Day 30 to 31 have been slightly mixed. H had to go away overnight. Now I know from reading other threads that some brave souls go home to manage on their own straight away, and here am I a month out, but H and I were both anxious. The preparations beforehand would have suited an Antarctic expedition. The fridge was stuffed, the downstairs bathroom was overstocked with spare rolls of loo paper, etc etc. We also arranged for a kind neighbour to call in on Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning, and be on call with a key to get in should I need to call for help.
Wednesday went pretty well. I got all my own meals (basic stuff) and served coffee to my visitor. I dressed myself, including shoes, and spent a few minutes walking in the garden - too cold to linger. Only less good bit was that I got carried away with chatting to my neighbour and didn’t realise I had been sitting in a chair for 90 minutes without a break. On the one hand it’s an advance on how I had been, to be able to sit that long without noticing, but on the other hand when I did eventually stand up my hip was so stiff I could barely move. I tried to walk it off by short indoor walks for the rest of the evening but it didn’t get back to the ease of movement I had before.
Wednesday night I slept poorly. I think there were 3 reasons. My makeshift bedroom doesn’t have a blind or curtains and H has made a temporary blind which he puts up each night, but I can’t manage it. Given the choice between blocking out the daylight for 2 days or putting up with light from the street for 1 night, I opted for light at night, which was probably a mistake. Also I was very aware of being alone in the house. And finally I didn’t get the foot rub which has become my goodnight treat.
Thursday morning I woke with a headache. After washing but before I’d brushed my teeth I began to feel a bit woozy. It was probably nothing, but not only did I faint 5 days after surgery, I had also fainted 2 weeks before, for the first time in my life. So I know it can happen and I was scared. I got out of there as fast as possible and back to bed, where I would have a soft landing, and guzzled lots of water. I lay there for a couple of hours and was very grateful that my neighbour was coming soon, and managed to get myself out of bed and dressed before she arrived to chat with her, remembering to get up and walk around every few minutes. After she left I retreated to bed again with a plate full of snacks in case I felt like lunch and a bucket in case I was sick. Happily the snacks won and I felt much better by time H came home. I felt fine all evening, but when I went to brush my teeth before bed I felt a bit off again. I wasn’t going to give in again, so marched on the spot to keep the blood circulating. I don’t know, it was probably psychological, picking up the toothbrush brought back the sensation.
Hopefully this is all nothing, just putting it down here so that if this is an ongoing thing I can trace the development. Too much thinking probably.