Monday, July 12, 2010

On the Mend!

Just a little peek of how gross it is.And thats only one side!
I haven't written anything lately because I had lost all my sense of humor, but I feel it coming back. My ankle repair surgery was 2 weeks ago and I'm afraid it really wasn't funny. If I'd have known it was going to be this much trouble and pain, I'd have had the paramedics shoot me on the spot instead of take me to the hospital. I guess it's a good thing we can't see into the future. But, surprisingly enough, each day is much better than the last, and this is how I get over it. I know I shouldn't really complain, there are so many worse things out there. But, a few people have asked me to get back to the blog so I decided I'd write today with or without complaining about my circumstances.
What I see from my bed. Besides the TV
I'm thinking back and trying to find something about the hospital stay that stands out. Yes, the lack of dignity and modesty!!! Your butt is hanging out of the gown and your bowels are the subject of a lot of conversation. The only other time I was in the hospital was in 1981 when my daughter was born and I had a c-section and a premature baby so I stayed a week. I was in a fog so don't remember a lot. So this whole episode was different to me. Luckily, I had a really nice roommate who had had both her knees replaced so she was in worse shape than I. Just getting up to use the bathroom is a group affair, so you can't lay there until you can't hold it before summoning the "troops". At least the first day you have a catheter but they want to remove that as soon as possible because the chance of infection is so high. I'm surprised that in this day and age they haven't come up with a better method of "bed pan" for a woman! Those of you who have ever been in this situation know what I'm talking about. Really! So we had to get used to getting up and at least I had a bedside commode so I didn't have to go far. At home I used a computer chair to sit upon and roll to the toilet, but they didn't have that here. So I would need my crutches if I were going very far. But, I did manage to get this exercise to a pretty good flow once the drugs were out of my system and I wasn't faint or ready to throw up at any given moment. It was amazing how much better I felt from one day to the next. It's a really good thing that the memory of all this fades easily. I had to ask my daughter about details of a few of the days because I couldn't remember. Elizabethclaire said she had a friend who kept getting things in the mail that she had ordered off info-mercials and didn't remember ordering them because of the meds she was taking. So far I don't think I've ordered anything that I am unaware of. But, I still have in mind to order the Music of Relaxation with the bonus 4 CD's if I'm one of the first 500 to order.
Pretty much the position I'm in every day!
Anyway, I'm home and being careful to keep my leg up and have been exercising so that I can regain some strength. I was hoping to go to my Studio Group meeting but the 18 stairs to the house were more than I could manage. I've been practicing on the 3 steps to my house and getting much steadier on the crutches. I see that this is really going to take as long as I've been told, so I'm getting used to it and will make the best of it. But, I'm going to take a nap now so I'll think more about that tomorrow, fiddle dee dee. (Gosh, what am I going to do when I can't take a nap whenever I want?)