We're Home

Got to Vegas about 1000, which was supposed to be the time for the pick up. We got moved to 1100 so the surgeon could make a final check on his cutest patient. Paid the bill and noted the surgeon didn't charge us for his time. I thought that was fair and reasonable. One could argue that this was simply a continuation of the first repair surgery and we certainly paid the doc enough for that. Still, in this day and age it was gratifying to see him step up that way. My wallet certainly appreciated it.

1100 rolled around and the discharge nurse went over the doctor's instructions. Same one as last time and she recognized us so that went pretty quick. Then they brought Angus out. To say he was happy to see us is a vast understatement. Especially Momma. He went into immediate Whole Body Happy Wiggle mode. He was actually walking very well and we could really see the difference in his leg with the plate gone. It was so good to see him again. We really missed the little stinker.

He pulled us out the door and took a long and well deserved potty break in the gravel beside the truck. We loaded him up in the back seat with Lu and we were off home with prescriptions for antibiotics, inflammation and pain and 3 happy passengers. The trip home was uneventful and pretty easy. He slept most of the way.

Shaved again. I hope this is the last we'll be seeing of his leg skin. If you look real close you'll see that the stitches are....pink. The nurse says it's so they'll stand out against his black skin and fur but I think it's a Gyno conspiracy. Baby Girl thought they were stylish so there's that. 21 stitches total.

After he expressed his happiness at seeing us and being rescued from the Dungeon of Not Home he made sure to punish us. Angus is a sensitive dog. Not to mention badly spoiled. He'll probably hang his head and sad eye us for a few days just to make absolutely sure we understand how badly we disappointed him before he forgives us.

"Is Daddy looking? Does he look miserable and apologetic yet? Good!"

The leg looks straight to my eye and matches the other one pretty well now. The new incision is right over the old one so at least he'll only have one scar. And the surgeon did have to open it up all the way again to get the plate out.

Oh right. The Cone of Shame. We don't make him wear it when he's in direct and constant supervision of either of us but it's always there just in case. And don't think for a second that he doesn't know it. "I'll be good, I promise!"

After a few minutes at home he settled down and seems to have forgiven us. We're just so happy and grateful to have him back safe and whole. As I write this he's up on our bed, snuggled up with Momma and deep in the sleep of the truly content. It's good to be a family again. Welcome home Little Man.

Thank you all again for your well wishes and prayers. They worked. Once again. But this time I'm going to forgo teasing Murphy and tweaking his nose. We've had enough excitement with this one as it is. I'll just say that at this moment things are good and the future seems bright and leave it at that. That dude just has absolutely no sense of humor.

Six

Bathroom Update

We're now up to a half bath. The bathroom is complete except for the shower and some trim but it's usable as is right now. Took long enough.

I went with Pex for the water supply lines. Easy to use, reasonable cost and waaaay easier than sweating copper. When you're running complex runs like I did to multiple outlets (shower, vanity sink and toilet) make sure you keep track of hot and cold lines. I marked all the cold lines with black electrical tape.

Even my supply faucets are Pex. Pex is fastened to studs with plastic, NOT metal.

From there we decided to put down the tile on the main floor, right up to the edge of where the shower threshold will go. We have a system.Lu hates to cut tile so she lays and I do all the cutting and fitting.

Grout and the tile is ready. You can see the shower area there. I have to build my own shower pan due to the odd placement of the drain. At the edge of that tile is where the threshold will go. The shower install will be a post in it's own self.

The finished tile floor.

The drywall actually went in pretty easy. I'm getting the hang of this stuff and all my cuts were right on first time. I'm so proud.

Lu mudded and taped and I hit everything with a good dose of texture.

I ran into a snag and I'm just going to pass this along as information that may or may not be useful to you. I was messing around with the drywall around the recessed light over the shower when I realized the pot light housing was hot. Really, really hot. I checked the others and they were all cool to the touch but that one was so hot I couldn't touch it with bare fingers. I discovered it was the light bulb. This one.

I checked the rest of the house and we had several others in various lamps. All felt warmer to the touch than other 60W bulbs we had. I took this one out of the pot light fixture, put in something cooler and all is well. It's just such a weird thing. I'm not accusing anyone of putting out a bad product but my experience with this bulb was exceedingly negative. It's a real fire hazard in recessed lighting fixtures, especially those in contact with insulation. Word to the wise.

Lu applied one coat of drywall covering primer and two coats of paint and it was time for some installation. Finally.

The vanity and sink. Do yourself a favor and do as much installation and hookups on the faucet as you can before you install the sink on the vanity. It'll save your back. You'll still have to crawl in there for some finals but it's much easier.

And the toilet. That' an American Standard, Champion 4 Max. They claim it'll flush a bucket of golf balls. Not that I ever crap golf balls but you never know. Better safe than sorry is my motto.

It has one of those lids that lets itself down gradually. Angus thought it was alive or magic. Either way it is something that clearly cannot be trusted.

A wide view of the vanity and toilet install from the bedroom. We can now leave that door open without having to look at construction in progress.

Put in the mirror and back splash and we're done with this portion of the build.

Lu chose a vanity with feet. I like the way you can see the tile run under it.

Here's some perspective. This is the layout I did for the bathroom oh so many months ago. After the demo and structural repair. Shower on the left, vanity on the right and X marks the toilet. It went in almost exactly as I laid it out. This is a bathroom put in where none had ever existed before. On a concrete slab floor. It was an incredible amount of work but excessively satisfying to have completed. Well, except for the shower but that's mostly just finish work at this point.

Simple, clean and well built. I'm happy but mostly because Lu is happy. It's my job in life to make her smile and I did that today. Life is good.

Next up will be tackling that shower. I have to make a custom pan from vinyl sheet, install a threshold, put in a base to get the floor up to the drain level and then tile everything. Should be in by next week. Unless I get itchy and spend entirely too much time at the range. But at least we can now wash up and er, drop some golf balls from the master bedroom.

This particular project is very nearly done. If not the rest of the house. Sigh.
Six

Bringing Him Home Today

Doc called at 9:30. Angus did Ok but started throwing up shortly after he awakened from the anesthesia and was started on Fentanyl. I think his body doesn't react well to Opioids. This is twice now and both times he had bad reactions. He did much better on Rimadyl and Tramadol. Doc's pretty sure it was a drug reaction but suggested they keep him another day. Lu stood beside me shaking her head and Momma Bear growling (if the Doc had seen her he'd have run from the room screaming "Just Kidding!") and I had to agree with her. No insult to them but we can take better care of him at home and he'll naturally do better when he's relaxed and happy in his environment and with Mom and Dad. He'll be more comfortable and secure not to mention he loves being fussed over. Angus is a sensitive dog. He needs to be touched and cooed at and generally babied. No one babies him like Momma and Momma wants her boy home so home he is coming. We are so happy this morning.

So we'll be heading down to pick him up in a few minutes. They'll have him ready at 1:00. We've spent the morning getting everything ready. Carpets and rugs taped down over slick floors. Bedding and linens ready. We've packed up his sling, some toys (a new stuffed bear!), some food and treats in the truck. The medicine cabinet is stocked and we know what comes and what to do next. We're as ready as we can be.

I probably won't post anything else today barring something unforeseen but I promise a good update tomorrow after a nights sleep in his own bed in his own home and some good food. Thank you again for all your prayers and well wishes. They worked, they really did. We're getting our little man back today. My spirit soars.

Six and Lu