One year post-op surgeon's visit

I'm sure you all know I'd rather be writing about the state of the Republic these days, but I just can't. CAN'T. cantcantcant. It's so hard to live through, I don't want to experience it twice by actually recording my thoughts about it.

My hip surgery, however, I will write about, because I began recording those experiences with the goal of helping someone else who might stumble across the blog as he or she was facing a total hip replacement.

I'm not nervous in the surgeon's waiting room (as I am in, say, a dentist's waiting room), so the long wait wasn't traumatic. Just boring. I'm pretty good at being patient, and knowing it took nearly an hour to get there and would take another to return if I walked out kept me planted in my seat.

I was x-rayed (everything is in place, exactly where it's supposed to be), and finally taken to an exam room for a talk with the doc.

He asked if I was having any problems, and I still have trouble going up and down stairs and bending to put a sock on or to tie my shoe (right side only). I thought it might be because of my weight, but when he began pressing hard on the muscles, the pain was pretty surprising.

He explained that the muscle had atrophied, needed to be built up (I should probably have done more physical therapy last year), and could be managed with another round of PT. I mentioned how disappointed I was that I weigh now exactly what I weighed when I had the surgery (which is about 50 pounds more than I'd like). He is the FIRST DOCTOR EVER to reassure me that it's not my fault, and added that once I gain back some muscle in my right hip I'll be able to be much more active.

I take that to mean that if I'm not more active, it will be my own damned fault.

At any rate … I have an appointment Monday with the physical therapist. A gym membership is part of my Medicare benefits, and I can use their equipment to do the therapy between PT appointments. 

A friend also suggested yoga might be helpful, so I asked the doctor about that. He expressed some concern that I wouldn't be able to maintain a perfect posture for some poses, but in general he encouraged me to do what I could do to help with flexibility and balance.

All in all, I'm pleased with the plan and motivated to begin. I'm hopeful for a good outcome, and I realize that I'll get out of it exactly what I put into it.

I wore a red shirt (in solidarity with International Women's Day) to my appointment, and stopped for a coffee on the way home. One of the baristas asked if I was wearing red for women's day, and she said she would have, but the company dress code doesn't include red. But she said, "I'm with you!" and I felt kind of bad that she was serving me on women's day, and all I could do was say, "No, I'm with YOU."

And leave her a nice tip.

Six months later

I know I said I wouldn't post any more hip-surgery updates, but it seems like six months post-op is a good time to assess.

In the six months since the operation, I've walked nearly 500 miles (493.94 to be exact), and I'm now averaging about 14,000 steps per day. I'd logged 187 miles after four months, so the past two months have been pretty darned good.

Nice weather helps, of course. I have very few residual effects of the surgery. The pain I'd been living with is completely gone. I have trouble – still – getting up from a chair and getting started walking. I need to steady myself with a hand on a wall or table, for instance, until I feel secure. I have a lot of trouble if I need to get down on my hands and knees and then get back up again.

And despite all those miles walked, I've lost only seven pounds since the surgery. I am well and truly stuck where I am, and not happy about it at all. I eat reasonable portions of healthful foods. I'm not willing to walk more – I'm averaging more than five miles a day.

I plan to add some rowing to the routine, something I've been "meaning" to do, but just haven't been motivated enough to actually accomplish. A six-month assessment such as this seems to indicate I need that kind of push.

Most 65-year-old hip surgery patients aren't as active as I am, based on the reaction I get when I tell people my age and activity level. Maybe I just need to let go of the desire to lose weight NOW, and be grateful for the progress I've made so far.

The last 28 days have been fairly consistent, and certainly better than a year ago!

Back to normal!

It's been 12 weeks today since my hip surgery, and I'm doing just about whatever I want to do. Except running, of course, which is forever prohibited. The physical therapy sessions were very beneficial, and I am again glad my doctor didn't push me into them right away. 

Certain movements are restricted immediately post-surgery – bending, crossing your legs, putting all your weight on the operated limb – and my therapy would have had to respect those limits. Waiting until the restrictions were lifted gave the therapists more leeway to push me a little harder.

At any rate, I'm now able to put my socks on, tie my shoes, enter and exit the car, bend, stretch, stoop, you name it and I can do it without discomfort. Pretty cool, huh? I still tire easily, and that was an issue this weekend.

