So, the message of the day is to breathe in and then breathe out and let go of the things I cannot control. My rant is over and I need to recognize that all except for the impatient colleague are working their tails off because of the new tax bill and are grateful for the assistance I can give. Luckily for them, I can help out and ditched the narcotics a couple of days ago. I'll just make sure I get a few extra days to relax over the holidays when I'll be more mobile and able to do more. If you haven't guessed before, I tend to be an optimist and look for the positive side of things. You can change the negative things you can and deal with those you can't - you just can't let them beat you! Thanks to all of you, I'm back in my happy place.
@jaydub63 - You will get used to the compression stockings and almost forget they're there. I wore them for 2 weeks this time and will again. They just become part of you and you stop noticing (like you begin to ignore the chimes of a clock after awhile). You'll get better sleep when you leave the hospital (which is why I went outpatient this time). But you'll sleep in snatches. For awhile, you might wake up several times a night to go to the bathroom, etc. but that helps to keep you from stiffening up too much. I also used that time to refresh my ice (Ice, Ice, Baby). By that time, I'm awake and will check in to see what's going on before I drift back off to sleep.
@MammaT - I guess I spoiled them. I went back at 2 weeks the first time (and worked about 50% the first week) and decided to only take a week off this time because of the tax bill (it was probably that or push my surgery off till next year and I didn't want to do that). I've apparently let my secret identity slip and they're now aware that I'm Wonder Woman.
As for the link, I'll just paraphrase Jack Nicholson in "A Few Good Men" - "The truth, they can't handle the truth." I might have even more work to do if I traumatize them so much that they can't do any work themselves.