SURPRISES

Yesterday was looking like a pretty mellow day.  Doc and I attended a training class in the morning.  Then in the afternoon there was a bit of a scramble, phone calls, FAXes and such regarding the final papers for the selling of Doc’s parents’ house. 

Doc left around 6:30 p.m. to work on his 10,000 steps/day goal and get a few groceries.  I was putting some Autumn decorations up around the house and just appreciating the tranquility and peacefulness.  Thinking it was nice to have such a mellow evening.  That was about to change.

Doc came home a few moments before 8 p.m.  The dogs got super excited when they heard his car and were rough housing with each other.  This time they were louder and more aggressive sounding than usual.  I ran to the door to find that Dundee had pinned Norman down by the neck and Norman’s right eye was bloody and popped out.  I didn’t know if I should restrain Dundee or try and get Norman off the floor.  I hollered as loudly as I could for Doc to come quickly to assist.  We separated the dogs, called the vet clinic (which closes at 8), got the address for the nearest Emergency Animal Hospital, threw some of the groceries in the freezer, locked down the house, and headed out.  That was not the plan for the evening.  SURPRISE!

We arrived at the Emergency Center.  Fortunately Doc was carrying Norman because just before we entered the building, I tripped on something and went down hard on the concrete.  SURPRISE!  The right ankle twisted and made a loud noise.  The left knee took the majority of the impact.  Got a huge hole in the knee of my jeans and painful road rash on the knee cap!

Poor Doc!  He wasn’t sure if he should leave me laying there, carry me inside, continue on with Norman or what?  I was able to lean on Doc and shuffle inside.  The attendants in the Admissions area didn’t know which patient to deal with first.  Of course I told them to work with Norman immediately!  Time was of the essence with his eye.

Paperwork

After Norman was taken in to ‘see’ the doctor, I was given ice packs and instructed to get off the leg.  Doc had performed gallantly to that point and hates paperwork, so he told me to take care of business while he got himself a coffee in the next room.

The vet was funny when he gave us his assessment. He said Norman had been sedated to make him more comfortable.  At that time Norman was “singing to the pink kitty cats dancing across the exam room ceiling”.

At 9 p.m. Norman was prepped for surgery and Doc and I went home.  At 1 a.m. we called the hospital.  The surgery had gone as expected and Norman was doing OK.

We planned to leave Norman at the Hospital until later today (Friday) in order to have him under professional care and away from Dundee.  The phone rang at 8:30 a.m.  Doc jokingly said, “It’s probably the hospital asking us to get the little monster out of there”.  Sure enough!  The physician’s assistance was calling to say Norman was not happy there and trying to bite everyone.  Could we please come get him?  Not really a SURPRISE.

On the way to get Norman we stopped briefly at a grocery store so Doc could get a coffee and I could look for coins.  (Got a penny and a quarter).  I ran into a former co-worker which was definitely a COINcidence story in itself.  A nice SURPRISE.

Next we stopped at a 7-11 store.  Doc looked for coins in the gas pump area while I went inside.  We both returned to the car without any coins.  I said, I didn’t find any pennies … except for THIS ONE next to the van!  And this one, and this one …”  There were 4 pennies a few feet from my door!  SURPRISE!

Going Home

By 10 a.m. we were at the Animal Hospital to retrieve Norman.  He was not pleased with the resort amenities or the treatments he had received and was letting people know his opinions.  The doctor was able to keep the eyeball in place, but Norman is not likely to regain sight in it.

Note:  Last Thursday I took Norman and Sparky (other Dog) to each get a physical exam and establish a relationship with a vet clinic in our new residence area.  I noted that Norman had an initial vet appointment when we adopted him 11 years ago, but none since. He was “cheap to keep”!  He quickly made up for that with this one little incident!

Before dinner this evening Doc went out to get more steps.  He called back to say, “Don’t’ send out your penny tale yet today …. I just found some coins. It means we got a Hit for the Cycle today.   SURPRISE!

Life is just full of SURPRISES -- some “good” some “not so good”, but each of them helping to create our “uniqueness”.

Coins Today:  9P (one 1943 wheat), 2N, D, Q and one Canadian penny.