Tuesday, April 01, 2014

Using the Atrac brace.

Got the brace yesterday! At first, Girlie was all excited to put it on. I think she thought it was a harness, like the kind you put on when we're going out for the day. I felt bad because clearly that wasn't the case. It took a bit to figure it all out.

There are two videos in particular that need watching. The first is what to do before you put it on. That does make your adjustment time amazingly quick. I was too impatient and just started putting it on. Then it took forever to get it right.


After that, there is the cute Jake video where Dr. Spatt puts it on his dog. It could use some editing, but when I got the actual brace, I realized the video was more helpful than I expected. Looking at it before you get your brace makes it seem a little awkward. However looking at it after you get it seemed much more helpful. Whatever. The point is that it's helpful.


Oh and yes, those are my comments there. :)

The #1 tip I recommend is what he says during the first 60 seconds about keeping the tether tight. That's the part I missed and that's the part that screwed me up to begin with. I couldn't figure out why mine wasn't fitting like his. Finally I watched the video again and that was the one thing I didn't do.

It's surprising how one tiny detail throws the entire thing off. The cuff kept falling off of her and I couldn't figure out why. I tightened it and it would fall. I twisted it around and it would fall. All that and it was due to a tether. DOH!

How is Girlie taking it, you ask? Well, let's just say she's been happier. lol! At first, she acted like a little old lady who was being all pitiful. She took baby steps like Tim Conway (Andrews) here. You only need to watch the first 30 seconds to see what I mean, but trust me, it's worth the whole time to watch.



ROFL!!! Gawd that man used to make me laugh until I cried.

Anyway, so Girlie walked like him until I said, "Better hurry, I think there's a kitty cat outside."

Now before I go on let me say that I wasn't teasing her. There is nearly always a kitty cat outside. I have a neighbor who is a really sweet well-intentioned woman, but she feeds the strays and they have multiplied... by the freaking thousands. The cats lounge around on her porch roof that faces my yard, as well as her main roof, and tease my dogs, who bask in pointlessly barking at them. I'm in the process of trying to trap them and take them to the shelter.

As I was saying, I told Girlie that there was a kitty cat outside and wild horses couldn't have stopped her. She flew to that back door. ROFL! I sure wish I had video taped it because that was HILARIOUS. Needless to say, she can move just fine. She's just acting like she's all pitiful right now.

She's getting lots of encouragement, love and treats.... just as always. <3 p="">
So far, it appears to be working pretty well. She is bearing weight on her leg, which she wasn't doing before. She walked exactly like Zep here, but her affected leg is her left one.



She still limps, but she can definitely walk on it. There are two sets of rods for the brace. One set bends more easily than the other set. When she is consistently bearing weight, then switch to the more stiff rods. We've not gotten there yet, but I'll keep you all updated.

God is good! The ever wonderful and adorable Russell Wilson (yes, the Super Bowl winning quarterback of the Seahawks) posted this on Twitter the other day. Enjoy and you have a blessed April Fools Day!
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P.S. The Twitter widget doesn't seem to be working for me, but just click the link. You'll probably enjoy it. Cheers!