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.
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 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.
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.
