Princess Training, Physical Therapy & The Science of Dog Breakfast
🌼 Date: Wednesday, March 25, 2026
⚡ Energy: Cozy Morning Meets Physical Therapy Reality
😍 Status: One happy rescue, one very small princess, and legs still under construction
❤️🩹 Outlook: Healing… for both of us 💗
Last night was Maizy’s first official night at home, and I’m happy to report…
She did amazingly well.
The rescue sent us home with the little puppy bed she had been sleeping on in her foster home, so I placed it right next to our bed. Her foster mom said Maizy likes to go to sleep around 9:00 PM, stays in her bed all night, and waits for her human to wake up and take her outside in the morning.
And sure enough…
After we got her into her jammies (because obviously… duh), she curled up in her bed and slept through the night like a tiny angel.
When I got up in the morning to let Gidget outside, I brought Maizy with us and…
Success!
She went potty outside like a champ.
Now because our little warrior had 20 teeth pulled last week, she’s still on soft food. The rescue sent us home with the food she’s been eating to help with the transition.
But here’s something I’ve never had to do before…
Actually cook my dog’s food.
Apparently Maizy is living the five-star dining experience life now.
Her breakfast consists of freeze-dried food mixed with warm bone broth, and the preparation instructions are basically a small science experiment.
Step 1: Add broth and stir
Step 2: Cover and wait 10 minutes
Step 3: Stir again
Step 4: Cover and wait another 5 minutes
Step 5: Serve to tiny princess
Last night I only made enough for two meals.
Clearly there is a learning curve happening here.
Today I will be making a bigger batch since it can be refrigerated and used within 72 hours.
After breakfast we had a little morning routine…
Faces washed.
Human and puppy.
Then we changed out of our jammies and into daytime clothes.
And of course…
We had to go with the Princess shirt.
Because if the shirt fits… the title is clearly accurate.
I also realized something funny today when I saw her laying on the giant dog bed in front of the fireplace.
Five pounds is really tiny.
She looks like a stuffed animal that accidentally wandered onto the furniture.
Later in the afternoon I had to head to my physical therapy appointment.
First topic of discussion?
My legs.
Apparently the exercises I was given to strengthen them after chemo and surgery were either:
A) not done enough
B) not done correctly
C) or my body has decided it currently prefers allocating energy elsewhere.
So I now have additional exercises added to my homework list.
The good news though is that my arm range of motion continues to improve every visit.
To keep that progress going, my therapist did some deep tissue massage around the area where my lymph nodes were removed and down my left arm.
This helps prevent something called “cording.”
Cording can happen after lymph node removal and feels like tight rope-like bands forming under the skin of the arm. It can limit movement and cause pain if scar tissue tightens along the lymph pathways.
So the massage helps keep everything loose and moving the way it should.
Another one of those things no one tells you about until you’re living it.
After therapy we met my parents for dinner, and my mom and I talked about something pretty amazing.
She helps make something called Knitted Knockers.
These are soft, lightweight knitted breast prosthetics made from the gentlest yarns and filled with fluffy cotton.
They’re worn inside a bra after mastectomy or reconstruction surgery and can be made in any size, shape, or color.
You can choose to match your skin tone,
Or go with wild neon pink if that’s more your personality.
The best part?
They are made and donated so that any woman going through this journey can receive a pair for free.
My mom is one of the volunteers who knits them.
Which is pretty darn cool if you ask me.
And since I need one for my right side, we had to take some measurements.
Which meant Casey had the honor of measuring my left expander/foob. (That’s short for fake boob.)
Now if anyone remembers Madonna’s cone bra phase, that is currently the closest visual comparison to what I’m working with over here.
So apparently we are putting in a custom order to mirror the situation happening on the left side.
Fashion-forward?
Maybe not.
Functional?
Absolutely.
If you or someone you know might need a pair, you can learn more here:
So today was a little bit of everything.
A rescued princess settling into her new life.
A human still working on rebuilding strength.
And another reminder that healing…
comes in many different forms.
💗 Tina –
One Badass Day at a Time
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