2024 Life Logs, Day 35: Just Too Cold
Date: Sunday, February 4, 2024
Weather: Partly Sunny with a N Wind; High Temp 38, Low 28 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth MA
For the past two days, no matter what I do, I am just too cold. I have increased the thermostat from 68 to 70, the sun was shining for much of the day, and I put on more clothes. But for whatever reason, my nose is constantly cold, as is my whole body. I think tomorrow I am just going to stay in the bedroom with the door shut. That should do it.
I finally had a visit from a physical therapist today, a young woman named Tracy. The order was put through a few days after my surgery, but like all medical appointments here on the Cape, it took a while. All I wanted was for someone to come give me a few pointers on how I should be moving, and the PT who came spent over an hour with me. She had me go though my daily routines, inside and outside, getting into and out of bed, playing fetch with Shadow with the Chuck It, just about everything. She recommended a different way of putting on the brace for my left knee and showed me a better way of getting into and out of cars, and she answered my biggest question, “Is leaning the same as bending?” The answer is yes, unless done from the hips, not from the waist. I had been told no BLT, no bending, no lifting (over 10 pounds), and no twisting. And Tracy adds an S and R to that—no stretching to reach things. Despite the limitations, she gave me a pretty good ‘grade’. She recommended that I keep icing at least once every couple of hours per day for three more weeks and just keep on rollin’.
