Well... the day arrived. I got up nice and early thinking I would take my Vicadin about 7 with breakfast, then do my PT at 8, and leave at 9. Yeah right. My body - but mostly my knee and leg, of course - were just aching. I don't know what I did yesterday to deserve that but alas that's how I was this morning. I took two Advils instead, didn't do my PT, made my lunch and left for work. I stopped at the library to get a few books on CD - can't face two hours of commuting a day without them!
Going in was fine - I didn't find the drive hard at all, except it was hard for me to relax with drivers making short stops behind me, or cars I thought would run red lights through intersections. The driving itself was fine - but after 10 weeks off the road, the psychological difficulty dealing with Boston drivers was a little hard - but I was okay on the way home.
I was fine all day. I spent a lot of my morning just visiting with everyone - catching up, telling stories of my surgery and recovery, gave advice in general (like the ONLY way to heal is to REST), etc. etc. My brother picked me up around 11 and took me over to see my mother in the nursing home - she had entered the nursing home the day after my surgery, and I had only seen her twice in the 10 weeks since. (The drive was too arduous for me up to this point, really.) I was back in my office an hour later - sweet short visit - just right.
It came to be around 4 and I thought I would stay later but my knee/leg started complaining - probably about being down all day, since for 10 weeks I had been spending the better part of the day with my feet up in the recliner. I'm glad I left when I did. All the way home my thigh and shin and derriere were aching and begging me to get home. I couldn't wait to walk through the door and put my feet up with an ice pack. -- which I did!
My concern right now is getting my PT in. At work I did do a full flight of stairs going up, step over step. However, I didn't do anything else "official" (all the up and around does counts toward PT, but it's still not doing exercises). My intention was to do PT at work - but I was just too busy and the day ended too soon. I don't think I can do anything now - I am so exhausted I will just hurt myself (I cannot do my exercises mindlessly - I have to pay attention to each movement). I think that I will do my stretching (which I have been warned NEVER to skip) but won't do the working exercises (squats, leg raises, etc.). A few weeks ago I determined that it was best to get it all over with at once, but I think I am going to try an adjustment. I can do the "bed" exercises in the morning - those are the least stressful. THEN I can try the others at work. If not, and I have to do them when I get home, at least it is only 1/2 the routine instead of the whole one -- AND, if I skip I will have only missed 1/2 a routine, although I don't see that happening. Having a healthy knee is way too precious for me.
Tomorrow I will pack ice, which I didn't have today. I will also set my alarm just a little earlier - I forget how slowly I move! Even to pack lunch took about double the time it normally would. And, maybe at this point, it's one of the most difficult thing to get used to. Just walking down the hall today to the bathroom I almost didn't make it! "Let me run to the bathroom" has really become an obscure phrase! lol
Have a great evening.
Miriam
Yesterday lack of PT sounds like it may have been frustrating for you but just try and remember how far you have come. You will be "running" to the bathroom soon. :)
ReplyDeleteWow, I'm impressed! I know what you mean about driving. I was so afraid of having a wreck and messing up what I had worked so hard to accomplish. But it doesn't take long to get over that. If you have a refrigerator with a freezer at work, take a bed buddy, and then you don't have to mess with everything involved with ice. Put it in the freezer when you get there, and an hour later it will be ready when you need it. Now, the delicate topic. For a long time, every time I left the house for any period of time, I used Poise pads. It just gives you peace of mind for those times when your slowness makes it pretty scary! I could go into more detail, but enough said.
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