Tortoise Dad, for giving me such a nice yard to live in. I can hardly wait to see it. But I've got a lot of healing to do indoors until then.

C-Span

This is what I do when they talk about health reform on C-Span. I say: Get 'er done! And, Where's SpongeBob? He is far more entertaining for me. Maybe we should tortois-ize the remote so I'll perk up and be more active.

I'm in good hands with Dr. Johnson!

I spent the day at Arizona Exotic Animal Hospital last week, and boy, it really pooped me out. Dr. Johnson decided to wait on replacing my surgical patch until December. But I got a thorough check-up. My weight is holding steady but I need to gain more. I've been eating a lot on my own but I'll get a larger dose of Oxbow Critical Care in my feeding tube now, plus less water. We do know my bladder is working well again!

Dr. Johnson wants me to exercise more so I guess I'll be exploring the kitchen more now. I do like the new brooder light that warms up the towels and rugs for my "laps."

I don't mind riding in the car and I even eat romaine leaves in my travel box. Too bad there are no hay salad drive-throughs!

All ears

If you look really close, you can see a smooth circle on the side of my head. That's the membrane that recognizes sound vibrations so I can hear. Oh, how I am fearfully and wonderfully made!

SpongeBob and Sponge Baths

I listen to the tv to wake up in the morning before doing my laps in the kitchen. I especially like SpongeBob Squarepants. That cheerful little guy sure gets my attention. Also, I always cock my head and perk up when I hear my tortoise mom's voice. It doesn't look like I have ears as they are so cleverly disguised, but I sure can hear!

I've been eating a lot on my own lately so we'll see what the vet says about that feeding tube today. I'm going in for a surgical patch change. I get lots of sponge baths to keep my shell clean and dry while it's healing, but today the vet will soak it to melt the resin patch so I can get new surgical dressings. My hind legs are a lot stronger now so I won't have to ask about getting a "lift kit" after all. Stay tuned. It's going to be a long day, but I know I'm in good hands!!

Happy Halloween!

This might be a Halloween costume or it might be subtle commentary on all the pooping I've been doing in the kitchen (on old towels) after breakfast. I'm feeling a lot better so I'm more mobile, and that can create trouble in a hurry!

We thought it could be fun to have a large fin and be LandShark for Halloween, but I plan to be tucked in my bed come Trick or Treat time. Got to get my beauty/shell-healing sleep.

Just think, this BioHazard label is about the size that bladder stone took up in my body. I'm sure glad that thing is just a hard-earned souvenir now. Even Ripley's Believe It or Not would be amazed.

Let's Get Physical (Therapy)

To get my hind legs moving again after surgery and hauling around that bladder stone for so long, I had physical therapy twice a day for 10 days. See, I told you I've been very busy! I thought this was pretty cool for about a week but as I started feeling better, I decided to assert my independence. Before that, my hind legs were pretty limp and I could only lurch around my tub. But once I got some of my strength back, look out! I can pull my legs in tight and then push them out hard to break free. And when I've had enough, that's IT! But now I get to do more fun things for exercise, like doing laps in the kitchen. Of course I always remember to "set my core" and "move as a unit."

Here's a short video of the Range of Motion therapy on my hind legs. I do have to wonder: Does this make my butt look big?

It's a very good thing that PT helped me so much because I don't know how Dr. QiLing Lu would have given me acupuncture instead. I'm not sure I would sit still for all those baby fine needles but I would like her heat lamp and Chinese music. Since I'm better now, I guess we'll just never know.

Here's another video of PT, but from the tortoise-eye view. You can see why it can get boring so that's why I started listening to the tv so I could be a more patient patient.

As I was saying....

Sorry for the long break in posting but I've been one busy gal. Recovery is a lot of work! First I had to start pooping again, so I had to take new "motility" medicine plus antibiotics and get extra feedings to get things moving again after the surgery. I have finished all my medicines and I can now safely report: Mission Accomplished. I am pooping really well. In fact, my tortoise dad declared a Poop-mergency just yesterday as I outdid myself. What can I say, I'm an overachiever like my tortoise mom.

I also had physical therapy twice a day to get the nerves to my back legs working again (stay tuned, there's a video). But I think what helped me most was getting to walk around the kitchen. Wow, that sure perked me up! There are new places to explore and barricade boxes to examine. I still can't figure out why I can't climb through this one box that has a dark label on it, a la Roadrunner cartoons. Some things are just fascinating at tortoise eye view.

I get questions about what I'm eating and what the set-up looks like where I spend 90% of my time. So here's the scoop: For now I stay in the bathtub of the guest bathroom. I have a little box at one end of the tub, away from the basking light so I can cool down when I need to. Plus I like my privacy when I'm getting a little shut-eye. The lights are on a timer and hang from an extra shower rod at a height that keeps the warm end of the tub in the low to 90s and the cool end in the mid 80s. I have to move around to manage my body temperature--there's no thermostat under my shell!

