Sunday, December 16, 2012

Progress. . .


I'm happy to report that I really am getting better -- not as quickly as I might like, but there is steady progress. Getting in and out of bed is no longer a dramatic production and I clump about with my walker feeling almost ready to graduate to a cane. A home health nurse and a physical therapist have both said I'm doing well.

Christmas preparations are proceeding apace -- mainly thanks to those patient others who have been cooking and cleaning and helping me in so many ways. I have managed to do Christmas cards and some gift wrapping and this afternoon, we'll begin the traditional stringing of the popcorn and cranberry chain for the tree.

I'm weaning myself from the oxycodone, cutting the dose in half and supplementing with Tylenol.  Even so, I still find it all to easy to fall asleep -- which is why my blog-visiting has been slight... I tell myself that sleep is a great healer -- but get impatient when I find I've just dozed away another couple of hours.

Tomorrow I'm off to the doctor for my first post-operative visit -- and to have the staples removed, all 26 of them. This has been, and continues to be, an interesting experience...
 
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20 comments:

Ms. A said...

Glad to hear it!

You're going to the doctor on Sunday? I didn't know any doctors took appointments on Sunday.

Juliet said...

So glad to hear of your recovery. The cranberry threading sounds intriguing. Best wishes for continued recuperation and a wonderful Christmas.

I've been away and off broadband and will be again for the week before Christmas; may be able to do a little by dialup, though it's slow.

Martin said...

So glad to hear that things are progressing well for you, Vicki. Just the fact that you feel like graduating from a walker to a cane tells me that your spirits are up.

Eliane Zimmermann said...

oh vicky, so sad to read that you are in pain. i somehow dived into dark grounds for the last couple of months, especially after a dear friend died under very suspious circumstances (he was a very engager fighter against salmon and mussle farms here in our beautiful irish bay - he was almost decapitated by a sit on lawn mower after running down a steep hill, so visible attemps to evade or jump off neither - what we hoped - a heart attack or stroke that made him driving unconscious). then a huge book contribution about aromatherapy was to be written for a colleague's 2nd edition, almost a book of its own and more relevant than all parts in my existing own books. so three days ago i handed over my revised and corrected manuscript and can now surf around the world wide web. so i scrolled down and down to your post telling you were writing a living will and having knee surgery. so i wish you the best for your further recovery and nevertheless happy holidays! cheers from ireland, eliane

Miss_Yves said...

Oh! I'm sorry to learn that you were ill, but I' happy to read you're getteing better: best wishes for your complete recovery!

Sam Hoffer / My Carolina Kitchen said...

Great progress and I'm so pleased for you. Maybe right before Christmas time was just the right time for surgery. Christmas gets your spirits up thinking about decorating your tree and all of the goodies we eat during the holidays.
Sam

Brian Miller said...

i am glad you are making progress....and feeling better....getting the staples out has to feel like progress....i am glad to you can immerse yourself in some traditions to keep your mind from it...

KarenB said...

Glad to hear you are progressing well. It does take some patience, doesn't it, when you just want to be better NOW! Take care!

jennyfreckles said...

Such life events seem designed to make us learn patience. It's hard for a lot of us! But very glad to hear you're making good progress. With 26 staples in your leg, I can only hope you're nowhere near any magnets!

Unknown said...

Hi Vicki! I've had a week where I thought I had a good chance of being bitten, but have survived with only mild scrapes and bruising. I have had the hardest time figuring out how to comment to you as I am not blog savvy. I am really enjoying your thoughts and pictures. I got a good laugh at the "heart the devil" sign. Funny that whoever made that thought racists should make the list. I'm glad to hear you're toying with the idea of a cane. Don't get crazy, though. I miss having you around.

NCmountainwoman said...

If the PT and the nurse say you are doing well then it must be so and that's great news. I know you will be glad to have those staples out. When the incision is totally healed, some Vitamin E creme will help soften and reduce the pull of the scar. My hands were never in better shape than when my husband had his hip replacement. Massaging with that creme helped his scar and my hands.

Vagabonde said...

Great news about your being able to move around a bit.
I saw your flower from your last post and your question “what if mental healthcare were as easy to get as a gun?” I recalled then what my daughter had to go through to adopt her cats. She adopted them from some cat adoption foundation. She had to fill a form, they also said they might come to check her home, she had to wait at least a week while they were reviewing her request, then she was given each cat against $150 each. However, one of the trainees where I worked wished to go target shooting a while back. He went to a sports shop, bought a gun for $75 and was back within an hour – no questions asked. It looks like people care more about pets, doesn’t it? Guns are certainly cheaper than getting health care in the US – so many homeless people are mental patients who have been taken out of mental clinics. Criminals may be able to obtain guns but mental patients or unbalanced people may not if gun were restricted like in other countries. When you realize that 30,000 people died from firearm injuries in the US and that is more than in the Syrian civil war, it should make people pause and think. But you know what … I have lived in gun loving Deep South for decades… I don’t think much will happen.

Anonymous said...

Please keep sleeping---the best cure for anything, IMHO. Glad you're on the mend.
Deana the queena

Frances said...

Vicki, I am so glad that your progress continues...and that you actually use popcorn and cranberry strands for your tree. I always wanted to make those for my childhood Christmas trees, but parental veto power stopped that motion!

Hoping that the staple removing will not cause additional pain.

xo

Thérèse said...

So good to read that you are getting better by the day... continue the good work of one day at a time.

Vicki Lane said...

You all are so nice! I believe that one of these anonymous comments is from one of the therapists at the rehab center -- a wonderful young woman who put up sweetly with my whining and grouchiness.

Unknown said...

It is me, Adriane. But I can not for the life of me change my settings to show my name. I realized after I posted that it seemed vague and maybe even weird if not from me. I am enjoying your posts. And no kidding, just narrowly survived last week:)

Vicki Lane said...

I thought it must be! I don't know how to help you -- I have several folks who comment anonymously but then sign their comments so I know who it is.

You were a bright spot in my stay at CP -- I really appreciated your help. And I'm getting better slowly -- a Home Health PT will be here tomorrow!

Unknown said...

Merry Christmas Vicki and family! I actually went to work at CP today and made those poor people do therapy on Christmas! Evil. Love, Adriane

Vicki Lane said...

Oh,Adriane! I have to say that when Jay, my Home Health PT guy said I was scheduled for Christmas day, I told him that wasn't going to work...

Merry Christmas -- what's lefy of it -- to you!