Thankful

Today, I’m thankful mostly for my wonderful family. My loyal German Shepherd doggie soulmate. I’m thankful I have a fulfilling job, with great health benefits, disability, and the ability to build up unused sick time. I’m thankful a 30 year old friend recently diagnosed with cancer has a great prognosis, and is back to work for the time being.  I’m thankful for the amazing smells emanating from the kitchen and the talented husband who has cleaned the house, done the laundry, and picked up all of the Thanksgiving duties cheerfully.  For his daughter, who shares our love of SNL and is cracking up watching as I write this.  Last, but not least, I’m thankful to be dressed like a person and not a convalescent today.

Tomorrow it’s back to pajamas.

 

One week Post Op!

Did I say the pain was over? Mostly it is. Trying to sleep with this freaking boot is going to be the death of my sanity. I have been taking Benadryl every night so that I can fall asleep. It works pretty well, but last night, I had that thing we all do once in a while: the falling-asleep-full-body-spasm. Something zinged in my heel and I yelled. I couldn’t help it. It was over in a second and I did go back to sleep. 

Let me just say that my husband is a rockstar. He cooks dinner, cleans up, cleans house, does laundry, waits on me as much as I’ll let him. He’ll be cooking Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. He won’t let me do much and doesn’t expect me to do anything but recover. I have had a pretty full day today and am doing more around the house, however. (I just send him off to the Pens game and go on with my bad self)

I took another soak today, even took the time to blow dry my hair. That was good for morale. Made myself a little snack from meals I had pre frozen in preparation for being home alone. After a fabulous taco dinner by my husband, he and the kid went off to the Pens game – daddy/daughter night! – and I got to work. 

Tore and toasted stuffing bread. Boiled, then cut and prepped candied yams. Emptied the dishwasher, with the help of my trusty chair. Saw brown bananas and decided to make banana oat chocolate chip muffins. Let the insane dog out. Let the insane dog in; but not after the idiot found a huge mud puddle to jump in, while trying to entice the neighbor’s dogs to fence fight. Sponge bathed said insane idiot dog on the back porch to get the mud off. 

Now I’m planted on the couch, where I will stay, watching the Pens rally to a comeback and hoping my loves are having a great time. 

Attitude = adjusted

Day 6 and the search for positivity

Nothing much to report on recovery progress. Now that the pain is over, nothing much will change till Dec 11, my first follow up appointment.

I decided yesterday that I can’t stand myself being so negative and down in the dumps about what I can’t do, so I’m focusing on being thankful for what I can – and it’s a lot.

I also decided I would do at least one thing for my personal morale every day.  Today, it’s a big one, but now that I know I can do it independently, my outlook has improved about 100%.

I’m a bath-before-bed every night kinda girl. Sick? Take a soak. Tired and grumpy? Take a soak. Sore and aching? Hot bath with lavender salts. Got a good book? Read it in the tub! There is not much in my world a good soak can’t cure.

So imagine my dismay looking into what seemed like an insurmountable abyss. Too deep to climb out of with a useless right foot that can bear no weight. No use getting helped in and out. Nothing harshes my mellow like the humiliating ol’ 1-2-3 heave ho of being lifted out of the tub by the man you love. Not under age 85 anyway.

Still wearing Das Boot, I tested it. Swung my legs in, eased myself down and in, then pushed myself back up to seated on the edge, using arms and left leg only. This can work! This will work!

I would absolutely not recommend anyone to do this while home alone. I make my living answering distress calls just like this and am acutely aware of how bad this could go. This would not have been possible any sooner than today. I had not adapted to my NWB status and my arms and left leg were not strong or adept enough to pull this off.

I did pull it off. It took forever, but who cares? I hoisted myself up onto the side of the tub, then sat on a towel on the toilet while I re dressed my incision and safely encased Das Foot back into Das Boot. It was nice to take my time and know that I wasn’t relying on someone else.

The rest of the day? Yep. Couch and tv. At least I know that I can enjoy a soak when I feel like it. That’s like having a winning lottery ticket these days.

Surprised it took this long…

But I’m about stir crazy. I have a pile of new books and no desire to read them. A million hours of Netflix and cable I couldn’t watch all of, ever. 

All I wanted to do, 2 months ago when we were in the thick of remodeling my house to be sold, was exactly what I’m doing right now. Ass on couch with no schedule and no place to be, bonus if I have the house to myself. Guess what?  It blows. 

You know what sitting around all day gets you? Sore, like you’ve spent the night sleeping on hardwood floors. 

I want a hike in the woods with my dog. 

I want to drive around in tomorrow’s snowmaggedon. 

Then play in it. 

I want to take a bath with my lavender bath salts before bed. 

I want a soak in the hot tub. 

I want to ice skate with my family.

It’s funny that I scheduled this in the winter because I want to be on my feet for summer and all of its offerings; now I’m grieving the loss of the fun stuff of winter. I have got to break myself out of this funk and figure out how to frame things differently in my mind… for my sanity.

 

Day 5 Post Op

SSDD. Out of bed to lay on the couch. Trying to keep my foot elevated today as it looked pretty swollen last night when I showered. My sausagey toes were actually a little tingly. Also, I think I pulled off the top layer of Dermabond off when I changed the dressing. The incision is staying together on its own and no discharge so I’m not going to worry about it. Incision looks good. We vac’ed the vac-o-splint; hopefully the compression and keeping my feet up today will be enough to make a difference in the swelling. 

No pain to speak of, other than the occasional twinge. Not constant enough to take anything for pain, not even Advil. 

Bored. Bored. Bored. 

Day 4 Post Op

A milestone! No pain meds overnight, slept like a rock. Occasional Advil for the occasional throb. Pain comes predictably, around 4 hours after I’ve been up, and before bedtime. Usually it follows a lot of crutching around with Das Boot dutifully held a few inches off the ground. 

Another milestone: I got myself up off the floor. No help. No weight bearing on right side. Seems silly that’s a milestone but allow me to explain. I get up out of bed, do a Polish Bath in the hall bathroom (bigger), and get freshened up and changed. Crutch to the kitchen sink. Make my coffee. Wash my hair. Then to the couch or a chair. Save for bathroom trips and dinner, that’s about it for variety in my day. Sounds great until you actually have to live it for a couple days. Back and butt hurt from sitting constantly. I’ve thought to myself a million times that I’d love to lie on the living room floor, for some variety. But I won’t do anything if it’s going to mean I’m dependent on someone else having to get me up. It’s hard enough letting my husband put my underwear on. ME.  On ME. So, yeah. I figured out I can get myself up off the floor. My left leg is a badass mf. I’d have worked it out more beforehand if I’d realized how much it would literally be carrying me, but it’s doing a great job under pressure. 

Nothing more to report other than the expected cabin fever.