THR Recovery in Labrador

[Mojo333]

So good for you. So happy for you. I feel the same. So happy to be rid of the never ending pain. It's truly miraculous.

 

[MyAussieGirl]

. I've never missed you but when you're gone I don't worry anymore cause you come back with great news usually

 

[labanan]

It has been 4 months since my surgery. I've been back at work for two weeks with no problems (well, no problems with my body -ha ha). I'm very very glad that I gave myself the gift of an extra month off. It made a big difference in how I feel. To get ready for the graduation ceremony we have for our clients at the end of their seven week program I helped move furniture and carried chairs. Wowza! That felt great to be able to do. All my co-workers noticed how upright, energetic and downright healthy I appear and I'm taller.
This will be our last winter in Labrador before moving back to Nova Scotia and I'm glad I'll be able to snowshoe, dogsled and hike.

Here is a map I drew of where I live.

 

[Mojo333]

That is so so cool. I had actually googled Labrador as I knew so little about it when I first noticed your posts.
I bet it's amazingly gorgeous. Afraid I'm not set up for such cold but would love to visit.
Who knew you were such an artiste!
Hidden talents of our bonesmarties

 

[dougie0216]

@labanan I love the map, eh? Has it snowed yet?
Just kidding. I went back to work this past Monday. This week went much better than I expected.
How was your second week back?

 

[labanan]

Thanks Mojo! I take all sorts of online courses at Sketchbook Skool and love it. Saved my brain in those first weeks of recovery! It is gorgeous here but this will be our last year here - going home to Nova Scotia next summer.

Hi Dougie - yep my time was fine but my tolerance for bull pucky is way low! Just because I have my energy back. Watch out!

 

[Mojo333]

@Iabanan Got something you must read. Feel like you would love. I know you are a Buddhist but this is a book about Taoism calls the Tau of Pooh. And it uses Milne's characters in Winnie the Pooh to characterize human nature in its simplest forms. Feel like you would like.
Glad you are doing well . Sending love your way

 

[MyAussieGirl]

Always good to see your posts you have a lot of fun.... I can live vicariously through you lol

 

[labanan]

It's been four and a half months since I began my recovery and I've been back at work for three weeks. I want to report on what has changed for me that is directly related to my new hip. A few of you who have followed along like @MyAussieGirl , @Irish Joe ,@Mojo333 may remember that I was a little anxious about going back to work. My work is intense as I work as a facilitator and outreach counselor at a treatment centre on a reserve. But it wasn't just that, in fact I love my work - it is meaningful and I get to use my years of experience as a psychotherapist in a way that fully charges me up. But I worked on my own for years in private practice and the fiddly nature of an office work environment feels restrictive and mostly counter-intuitive to me. This last week I met with my boss and wrangled some changes that have me feeling both excited and supported. What's that got to do with my new hip you ask? I simply didn't have the energy or confidence to do this when I was in constant pain.

So for all you who might read this coming behind - you have no idea what might be unleashed with your new hip - relationships recharged, creativity exploding, tolerance for politics but also energy to tackle it - all extremely possible!

 

[Mojo333]

Great news. I feel the same way. After years of working as an engraver and then running an awards business for 18 years I decided to go to Tech school in my 40's to pursue a career as a wildlife technician. Then the US economy hit the skids and with freezes on state and federal hiring...most of the jobs are government...in the parks system...my dream. Then the back pain started, and then my physical health declined.
For the first time in years I think I can actually pursue this even as I am10 years older. @Iabanan....We ARE in better shape than we were. It IS amazing!!!!
I'm so so glad for you and yes, this should provide hope and excitement that we can all pursue our dreams.

 

[Layla]

Love that outlook @labanan
I hope many who are about to embark on this journey read your words.
A great weekend to you and may all your dreams come true!

 

[MyAussieGirl]

@labanan I am thrilled to hear that you have used the energy once spent on all that pain for better brighter things.... I am glad for you, your clients and me as it gives me hope too. Sounds like life is getting better and better

 

[dougie0216]

@labanan I've been reading your latest posts and it sounds like things are going well. Me 2! I'm so happy for you.

