2024 Life Logs, Day 04: Pre-Op Appointment and Shopping My Way Home
Date: Thursday, January 4, 2024
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, Cold Tonight; High Temp 42, Low 22 F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth MA
It was off to Hyannis this morning for my pre-op appointment. Heather joined us on the phone and I think we both got our questions answered. I had read my MRI report many times, but seeing the images today made it absolutely clear that surgery really is my only option. I took photos of the images on the screen and will share those with Heather. But mostly we were interested in what life might be like immediately after the surgery, six weeks out, and beyond. Every person is different, but if the surgery goes successfully, I will be up and walking in a few hours, made possible by the pain meds. Then seven days out when the pain meds go away, I should be walking around the house, and starting to walk out to the mailbox and then around the neighborhood. I am not allowed to do any kind of exercise except for walking in the first six weeks. Then I can start physical therapy. I will hopefully be driving in two weeks. We shall see.
Since I was in Hyannis, I went to Trader Joe’s to get a supply of their frozen wild blueberries and I went to Whole Foods to get the tea I forgot to get when I was there a few days ago. But somehow two boxes of tea turned into two bags of food items. When I got back to Falmouth, I went to Walmart to get new tennis balls for Shadow and to buy yoga pants for me. After the surgery, I will be wearing those instead of jeans for a few weeks.
My morning appointment in Hyannis ended up to be an entire day trip. I didn’t get home until 3:30 pm, played ball with Shadow outside for a bit, and by the time we got back inside, the sun was setting. I hadn’t eaten lunch, but I literally could not keep my eyes open. Stopping in three stores was just too much and my body was telling me to take a nap. I slept for an entire hour but woke up revived. I have got to work harder at pacing my activities until this back surgery and recovery period are over.
