Two weeks today! Feels like it's been a lot longer (and I'm sure my husband would agree). I've planned my shower for today when my husband can be around to help. I'm feeling pretty strong, so I may skip the shower chair and try to do it standing up. We have a hand-held sprayer and a built-in bench if I get tired.
My mom flies in tonight and is staying with us for 2 1/2 weeks. My husband goes back to work on Monday, so it'll be nice to have some extra help (in addition to the nanny). The hardest parts of the day are the mornings and the evenings when the nanny isn't around. In the mornings someone has to get the baby out of bed and fed, and since I am on strict "no lifting" rules, I won't be able to deal with baby for a while. My husband goes to work at 7am, so my mom will be able to help while she's here. Then when she's gone, the nanny will have to pick up the slack until I'm able to take over again. Of course I have no idea when that will be. I imagine it could be a couple of months yet. In the meantime we'll be paying an arm and a leg in overtime to the nanny.
I had my second PT session yesterday and the therapist added in some pretty tough exercises. I think I'll skip them when he's not around -- the range of motion stuff is great, but the strength building exercises feel like too much right now. And since I'm weaning off the meds, I was pretty sore after our session yesterday. Thankfully ice takes care of the pain. The therapist said I could start transitioning to the cane today. Good-bye walker! This morning I used the cane to make breakfast for the kids and do my morning "laps" around the house. Amazingly, I find I'm walking pretty well without any sort of limp (for a short time, of course). The only bummer is that my operative leg feels drastically longer than the other, so the PT warned me that I'm likely to develop some pretty bad back pain until it works itself out. I hope it settles eventually - not really looking forward to getting shoes with lifts. Though I guess it's a small price to pay to be rid of all the arthritis pain.
Feeling good about my recovery so far! Last night was the first night I had any sleep issues (probably because I've been decreasing the meds). I haven't felt any blues yet (hard to feel blue when my babies are so sweet and loving). And thankful to have this great resource to remind me that while recovery may be a marathon, the end result will be worth it.
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