There are a few of us old crocks in the Marina right now. The fellow in the boat to the left, there, had spinal surgery on Tuesday, and though we have seen him out with his walker twice, he is apparently in more pain than pre -surgery. According to his lovely wife, this was to replace hardware (rods,screws etc) that had been in there for some years and were now causing him grief. She warned us to not get upset if we heard him cry out or 'other', which I took to mean 'swearing':).
And then there is Larry. I had spoken to his lovely wife Lena, the day before my surgery, to find out if there was anything I needed to know that would help me afterwards. Larry, at this stage, was 2 weeks post-op, Total Hip Replacement. He had a set back or two because he felt able to do more than he should have :) so I was told to do as the PT person recommended and to let the bones heal and not to rush things. Good advice! Larry isn't a sit around person, a bit like myself, and at Thanksgiving, he was running around like a 2 yr old, at just 3 weeks post-op. I was enthused, though I was in some discomfort, sitting in not very comfy seats, during our Marina get-together to mark the occasion...Thanksgiving, that is.
I cant say enough good about the lovely folks here. They are so concerned and encouraging. We have had soup delivered from Pam (ex-Brunswick Marina), which Waz thoroughly enjoyed in my absence, fruit and visits. Maryanne and George, whom we have just met, stopped by with half a pumpkin Pie on Thanksgiving Day...she thought a whole one looked a bit much for a convalescent! lol...They keep dropping by to offer encouragement. All the neighbors on the dock give me the thumbs up when we are out walking...I say 'WE' because I am not allowed out on my own. We don't want to fall into the water on either side of the not very wide dock! I have had all the whoopsies in that department that I am ever going to have!!!
My new PT guy, Fernando, is excellent. He tells me the physiology of everything we are doing for strength, and he even made me do some upper body weights on Friday. I am a weakling in that department!
I hate taking drugs, and I have refused the narcotics in favor of Over-The-Counter drugs such as Extra-strength Tylenol which are 500mg ea. and 600mg per tablet of Ibuprofen. I have to take a blood thinner until the 10th Dec...10 days before the next surgery...but it means I bruise easily, so I have large bruises up the back of my legs where I have sat for a bit long with an upholstery cording digging into the back of my knee...who woulda thunk?
I have been on stool softeners...the Surgeon kept asking me if I had had a bowel movement yet!!! I wasn't worried about it as you have to have enough food intake in order to move things through and I had not been eating anything of much substance. Even the PT folks ask me. I know this is of concern for all patients, as the anaesthesia knocks the body around and with all the muscle relaxing drugs (which I hate taking), everything is relaxed, so those smooth colon muscles cant do their job...no pun intended.
Now I am down to the blood thinner once a day and Extra-strength Tylenol every 6 hrs. Sometimes I cheat a bit and take them at 5 hrs, but I'm not concerned. What I am concerned about is that all these drugs have now made my body think it is super -relaxed, and my bladder is likewise! bah! and I have to go down stairs to get to the bathroom:) Good exercise, anyway!
I was going a little stir crazy on Friday (day after Thanksgiving), and Waz needed to go to the grocery store for a few items of essential food we had run out of. We hopped onto Roosevelt and went south. I sat in the car while he did the shopping. It is very interesting sitting in a supermarket parking lot! you should try it some time!:)
We decided, as it was now 3.30pm, to do a large loop, and get a mini Dairy Queen Blizzard on the way, as a small treat:) It was just what the Dr didn't order, but we enjoyed it sitting in the car in the parking lot. It is a big deal for me to get in and out of the car, and I sit in the back right passenger seat. Thank goodness we have leather seats which make sliding so easy!!
Well, we should have been more 'onto-it'....Friday after Thanksgiving is called Black Friday. It is traditionally the day that retailers deeply discount items, and there are literally 'crushes' of people, some of whom have camped outside the store over night, to get the first in line spot. People fight over deeply discounted TV sets, Computers and so much more. Blanding Blvd, which was our return route (Hwy 17) was chockablock! We at first thought there had been an accident, but then the penny dropped!!! OH NO! Black Friday sales, and we are driving past all the big box stores. Aieeee! With nowhere else to go, we slow-moved our way down (about 3 miles) to our turnoff on Wabash, which takes us back to the Marina. Phew! I was exhausted by the time Waz dropped me off at the dock gate.
Waz is showing off his kitchen skills right now...making a Chicken Curry. Ok, he cheats a bit, with a Japanese Curry mix, but you still have to put all the bits together for it to taste good. It is all going in the slow cooker!
Yesterday he made Ham and Pea soup, with veg, of course, and we had that for a very tasty dinner.
We are soup lovers, and usually cant wait for the cooler temps to begin making our favorite varieties. We notice how veg. soup doesn't taste the same without Butternut squash in it to naturally sweeten the stock:)
Waz's bad Cholesterol test came back borderline high, and his Good cholesterol came back low. Hmmm....We have been looking at all the foods we need to be eating to work with that challenge and also for bone growth as well.
My own cholesterol is right where it should be, both good and bad, for which I am grateful. The hospital folks couldn't believe that I take no drugs whatsoever in my daily life...eh? I'm only 58! Who needs drugs? My PT (Physical Therapy) guy says I have the blood pressure of an Athlete...it is consistently low...even after we have done our one hour workout!
Well, Waz has the curry all done, and we are getting the munchies for breakfast. Time to go and make some decisions!
Ciao for now. Sorry about the lack of photos....Although I did take some of the impending storm, a week ago...I will leave you with those:)
No comments:
Post a Comment