Organist
senior
I don't think I've already started a thread. Thanks, Jamie, for the reminder to another newbie.
As I've mentioned on the "surgeries scheduled for April" thread, I'm having RTNR surgery on April 10th.
I've (for as long as I can remember) had problems with sprained ankles. Every time we went on vacations to the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina (every summer), I'd end up spraining one or the other ankle. I'm proficient at wrapping ankles, but these days with the pull-on ankle braces that's not necessary any longer. It wasn't until the 90's that I had a few incidents of "missing a step" while carrying a full laundry basket into the garage where the washer and dryer were located. Since then I've had rotator cuff / torn tendon surgery on my left shoulder (2004), arthroscopic surgery on my right knee (2005), and rotator cuff / torn tendon surgery on my right shoulder (2010). I've managed to skip a year between the shoulder and the knee surgeries this time.
My hubby and I are in charge of the music at our church. I'm usually the organist, but we're both organists. He's the choir director and cantor, and plays the Irish whistle on hymns sometimes. He will be substituting on the organ after my surgery (April 10th). The surgeon's office offered to schedule me for a week earlier. I about choked and said, "I am NOT having surgery during Holy Week ! April 10th will be fine." So the Tuesday after Easter Sunday, it is.
I'm assuming that my first unreal expectation about recuperation was that with my surgery on a Tuesday, I would maybe be able to play the organ at church 2 Sundays later playing manuals (keyboards) only, and not the pedals. . :th_heehee: Now I have NO idea when that will happen. We can arrange the hymns and service music so that I can play them on the manuals, but being able to sit at the organ bench even with my leg propped up on the "designated spot for propping the right foot on the organ" for the entire service is a different matter.
Another member (I don't remember who) mentioned something about finally being able to go to the Sunday service and stay the entire time. I don't remember how long past surgery that was possible.
Meanwhile for pre-op time, I'm still mall-walking -- very slowly walking, concentrating on NOT limping as the pain builds, and sitting down on one of the many benches periodically to slowly flex my leg and knee so that I can walk a bit more. I call it meandering rather than mall-walking. I also have been exercising with 2-lb weights to strengthen my arms. My hubby (Liam) and I have been exercising regularly since the first of the year, and have both lost some weight. We plan to keep this up for the rest of our lives -- healthy eating and exercise.
Next week is my pre-op visit with the surgeon, along with appts with the anesthesiologist and the coumadin person. Then the "total knee replacement" class is the first week in April (which won't clash with any of the Holy Week services).
Meanwhile we're going to do some fun things before the surgery date and initial recuperation period. Tomorrow, being the 23rd we're going to meet a couple of good friends at the Biltmore Estate (Asheville, North Carolina) for lunch. It's our luna-versary. Explanation -- we were married on the 23rd of June (part of the words in an Irish song that we like). So we figure that the 23rd of every month is our luna-versary and a good excuse to celebrate with lunch somewhere.
Then Saturday, we're going to a Lúnasa concert in Asheville. We're fond of our Scottish and Irish heritage -- along with other cultures that are mixed into our backgrounds.
Sunday evening our church will be having an evensong service with an an area a capella group called Pastyme that will be leading the service and singing. We will have times in which we can sing some of the service music with them, but Liam and I will be able to participate without our usual responsibility.
Then Monday (26th) - or maybe Tuesday - we'll go somewhere for lunch to celebrate my birthday. It would have been Monday, but it looks like we'll have a funeral at the church that day - an unexpected death in our church family. As for birthdays, we've developed the attitude that birthdays (celebrating that we were born) should be celebrated longer - a birthday week - at least. We have a friend who celebrates (he says) all month, and says that his birthday month is Scotts-mas.
Maybe I'll use when I'm ready to play the organ again.
Thanks to the leaders of our merry group for starting this wonderful gift of a forum, and to all of you for your encouragement, suggestions, warnings (not to do to much too soon, etc.), humor, etc.
Becky
As I've mentioned on the "surgeries scheduled for April" thread, I'm having RTNR surgery on April 10th.
I've (for as long as I can remember) had problems with sprained ankles. Every time we went on vacations to the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina (every summer), I'd end up spraining one or the other ankle. I'm proficient at wrapping ankles, but these days with the pull-on ankle braces that's not necessary any longer. It wasn't until the 90's that I had a few incidents of "missing a step" while carrying a full laundry basket into the garage where the washer and dryer were located. Since then I've had rotator cuff / torn tendon surgery on my left shoulder (2004), arthroscopic surgery on my right knee (2005), and rotator cuff / torn tendon surgery on my right shoulder (2010). I've managed to skip a year between the shoulder and the knee surgeries this time.
My hubby and I are in charge of the music at our church. I'm usually the organist, but we're both organists. He's the choir director and cantor, and plays the Irish whistle on hymns sometimes. He will be substituting on the organ after my surgery (April 10th). The surgeon's office offered to schedule me for a week earlier. I about choked and said, "I am NOT having surgery during Holy Week ! April 10th will be fine." So the Tuesday after Easter Sunday, it is.
I'm assuming that my first unreal expectation about recuperation was that with my surgery on a Tuesday, I would maybe be able to play the organ at church 2 Sundays later playing manuals (keyboards) only, and not the pedals. . :th_heehee: Now I have NO idea when that will happen. We can arrange the hymns and service music so that I can play them on the manuals, but being able to sit at the organ bench even with my leg propped up on the "designated spot for propping the right foot on the organ" for the entire service is a different matter.
Another member (I don't remember who) mentioned something about finally being able to go to the Sunday service and stay the entire time. I don't remember how long past surgery that was possible.
Meanwhile for pre-op time, I'm still mall-walking -- very slowly walking, concentrating on NOT limping as the pain builds, and sitting down on one of the many benches periodically to slowly flex my leg and knee so that I can walk a bit more. I call it meandering rather than mall-walking. I also have been exercising with 2-lb weights to strengthen my arms. My hubby (Liam) and I have been exercising regularly since the first of the year, and have both lost some weight. We plan to keep this up for the rest of our lives -- healthy eating and exercise.
Next week is my pre-op visit with the surgeon, along with appts with the anesthesiologist and the coumadin person. Then the "total knee replacement" class is the first week in April (which won't clash with any of the Holy Week services).
Meanwhile we're going to do some fun things before the surgery date and initial recuperation period. Tomorrow, being the 23rd we're going to meet a couple of good friends at the Biltmore Estate (Asheville, North Carolina) for lunch. It's our luna-versary. Explanation -- we were married on the 23rd of June (part of the words in an Irish song that we like). So we figure that the 23rd of every month is our luna-versary and a good excuse to celebrate with lunch somewhere.
Then Saturday, we're going to a Lúnasa concert in Asheville. We're fond of our Scottish and Irish heritage -- along with other cultures that are mixed into our backgrounds.
Sunday evening our church will be having an evensong service with an an area a capella group called Pastyme that will be leading the service and singing. We will have times in which we can sing some of the service music with them, but Liam and I will be able to participate without our usual responsibility.
Then Monday (26th) - or maybe Tuesday - we'll go somewhere for lunch to celebrate my birthday. It would have been Monday, but it looks like we'll have a funeral at the church that day - an unexpected death in our church family. As for birthdays, we've developed the attitude that birthdays (celebrating that we were born) should be celebrated longer - a birthday week - at least. We have a friend who celebrates (he says) all month, and says that his birthday month is Scotts-mas.
Maybe I'll use when I'm ready to play the organ again.
Thanks to the leaders of our merry group for starting this wonderful gift of a forum, and to all of you for your encouragement, suggestions, warnings (not to do to much too soon, etc.), humor, etc.
Becky