by Judy Handley | Jan 19, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 19: A Quiet Day with a Little Snow
Date: Friday, January 19, 2024
Weather: Overcast with a Little Snow; High Temp 31, Low 15 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth MA
It was a quiet day here inside and out. Quiet inside because of restricted activity due to the back surgery, and quiet outside because of the blanket of snow. Ollie came to visit and to spend the night as both his brothers were leaving very early this morning to go on a high school ski trip. But Ollie’s arrival only changed our level of activity from almost nothing to couch potato level—watching The Mandalorian.
by Judy Handley | Jan 18, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 18: The Day After Surgery
Date: Thursday, January 18, 2024
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High Temp 33, Low 25 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth MA
Tis the day after back surgery and all is well. It is a little scary that things are going so well with no pain. I am on Oxycodone, Tylenol, and a muscle relaxant. Tonight, I am starting to reduce the amount of oxycodone slowly, but will stay on the lowest amount until next Thursday. Standing for too long does cause minor discomfort, so I just have to keep juggling walking, sitting, standing, and lying down.
The thing I miss the most is my forays outside with Shadow. I love being with him, but I also love observing the weather up close. Looking out the window just does not do it for me. And not having Shadow to cuddle makes me lonely. But Dr. Heather is doing a great job. It is so special to be able to spend so much time together. She does work all day, but I get to see her during breaks and lunch.
Tonight, we watched Killers of the Flower Moon. I had already seen it once, but she had not. And since she knew it was a movie she would not convince her whole family to watch and I had mixed reactions to the movie, I was interesting in watching it a second time.
Heather and I did not hear my phone ring while we were watching the movie, so we missed a call from my dining in group. They were meeting tonight and wanted to connect. Someone will bring a taste of tonight’s dinner for Heather and I to have tomorrow night. I am told it is a hearty chili with corn bread and salad. Yummy.
Tomorrow we are supposed to get snow all day, but no real accumulation. I do like watching it snow through the windows, so that will be a highlight of my day.
by Judy Handley | Jan 17, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 17: Surgery Day
Date: Wednesday, January 17, 2024
Weather: Sunny and Cold; High Temp 27 Low 20 F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth MA
54321. The day finally came, and everything was perfect. Heather arrived at 7:30 am and walked Shadow while I took that second required shower with the antibacterial soap and got ready. We left Shadow here to be picked up later by Jed and headed to the Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis. I was checked in and taken pack to the pre-op area where I was greeted by two of Heather’s friends who were on duty. I recognized one and she was actually my prep nurse which made things so personal, and the other was Melissa Keefe, Heather and Jed’s neighbor for years until they moved to Grasmere. Long story short, I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect experience which I will write more about tomorrow night. I was out of surgery in one hour instead of two, and ready to head home by mid-afternoon as Dr. Papavasiliou decided that I would be more comfortable going home. I had no pain and still do not, but I am on pain meds. I can stand up straight and walk without support. I know this is the honeymoon period, but I am enjoying every minute of it. It is just so wonderful to be able to walk without pain. I made Heather go home to spend some time with Jed and the boys while I promised to sit still until she returned. We then had dinner and watched a movie, American Symphony. Wonderful. I will write more about that tomorrow night as well.
Thanks to so many of you who sent texts to me today. Wonderful day! Wonderful friends!
by Judy Handley | Jan 16, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 16: Getting Ready
Date: Tuesday, January 16, 2024
Weather: Snow Overnight, Then Rain, Mostly Cloudy; High Temp 42, Low 28 F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth MA
54321. Tomorrow, in just a few minutes, is THE day for my back surgery, and I am so ready mentally. Unfortunately, I was not as ready as I thought in terms of things to be done. It is almost midnight and I still need to add a couple of things and attach photos to this log, so it will not be sent until tomorrow or whenever I am next able to work on my computer. But here is how the day went.
