by Judy Handley | Jan 14, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 14: The Final Countdown
Date: Sunday, January 14, 2024
Weather: WINDY, Sunny Early, Then Partly Cloudy; High Temp 42, Low 22 F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth MA
5-4-3-2-1 I am almost through day four of the final countdown until surgery. I am ready and waiting anxiously to get this surgery done and start the recovery period. I know due to my prior left knee replacement just how important it is to follow the directions from the doctor. With this back surgery, the doctor says no physical therapy for six weeks and no exercising other walking. I am to walk, walk, walk, starting with short walks in the house and building from there. I am also to do no bending, twisting, or heavy lifting. As I have lamented previously, and almost constantly, it is the no bending that is the challenge. But today Jane Woodin brought me a 3rd grabber, so I can have one in the kitchen, one in the bedroom, and one in the living room. Today the amazing contraption that allows you to put on and take off your own compression stockings arrived.
I borrowed this to use with my sister and it worked like a charm. No one has mentioned that I will need to wear compression stockings, but I will be prepared, just in case. And a friend of Jane’s who reads my logs responded to my please for putting down the Shadow’s food bowl without bending. She sent a link to Jane for a No Bend Pet Bowl. I am buying a similar one sold on Amazon as it will be here by Thursday.
Then there is the issue of getting toilet paper off the roller without twisting around to the side. I just ordered a toilet paper holder floor stand that allows four rolls to be stacked vertically. I can position it so I can reach the top roll without twisting. It seems that there is a solution that can be purchased to solve every problem.
Cherished friends for across the miles reached out to me today sending well wishes . . . Helaine and Alan Kanegsberg and Gretchen and Mike Coughlin. And Falmouth friends are reaching out as well. Jane Woodin came this afternoon with her Visiting Nurse hat on and went through the house looking for possible problem areas. We only found that I really need a hand hold in the bathroom. Jed had already suggested that, and he plans to put one in before I get home on Thursday. Jane also demonstrated how I am to get out of bed. She made it look easy, but I need to practice! Basically, she gave me a passing grade for having things in order. Thank you, Jane, for coming over. A friend from my book group, Dena Brody, called late afternoon with the offer of frozen chicken pot pie from Wilson Farm in Lexington, MA. She promised that it is absolutely delicious, and I can get it out of the freezer when it is needed. And another friend, Midge Frieswyk, called tonight offering to come stay with me to give Heather a break this coming weekend. Thanks to all of you. It almost feels like Christmas.
The weather is really interesting. At one point today, it rained for about 5 minutes. At another point, it snowed for about five minutes. And for the rest of the day, the wind fluctuated from normal windy to gale force windy. But Shadow and I were able to find a windy window when it wasn’t raining or snowing to play outside this afternoon. He also had a long walk with Ricky, the man who house sat over Christmas. He will return tomorrow to take him for a morning walk. Then Heather and Jed will be back on the morning walk schedule on Tuesday. Tomorrow’s big job is rearranging the refrigerator to put the things I use most higher up so I don’t have to bend to reach them. A new refrigerator is on order, but it won’t be here for a couple of weeks. So, I have to make do until it arrives. I won’t be going to the wonderful MLK breakfast tomorrow morning as I am avoiding exposure to Covid. I don’t need that in addition to surgery recovery. But I will be honoring MLK by thinking of all he did for the civil rights movement in this country.
by Judy Handley | Jan 13, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 13: Another Lovely Day of Nothingness
Date: Saturday, January 13, 2024
Weather: Storm Overnight, Clearing Midday; High Temp 56, Low 33 F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth MA
Wow! This is a record for me. Two straight days of doing almost nothing and enjoying it tremendously. We had a storm overnight, rain and heavy winds, but by 8 am when I took Shadow out, the rain was still coming down, but it didn’t feel so stormy. By noon, the sun came out but it was still very windy, 25 to 35 miles per hour, so even though the temperature was in the 50’s (Yes, it is January), it didn’t feel so warm. I heard from Heather, and she said the report from the snowboarders on the mountain was that it was a bit wet. It snowed a few inches overnight, but it was all very heavy snow. Heather skipped skiing today but was headed out on snowshoes to explore the property of their VRBO. So, weatherwise, an okay day here and in Maine.
