These updates are beginning to sound the same—slept well, walked!—because there’s not much change lately. It does seem I can tolerate walking a little longer and bending a little further every day, but otherwise I am living Groundhog Day rn.
• Hubs put the house back in order and I had the hospital bed taken away. I put the smaller rugs back down. (I’m careful.) It’s beginning to look and feel like home around here.
• I walk off the cane approximately half the day, but I keep it nearby. I am still babying that thigh and knee and think it’s for the best. Even though it’s easy to forget sometimes, I often remind myself I am still only in week 3!
• I continue to take ibuprofen on a regular schedule (every 6 hours). Sometimes when my alarm sounds for my afternoon dose, I think, “I could probably skip this dose; I feel totally fine!” But since I am still in early recovery, I am staying on my regular schedule, including a 1 am dose, to keep the pain under control and my body moving! I still take one Tramadol at bedtime, too. That’s the last of the prescription drugs I take.
• Still using the toilet riser. After two surgeries, I would like to burn that thing in a raging bonfire, but when I look at the toilet without it, it looks a long way down!
• Still using the sock thing-a-ma-jig, but can tie my own shoes.
• Doing quite a few household chores, but haven’t resumed cooking. I think that’s more out of sheer laziness. If hubs isn’t around to cook or we don’t eat out, I live on peanut butter toast, fruit, and salads.
• I haven’t started a regular schedule of exercise, but I test myself when I think of it. For example, if I am outside near a very low step we have in our yard, I will do 10 step ups with my surgery leg. If I am in a firm chair that’s high enough, I will stand and sit unassisted 5 times. While watching TV, I will do leg lifts. I very slowly bend over and pick things off the floor. Those stretches make me feel the best. I will incorporate some regular exercise at 4 weeks if it doesn’t feel painful.
I watched a Stanley Kubrick documentary last night and it had me pining for one more week off. There are 2 movies of his I haven’t seen (Spartacus and Barry Lyndon) and several I would like to rewatch. Now that my brain isn’t foggy with painkillers, I could have a Stanley Kubrick film festival if I only had one more week without work! Alas, I will have to watch them like a “normal” person—spaced out over time.
France
I only count my steps when I go on walks outside and averaging about the same at 6 weeks, so well done!
But it is only half days this first week, which will go quickly. Most of it will probably be sorting through my 1,000+ emails. My work bestie took over on a couple important projects for me and she said it is going well, so at least I know I am not coming back to a mess.