I have pesticide-free timothy hay in my tub so I don't have to slip and slide on newspapers when I walk. I guess I could try eating some but I haven't been interested in that. I do get Oxbow Critical Care powdered timothy hay and vitamins in my feeding tube. Then they flush the tube with water after. Talk about fine dining! Sometimes it was all a bit too much and I would open my mouth with the overflow, so they had to cut back on the amount. Lately I've been getting 20ml of the Oxbow hay with a 20ml water chaser twice a day. I was getting 15ml of water midday but yesterday my tortoise mom decided I needed to cut back.

I'll write more soon. The World Series is on and I'm a big Derek Jeter fan. You might think this is funny, but the tv really gets my attention. I don't like it when the dog next door barks, so I always cringe, but I listen to the tv. I might watch if they'd let me but so far I'm limited to easy to clean places--something about poop-mergencies.

Impromptu vet visit

I haven't been feeling as perky lately. Ok, I'll be frank: I haven't been able to poop at all in a few days and I was really struggling yesterday. I was opening my mouth, sort of like "talking," but of course I can't say what's wrong. But my tortoise mom has been keeping track so she called Arizona Exotic Animal Hospital. Stacey talked to Dr. Wright who said I should have a check-up pronto.

Emmy weighed me in and discovered that I'm gaining weight! This is good news for a gal who has been losing a lot of weight due to being so weak. That's why I never ever complain about tube feeding!

Then Dr. Wright gave me a digital exam. Yikes! But he found some leftover urate from the bladder stone and some poop that may have been irritating my lower tract so he removed it. I'm glad that's over! He increased the amount of food and water for my feeding tube and gave me some medicine to increase motility so my digestion will work right again. I'm back on antibiotics too, just to be on the safe side.

Now we're all on Poop Watch. Stay tuned....

Tortoise e-mail

Wow, I got my very first e-mail from one of my special friends who even took care of me for a while when we were moving. This really means a lot to me!

"Grandma,

It's very nice to hear you are doing so well! Your friends have been concerned about you. I must commend you on your spelling and picture posting; you do it so much better than I! Please continue to heal and to keep your many friends posted on your progress. All best, Ellen"

Feeding tube fine dining

I posed for a video last night while getting my dinner via the feeding tube. I have tape on my leg so my scales don't pull it out. It gives me that "Flashdance" leg-warmer look, don't you think?

They say I'm so photogenic that I might need an agent...

Here's the video, complete with background noise. I'm sure Spielberg made that mistake once or twice. Ok, quiet on the set!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZt3PzRQT8w

That's One Honkin' Bladder Stone

Boy, I'm glad I'm not hauling this monster around anymore. Dr. Johnson said this stone took up half my bladder and 10 percent of my body weight. Whew! Who knew uric acid could crystalize into a stone weighing nearly a pound!

We didn't have a baseball to compare, but this shows the bladder stone is larger than a tennis ball. Dr. Johnson had a hard time maneuvering the stone out of the shell opening because it's not totally smooth. It's funny, but the camera's face recognition technology zoomed in on these three dark spots. Smile, bladder stone, smile!

Look, Ma, no stitches!

10/6/09 I finished my pain meds yesterday so I'm more alert today--no more seeing "colors" and zoning out. I'm sure glad I'm not a dog or cat or I'd be wearing a cone on my head right now. Here's the resin patch on the bottom of my shell from my bladder stone surgery. I'll have to get the patch changed as my shell heals, and the basking light helps with that. Who knew UV rays make bone heal?

Glad to be Home from the Hospital

10/3/09 I got home from the hospital today. Now I'm living large in my own indoor habitat complete with a Powersun 160W basking light that's just like the sun. Seriously, it puts out actual rays! I have a box to scoot into when I need a cooler place to be or just want some privacy. I'm getting my medicines, food and water through a feeding tube that's taped to the top of my shell. I'm already feeling better, and I'm very glad to have a new lease on life!

Surgery Success!

9/30/09 News Flash: Dr. Johnson called to report that Grandma came through THREE Hours of surgery just fine today! He said the bladder stone and fluid around it accounted for 10% of her body weight and he had quite a time getting it out of the hole he cut in the bottom of her shell.

She has a new lease on life and will be coming home to Tortoise Sick Bay on Saturday. Sleep tight, Grandma, you made it!

Vet called with good news!

9/27/09 I'm a little nervous but it looks like I'm getting a second chance at life with surgery for a bladder stone on Wed., Sept. 30. Thank goodness I'm in good hands with Dr. Jay Johnson at Arizona Exotic Animal Hospital in Mesa, Arizona. He called with results of my bloodwork and says I'm well enough for surgery which is Very Good News.

Here's the x-ray he took yesterday. No wonder I've been struggling so hard to eat and get around.