 

[labanan]

Greetings all fellow hippies! I celebrated the fifth anniversary of my recovery by taking the Northern Ranger from Goose Bay to Rigolet. We left port on Friday night at 10 pm and got into Rigolet at 4:30 am. We stayed in this delightful remote village until Sunday morning when we went up the gang plank for our return voyage at 9 am. It was an amazing time and none of it would have been possible in my previous preoperative state! I must admit the continual up and down decks on steel stairs were tough on my affected leg and neither Ron nor I joined the others for a hike part way down North America's longest boardwalk. However nothing could quel the great feeling I had seeing the village where Ron's dad had grown up, where his grandfather had been the Hudson's Bay manager, and where , like on Cheers, everyone knew his name. This was his first visit too. I took hundreds of photos and made lots of new friends.
So, if you've just begun your recovery journey heed my words - there is a world of familiar and first time enjoyments out there for you! There will come a time for most of us when we can truly have a new start!

 

[Constanze]

Hi @labanan , I read your post of August 19th with great interest and enjoyed it. You have a very interesting job. Did you say you a few months ago that you also work with Indians or Inuit people ? Will you do a similar job when you have moved next summer?

With work, I had a similar experience. So, like you, I can tell another story on the subject "What has my head got to do with my hip?"

I work as a translator for German and English at a German health authority,and am only too familiar with the fiddly organisational methods and the bureaucracy.
Being a linguist, I was asked by my supervisor to teach English, even though I'm not trained in teaching.
The months before my operation, the situation in the classroom became unbearable: Lack of discipline, the trainees were bullying each other, some said that the lessons were a waste of time. I have to mention that they were trainees, i.e. young adults, not teenagers, so they should be more mature.
Besides, I felt inhibited limping around in the classroom.
So I asked my supervisor to allow me to stop teaching and just do the translating. Understandably, she was not "amused". Said: But we at the institute would like to offer English classes because we think it's valuable. Then she asked me when I would retire (my retirement date is in 2022). I felt very dispondent. But she did find another member of our team who was happy to teach English. However, just after I returned to work after the operation, my colleague had her child and took her maternity leave. I said I would take over the lessons again, and it worked really well. I was able to motivate the class. They did their homework, talked more in class, and my boss was so happy. You see, it's true, we are more assertive and more cheerful when we're not in pain. Pre-op blues is as real as post-op blues.
Wishing you the best - Constanze

 

[Mojo333]

Much easier to handle life's unfortunate situations when you are out of pain and have new seeds of gratitude growing in your spirit.
@labanan nice to hear all is well with you.

 

[Layla]

Hi @labanan
Your life sounds like such an adventure, or long vacation.
I love reading your posts.
A great weekend to you!

 

[GrannyC]

What a wonderful adventure @labanan. It was good to see your post.

@Constanze I enjoyed your story as well. I think many of us have found life seems much better when we aren't in pain all the time and your post shows that very well.

 

[labanan]

Hi all you lovely peoples - @dougie0216 , @Constanze , @Layla , @GrannyC and @Mojo333 . Thanks for being such supportive pals - that is right up there with the miracles of modern medicine in my books. And Constanze - yes, we can do what we had no juice for when we were dealing with constant pain! Huzzah! I was back in my beloved school this week - hanging with the teens and so happy. I work as a program facilitator and an outreach counselor at a treatment centre on a reserve. At the centre I work with Indigenous families both First Nations and Inuit. As outreach counselor I go to the reserve school where the kids are all of a First Nation's tribe called the Innu. It is related, at least linguistically to the Cree. I hope to be working with a program I'm developing on teaching Indigenous parents, teachers, and social workers on how to parent for attachment. Right now, across Canada, we have Indigenous families that were disrupted for generations by residential schools and the snatching of children by agencies. The parents and grandparents didn't have a firm attachment and now are facing issues with their kids who have also had disrupted lives. A nightmare. The kids here are great - there is a high incidence of suicide, overdoses and violence BUT the kids are lovely. So my work with them is simply to be a sane person who listens.

 

[Mojo333]

How awesome and rewarding that had,to be. Can i come live with you?