Shadow and I woke up to white snow covering everything outside, so we hurriedly got dressed, Shadow in his red coat to keep him from getting soaked and me in my winter coat over my pajamas. No time to really get dressed as we were both too anxious to get outside. I put on my new slip-on boots, and out we went only to be met by Jed and Heather at the door. We all went out and played for a bit,
with me just watching but still enjoying it. Shadow will not pick up tennis balls that have snow on them, but Jed started throwing snowballs.
Shadow loved chasing them even though they fell apart upon impact.
Heather said it seemed a bit mean to throw something we knew could not be retrieved, but Shadow was having too much fun for Jed to stop. Plus, it was great exercise for Shadow.
The outside walks got shoveled plus a short bit of a path to the cars and then our attention was turned inward. H & J got the new shade attached to the kitchen door and Heather insisted on taking the mattresses off my bed and properly lowering the frame. That all got put back together and the bed was made with clean sheets. But in addition, the nightstand was moved to the other side of the bed and the bed moved closer to the wall, making my nightly trips to the bathroom about half the distance. That and the bed being lower is going to make my life a lot safer and easier. Thank you, Heather and Jed.
The rest of the day is a blur, but it entailed making beef stew using old root veggies that I discovered when cleaning out the refrigerator yesterday, a trip to Falmouth Hospital to pick up the antibacterial soap for the two required showers prior to surgery, a trip to the Post Office to send something to my sister, a trip to the grocery store to get items needed, and a stop at Walmart to return something … all things I wanted to get done before my surgery day. Once home, the very slow process began of getting the grocery items from the car to the house and put away. And in between all of this, I played fetch with Shadow in the rain and melting snow. I took the first required shower after dinner and then started the work I really needed to accomplish before going to bed. As I write this, I am questioning why I put off the ‘must do’ items to the end of the day, but I did. All is done now, and I am heading to bed, full of anticipation for tomorrow’s surgery. Oh, one more thing. Dena Brody, a member of my book group, delivered a chicken pot pie, friends sent more well wishes, Lynne in New Zealand, Olga Mitchel, Detta in New Hampshire. If I left anyone out, please forgive. It has been a very long day.
by Judy Handley | Jan 15, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 15: Refrigerator Redo
Date: Monday, January 15, 2024
Weather: Partly Cloudy; High Temp 43, Low 36 F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth MA
5-4-3-2-1 In my countdown, tomorrow is Day 2 and Day 1 is THE DAY. I’ve purchased all the gadgets to make my life a little easier after the surgery. If I didn’t live alone, I wouldn’t need these things. But I do live alone, so the gadgets were purchased and things in the house have been rearranged to make it easier for me to access things without bending. Tomorrow Heather and Jed will help me change the bed sheets. I got a tip from my good friend, Christina Brodie, this afternoon. She called to check in and wish me the best. She had a partial laminectomy last year and she found the she needed her legs elevated when she was in bed and she couldn’t do this when she was under the sheets, blanket, and bedspread. So she slept on top of the bedspread and put a warm, light weight blanket on top of her. I am going to do that and use my light weight, but very warm comforter on top. Such helpful advice. Plus, Christina is going to coordinate with Lynda Connoley from my book group about food deliveries for next week. And after I wrote last night’s log, friend Midge Frieswyk called to offer to stay with me, even overnight, to give Heather a break in the immediate days after the surgery. I said it before, but I’ll repeat that I feel so blessed to have such supportive group of friends and the support from Heather, Jed, Sam. Jonah, and Ollie, and the support from afar from Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco. And speaking of support from afar, friend Patsy Decker sent me well wishes from Vietnam where she and her husband are on a birding trip.
Reorganizing the refrigerator was a bigger job than I anticipated. I had to move the shelves and that was very difficult without bending. But I did it! And other than talking on the phone, playing outside with Shadow, and doing a bit of laundry, cleaning out and rearranging the refrigerator was the sum total of my day. Oops. That’s not true. I spent the morning dealing with Encore communications. Now, that was the sum total of my day.
