Day six

My recovery, though it seems slow to me, has been predictably on track. (These days, hip replacement is such a reliable procedure.) While my caboose feels sore from so much time perched on it (have to sleep on my backside, too), clearly this is not a significant complaint at this point.

My family has had me on a whirlwind of entertainment this weekend. We lunched and dined out (moving around in the snow -- got cold toes) in the midst of a power outage (what an adventure!). I've been able to ditch the walker for a cane -- still makes me feel like an octogenarian -- so I'm beginning to pick up speed a little, have more freedom to join the family upstairs and motor around on my own. After four days, the pain meds have finally worked their way out of my system, so I'm starting to feel more normal. 

Adhering to my "safety restrictions" is becoming an issue. I'm not supposed to sit with my knees higher than my hips. When we went to restaurants yesterday, Z was my "cushion bearer" -- most chairs are too low and I need to sit up higher. I can't lean forward or reach down -- need to keep a 90 degree angle between my thighs and torso. This is the difficult one to remember. Can't touch my toes. Can't reach for something on the floor. Have to use an extension "grabber" to put on my pants! As I was dressing the other morning, my nightmare was that I'd drop the grabber between removing my jammies pants and putting on my underwear. I was wondering who my first phone call would be....

It seems as though I spend most of my day doing exercises, the icing regimen and personal care activities -- talk about feeling like an old lady! Simple things like hair/face/sponge bath take so long! It's frustrating, but I have most of my life back in my control. That "control" issue has been my challenge in all of this. I need to spend more time contemplating what this means in "getting out of the boat" and in the larger ramifications of my life.

Every time I pick up my phone, someone has left a thoughtful message or encouraging anecdote. Ah, the simple joys of a data package! The support, understanding and encouragement of family and friends has been the key to my outlook and upbeat state of mind through all of this.

Through next week, Home Health sends a nurse to do my blood work and I'll finish with therapy at home. The following week, I'll need to ask for help again -- rides to the office for labs and a followup surgeon's appointment. This is never easy. But, as I look back on my requests for friends to "check in" on me last week -- these visits were some of the happiest moments of my week. 

I can already anticipate some frustration setting in over the next couple days. I've got some work projects in limbo that will need attention. However, I don't quite trust myself to organize or communicate effectively yet. Thinking I'd have all this time on my hands, I've accumulated a list of simple, "housekeeping" projects -- clearing out the family photo files, organizing my address book and figuring out how to import it into my phone, etc. Will see how all this works out.