by Judy Handley | Jan 28, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 28: Dreary, Rainy Day
Date: Sunday, January 28, 2024
Weather: Rainy and Chilly All Day; High Temp 39, Low 35 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth MA
It was a very quiet, dreary, rainy day. First thing, Shadow and I went out in the pouring rain this morning so he could go potty. He did his business and we headed right back inside, with both of our jackets soaking wet. I put those in the dryer, had breakfast, read the morning news, played my normal Connections and Mini-Crossword, and then headed to the shower. I was much steadier in the shower than two days ago which tells me my back is getting stronger. I didn’t need to hold on to the grab bars, so that is progress. But raising my right arm to wash my hair reminded me that I had an irritated tendon. Then, either because the weather was so depressing or because I needed more rest, Shadow and I took a nap.
The afternoon was not much more exciting than the morning. I took Shadow for a walk around the block in a period when it was only misting, not raining. I fixed a late lunch, did a few things on my computer, and took Shadow out to play fetch. Twice this afternoon, he hid the ball from me. This is a new thing. Tomorrow I will just have to take extra balls outside with me. Then the highlight of the afternoon was a Skype call with Justin and kids. They had just returned from an afternoon of indoor roller skating. Justin was exhausted and Jo had disappeared, probably taking nap. But Ziggy and Coco were still energetic. I told Justin that he might want to try watching them skate next time, instead of participating as he said his legs literally felt like rubber. All is well there, but it is dry. I’d like to be able to send them some of our rain,
After the call, suddenly it was time for dinner. I truly didn’t accomplish much of anything today, but I’m declaring that okay. I am allowing myself to have a few do-nothing days as I recover. I did manage to take the trash can out to the street as tomorrow is trash day. Do I get points for that? We are supposed to get a little snow tomorrow, so we shall see if that gives me more energy than this rain. I have never been a rainy-day person, but if it is icy out tomorrow, I will have to be very careful. I surely don’t want to fall.
by Judy Handley | Jan 27, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 27: Normal, Sort Of
Date: Saturday, January 27, 2024
Weather: Overcast and Chilly; High Temp 39, Low 31 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth MA
After yesterday, today was a calm, normal day. Ahhhh. And I feel good and didn’t even need a nap. The tendonitis in my right forearm is much better. Shadow has not yet had any reaction to eating the chocolate yesterday. And my back is healing nicely.
I walked Shadow around the block today which was the first day for that, although I walked along with Detta and Shadow yesterday. Walking around the block is a little more than a quarter of a mile. My next goal will be to walk a half mile. My back has no problem with the walking, but my right knee is worse than I remembered. I have a noticeable limp which is going to throw my back out of alignment. I tried to wear the brace I have yesterday, but I couldn’t get it adjusted correctly and it hurt. So, I will contact my Orthopedic doctor and get an appointment with an assistant to help me with the brace and maybe get a cortisone shot to get me through until my knee surgery in May.
When I say things are normal, it is a new normal. There are so many things I cannot do. Sometimes I try and I am always sorry. I really can’t push the limits of my back and expect to get a good outcome. So I must spend my time adjusting to this level of activity until the end of February. Then I can start physical therapy.
by Judy Handley | Jan 26, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 26: What at Day
Date: Friday, January 26, 2024
Weather: More Rain; High Temp 42, Low 36 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth MA
Things got off to a bad start late last evening when I pulled something in my right forearm. While my friend Detta was in the bathroom, I spilled Shadow’s water on the kitchen floor trying to use the new long-handled contraption that holds his water and food dishes. It is long handle so I don’t have to bend. I went into the half-bath off the living room to get a rag towel, but it was under a stack of smaller rags in a plastic box. Since I can’t bend, I squatted down and tried to pull the towel out. As I did, I heard something pop in my forearm and a sharp pain flashed from my thumb to the bend in my arm. I did retrieve the towel, a fairly normal thing to do, but not when you are recovering from back surgery, and you are not supposed to bend or pull. It was stupid. But I cleaned up the water mess in the kitchen by throwing the towel on the floor and scooting it around with my foot. Detta returned from the bathroom and took over the cleaning job. Then we turned our attention to my arm. When I moved my arm in certain directions, the pain would reoccur. Detta and I fashioned a cold pack for it by wrapping a pack around my arm and taping it with duct tape and the cold helped with the pain. I went to bed thinking how many more things can go wrong with my body and hoping the arm would be better this morning.
When I woke up this morning, I still had the very warm cold pack on my arm. I took it off and went to put a shirt on. Once again there was shrieking pain. So, I got Detta to help me put on my shirt and put a fresh cold pack on my arm, and then sent a text to Heather to see if they had any sports wrap that I could borrow to wrap around my arm. Then I thought of the carpel tunnel wrist braces Mark and I had back in the late 1990’s. I dug those out, found the one for my right arm, and bingo, things were better. As long as my wrist was immobile, it seemed fine. Jed came over a little later with the sports wrap and he suggested I call my primary care to see if he recommended anything else. I did that and the nurse I reached suggested I go to the walk-in clinic in Mashpee. While I was messing around with all of this, Detta was playing Cinderella
by sweeping my whole house and mopping the kitchen and bathroom. She is having health issues of her own and should not have been doing the work, but there was no way to stop her until I said we needed to go to the walk-in clinic. I was tremendously lucky that the doctor on call was a young woman who trained as an orthopedic specialist. She asked lots of questions and then put my arms through a series of movement tests. The result was that there is nothing disconnected. I just have FCR tendon sheath inflammation or flexor carpi radialis tendinitis. In other words, tendinitis. She suggested I take Ibuprofen, but I told her that due to the back surgery, NSAIDs are not on the menu right now as they can cause bleeding at the site of the surgery. Instead, she gave me a prescription for what she called Ibuprofen cream which is the same as Voltaran which I already had for my back and knee. But it sure is a lot cheaper as a prescription. The doctor said to put the Voltaran on four times a day and wear the brace for the next three to four weeks and I should be good to go. She was amazed that the brace was still in such good condition and that it the same brace they still use twenty-five years later!