My days of nothingness are filled with checking and double checking to see if I have everything needed to make recovery from the back surgery as smooth as possible. I have slip on boots and slip on shoes and a long-handled shoehorn. I have slip on yoga pants that I can sleep in, as well as wear during the day. I have three walkers, two grabbers (with one more on the way from the Woodins), some food in the freezer, my whole kitchen rearranged so I don’t have to bend down to get things out of low cabinets. All of this because I was told by the doctor’s assistant that there can be NO bending for at least six weeks after surgery. If someone has any ideas on how I can feed and water Shadow without bending down, please let me know. He eats only wet food, and I tried lowering the bowl of food to the floor with the grabber and that was disastrous. So, I’ll keep working on that one. Jane Woodin is coming over in the morning to go through the house with me to see if there is anything else I need. Jane was a home Visiting Nurse for the last few years of her career, so there is no one better to let me know if there is anything else I need. Thank you, Jane.
At 3 pm, I went out to enjoy the last of the sunshine for the day and play fetch with Shadow. After 30 minutes, he was exhausted, so we came back inside. Then I headed out to feed the kitties at Heather and Jed’s, go to the pet store to get a supply of treats for Shadow, and to go the drug store to pick up a few more items I suspect I will need. I forgot to get Tylenol, which I know I will need, as NSAIDS are a no no after back surgery. I will have to make at least one more trip to the drug store. I also had to go to the bank to get cash to pay the dog walker. I didn’t have him come today as I knew it was going to be pouring rain, but he will come tomorrow and Monday. Then Heather and Jed will be back on the morning walk schedule. Tonight, I talked to my friend Lynne in New Zealand and got lots of positive encouragement for my recovery after surgery. I also got a call from Karen Baranowski this afternoon. She and Peter are in Florida for the next two to three weeks, but she called to check on me. It is a wonderful feeling to have friends and family who are constantly checking to make sure all is on track. I feel blessed.
by Judy Handley | Jan 12, 2024 | Cape Cod, USA |
2024 Life Logs, Day 12: A Lovely Day of Nothingness
Date: Friday, January 12, 2024
Weather: Clear and Warm; High Temp 47, Low 42 F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth MA
Weather rules and we are having some interesting weather these days. It was warm and sunny today, but overnight we are supposed to get rain and heavy winds until about noon tomorrow. Then the rain is supposed to end, but the wind continues throughout the day. Heather and family arrived in Bethel, Maine, tonight and they are supposed to get snow overnight. Then they should have a great morning on the slopes, but the temperature rises and will be in the 40’s for them tomorrow afternoon. Not sure what that will mean for them up on the mountain. Then Sunday they should have a sunny and cold day. Hopefully the weather allows them to enjoy their snowboarding weekend in Maine.
Things here were quiet today, Jed came over to walk Shadow and a little later I headed out on a grocery shopping expedition. I then came home and went into a cooking frenzy. I am trying to use up all the things that have accumulated in the refrigerator before my surgery on Wednesday. Then I hope to have Heather refill the fridge with my constants—kale, avocados, beets, mushrooms, cucumbers, celery, arugula, broccoli, cauliflower, sheep’s milk feta cheese, kiwis, pears, oranges, and on and on. I can’t really buy these things before the surgery, because I will be gone for two days. So, we will have to start over once I get home from the hospital. My cooking frenzy today was in an attempt to empty the refrigerator. I made a lot of cauliflower rice and then used that to make a cauliflower rice, hemp hearts, can cucumber salad, and a cauliflower rice, broccoli, cheese, and ham casserole. I have eaten no meat or cheese since watching What the Health, but I had this ham and shredded cheese in the refrig that needed to be used. I just can’t waste food, so I will eat the ham and cheese.
Tonight, I continued watching the best of 2022-23 movies with Killers of the Flower Moon. I only got half way through, so I will have to give my opinion tomorrow night, But I really, really dislike the role Leo DiCaprio plays in this movie. Beyond despicable. I just don’t have the right word for it,
by Judy Handley | Jan 11, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 11: The End of Procrastination
Date: Thursday, January 11, 2024
Weather: Cloudy with a Tad of Sunshine Late Day; High Temp 44, Low 35 F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth MA
I have spent all week procrastinating on doing some writing tasks for Encore. The pieces need to be submitted by next Wednesday, but I wanted to get them done this week so I can focus on what needs to be done to get ready for the back surgery. Somehow, this week I found it easier to order the things needed post-surgery than write. But today, I have spent the entire day, except for a 40 minute outside time with Shadow, sitting right here at my computer. But I have completed the first drafts of the writing projects and feel a great sense of relief. It wasn’t all that difficult, but somehow I just couldn’t focus until today.
From now until next Wednesday when I have back surgery, I am now free to focus on additional adaptations that need to be made to the house and my habits. I have been told that post-surgery, I cannot bend at all for 6 weeks. I have been practicing, but there are certain tasks that I just can’t figure out how to do without at least leaning over. So, my question is this. Is leaning over a bit the same as bending? If so, I have a lot more practicing to do. And writing this reminded me that I need to order additional ‘grabbers’. I only have one and I was told that I need at least two–one to pick up the first one if I drop it. And I need one in the bedroom, one in the kitchen, and one in the living room. Sure hope they aren’t too expensive.
Heather, Jed, and boys leave right after school tomorrow to head to Bethel, Maine, for a long weekend of skiing and snowboarding. That means I am not going to have someone to walk Shadow in the mornings. So, I contacted the guy who stayed with Shadow while I was in Maine and he will do the morning walks. Shadow will stay at Heather and Jed’s for a few days post-surgery, then he will come home to help me recover.
by Judy Handley | Jan 10, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 10: Shopping Day
Date: Wednesday, January 10, 2024
Weather: Rainy, Sunny, Cloudy, Windy; High Temp 52, Low 36 F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth MA
Rainy, sunny, cloudy, windy. Yes, it was that kind of day. I woke up at 7 am, went to the bathroom, looked outside at the rain still coming down, and went back to bed. My alarm was set to go off at 8 am, but well after that Shadow jumped up and started barking. I got up to see why he was barking and found Heather knocking on the door. Obviously, my 8 am alarm did not go off. A bit of a rude awakening, but soon Shadow was off on his morning walk with Heather, and I got dressed and ready for the day.
I was expecting a 9:30 pre-op phone call from a nurse at Cape Cod Hospital and at 11 am, Terry and Olivia White were coming over to drop off a chair for me. I have a low foot stool that can collapse (intentially) in the bedroom that I sometimes sit on while getting dressed. Two days ago I slid off the side of it when it partially collapsed (accidentally). I then realized I needed a substantial chair with arms in the bedroom and that’s when I thought of Olivia. I bought a $5 chair at Restore when I had my knee surgery as I needed a chair with arms to do certain exercises. Then I loaned the chair to Olivia when she had her knee surgery. When she asked me if I wanted it back, I said I didn’t. So she and Terry stored it in their basement. I sent a text to see if she still had it. She did and she offered to bring it over. I’m sure getting my money’s worth out of the ugly, but serviceable chair. And I had a great visit with Terry and Olivia.
Next, I was off to the Walmart that is across the bridge in Wareham. Walmart sells a brand of yoga pants in petite sizes. I bought two pairs when I had my knee surgery as they are easy to put on and were so comfortable I nearly wore them out. So, for this back surgery, I wanted to purchase some new ones. I went to Walmart, and they only had two pairs in my size. I bought those, but I also wanted to buy some for my sister. It is hard to find $10 pants in a petite size. Believe me. The Falmouth Walmart had none in my sister’s size. So, I tried online and all of that brand of yoga pants in the petite sizes we needed were out of stock. Therefore, the trip to Wareham, which was successful. Woohoo! I bought pants for my sister and more for me. And as long as I was there, I decided to travel on to Stoughton to Costco. I had something to return and needed a few items I only buy there. I had Shadow with me and he stayed in the car while I shopped. The Costco trip was also a success and we got home after 3 pm. I ate a quick late lunch and then took Shadow out to play fetch. We played until it started to get dark and cold.
Tomorrow, I plan to tie myself to my computer to get the Encore work done that I have been putting off. And I also will work on rearranging the panty so that things I will need for cooking during those first six weeks of recovery after the back surgery and beyond will be accessible . But tonight, I am going to continue watching movies from 2023. So far this week, I have watched Nyad and Maestro, both of which I thoroughly enjoyed. This movie watching stint was prompted by watching some of The Golden Globe awards on Sunday night. But tonight I watch a documentary recommended by my friend Detta. It is called The Biggest, Little Farm and is the story of a couple who established a farm on 200 acres of basically dead land about an hour north of Los Angeles. It is a wonderful story with superb cinematography. Even if you are not interested in farming, I highly recommend it.