But the craziness was not over yet. We got home and as Detta was getting ready to go, I noticed Shadow was eating something on the living room rug. It was the chocolate orange my wine group had sent as a get-well gift. I had eaten a few wedges, but Shadow finished it off. Chocolate is toxic to dogs, and it seemed to me he ate a lot of chocolate. I insisted that Detta get on the road home to Greenland, New Hampshire, and then I called Shadow’s vet. They don’t deal with chocolate poisoning but said to call Poison Control. Thirty minutes and $95 later, Poison Control deemed that even if he ate the whole chocolate orange, he would still be on the Stay at Home and Watch list. So, we are staying at home and watching. They did give me detailed information about what to watch for and I can call back as often as needed at no additional charge. But at that point, I would have paid anything for peace of mind. I got off the phone and slept away the rest of the afternoon.
At 5 o’clock a knock on the door woke me up. It was my book club friend, Lori Cecil, with dinner for me. She had time for a cup of tea and we had a good visit. When she left it was way past time to take Shadow out and then come in an eat dinner. Thankfully, the rest of the evening was drama free! Detta’s visit ended up to be full of craziness, but it is always wonderful to spend time with dear friends.
by Judy Handley | Jan 25, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 25: Detta Comes to Visit
Date: Thursday, January 25, 2024
Weather: More Rain; High Temp 53, Low 38 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth MA
Much of my day was spent in anticipation of my dear friend’s arrival. Detta Porat was driving down from Greenland, New Hampshire, by way of Connecticut, where she spent a couple of days visiting with her father who is in assisted living. She arrived late afternoon, laden with gifts, and then prepared a fabulous meal for us.
After dinner, we visited away the evening. Shadow loves Detta and spent the whole evening on her lap on the sofa.
Tomorrow, she wants to help with house chores before she heads back north of New Hampshire. It is a short visit, but it is so wonderful to be able to spent a little time with her.
by Judy Handley | Jan 24, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 24: On the Road to Recovery on Steroids
Date: Wednesday, January 24, 2024
Weather: Snow Overnight, Cloudy with Misty Rain; High Temp 43, Low 39 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth MA
All day today I kept wondering why I felt so great and had absolutely no pain even though I took the last pain meds yesterday. Tonight, I figured it out—just a little slow catching on. My doctor had me start a five-day prednisone pack yesterday. I take a little less every day. When that is finished, I will actually be able to tell how I am doing. But I am so thrilled to be standing up straight and walking with no back pain. I’ll enjoy every day of that and hope it continues.
Today I overdid it a bit. Christina Brodie was bringing dinner for me tonight, and then we decided to have the salad portion of dinner for lunch and catch up on happenings. I had a little break after our lunch and then I went to my Exploring Public Policy meeting from 3:00 to 5:00. For the next few weeks, I will limit my days to one activity. But when I got home from the meeting, Heather was at my house with Shadow. She wanted to play fetch with him, but at her house, he tends to run around the neighborhood. That is a no-no, so she came here. When I saw him, I knew it was time for him to come home. So, tonight we are together again. He has been lying at my feet all evening, rolled up in a little ball.
I can’t tell if he is happy to be home, but I am so happy to have him back. I just have to make sure he is not going to pull on the leash when we walk. Heather or Jed will still come walk him in the morning, and someone is coming tonight. But I am hoping I can do everything but the morning walk and soon I will add him.
Today, due to the snow and messy conditions out on the road, I walked my quarter mile by walking up and down the driveway six times.
That is just a guess, but I think that was close to the distance from the house to the end of the block and back. And I know that is close to a quarter mile. I will also try to play fetch with Shadow tomorrow afternoon. Tomorrow is a test day to see if this reunion can stick. And I think we can do it.
by Judy Handley | Jan 23, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 23: On the Road to Recovery and Independence
Date: Tuesday, January 23, 2024
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, Warmer; Light Rain Late; High Temp 40, Low 31 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth MA
Nurse Jane certified this morning that I can put on and take off my own compression stockings with the help of the device made just for that chore. This was the one thing she wasn’t sure I could do. With that accomplishment, and the fact that I will be off most medications by tomorrow, only Tylenol for pain, I will have my first night alone tonight. I was able to walk to the end of the block and back, about a quarter of a mile, by myself today, with the help of a cane for safety. So, if I don’t do something stupid to screw things up, I feel safe in saying that I am well on the road to independence and recovery. A few weeks ago, living independently with never being able to bend, twist, or pick up heavy weights seemed almost impossible. But I bought things to help with chores and it is working so far. The recovery has been helped along by friends who have been cooking dinners for me so I don’t have to stand for long periods in the kitchen preparing food. That will end this Friday and then I will be totally independent.
Tonight’s dish for dinner was Slow-Cooker Kung Pao Chickpeas with brown rice and arugula. Best way yet for fixing chickpeas. It was delicious. Thanks to Claudia Needham for that. Claudia and I are co-chairs of the Exploring Public Policy group that is meeting tomorrow. She is going to pick me up and I am going to attend the meeting, I can’t stand for any period of time, but I can sit in the meeting as long as I put my feet up on another chair. It will look a little weird, but I will get to participate.