The other back-to-normal thing is my life. Our county Democratic Executive Committee, of which I am a member, hosted a banquet honoring a retiring state senator this past Saturday, and banquets don't just happen out of thin air, like they do in Disney cartoons. A great deal of planning and preparation went into it. And a great deal of walking and standing ensued. I didn't even eat dinner.

BUT: It was quite the success, both in attendance and in replenishing our treasury so we can do some voter outreach efforts. We learned a lot from the experience – we've never hosted this kind of affair before – and we'll definitely be doing it again.

Just not soon. Heh.

Yesterday my husband and I went to a book reading, which was accompanied by music (lovely, soul-filled music) and followed by a reception at the home of the organizers. The book – Voices from the Appalachian Coalfields – was researched 25 years ago by a man who became ill before he could finish it. His wife eventually completed the project. It's an artistic and educational masterpiece.

And a pretty long day.

Winter returned last week, and I finally had the opportunity to walk on the treadmill instead of outdoors. My fastest outdoor pace – if you want to call it that – is about a 24-minute mile. I can do three miles in an hour on the treadmill, and knock off an episode of House of Cards while I'm at it. I still like outdoor walking better, but I'll gladly hit the machine when the weather doesn't cooperate.

So that's about it from the Middle of Nowhere. Thanks for hanging in there with me for the surgery saga. I probably won't mention it much going forward. We have a primary coming up, and then an important general election. I'll bet you just can't wait to hear what I have to say about that! Heh.

Another post-surgical first

I know you're probably reallyreallyreally bored with all this hip surgery nonsense, and I apologize. I'm writing it here so I have a record of it, and documenting it in case anyone stumbles across it who is facing the same procedure. I didn't think about looking for others' personal experiences until after I'd been released from the hospital. Maybe my ramblings will help someone else.

At any rate – whether you're bored or not – I took a trip this weekend! I haven't seen my younger granddaughter since Halloween. She and her parents were having scheduling troubles finding time to head to our place, so I decided just to go for it and went to North Carolina.

Just keep waiting, just keep waiting.
Quite an impressive cloud bank, yes?

It's about a five-hour trip for me, not counting time parked on the interstate waiting for accidents to clear (one on the way down Friday and two coming home yesterday). I'm not a fast driver. My son has made it to my house in four hours.

The only problem I had was getting out of the car after driving for a couple of hours. I was definitely stiff and felt like I needed a little support before I could walk comfortably. But no pain.

[The big win was not spending a penny while I was in the state of North Carolina (to protest passage of HB2). I'm sure the taxes collected on my customary trip to Trader Joe's won't make an iota of difference in the state budget, but it's the principal of the thing. I rarely need to spend money when I visit family there, but I was a little concerned about whether I'd have to refuel before I hit the Virginia state line on the way home.

There's a gas station at the last exit in Virginia before entering North Carolina, and I filled up Friday on my way down. I had about three gallons in the tank when I got back there Sunday. #winning]

I did my physical therapy exercises Friday before I left and Saturday while I was there, and managed to get 10,000 steps Friday and 9,000 Saturday. Was very tired yesterday when I got home, and skipped the exercises, but took a short walk for a total of about 5,000 steps.

Food was a disaster. Let's not even go there, mkay? Other than it's time for a reset.

I'll end with a "Go 'Nova" for the NCAA championship game, and a "Play ball!" for MLB Opening Day. Because it's time to move on from all-surgery, all-the-time.

I shall be have been released

I've been sprung!

No more trips to the hospital for PT … I thought tomorrow would be my last session, but we all agreed that I've made great progress and am motivated to continue on my own at home. So yay for that.

Yesterday was quite the active day. An three-mile outdoor walk in the morning (still s o o o   s l o o o o w), physical therapy (including 15 minutes on the exercise bike) in the afternoon followed by several errands. I don't mind telling you I was pretty tired and sore by the time dinner was done.

But the FitBit logged more than 5 miles, almost 14,000 steps and 40 flights of stairs (thank you, WV mountains!). Quite an impressive day. And I really don't feel too awfully bad this morning.

So now, if it is to be, it's up to me. Clean up the food. Continue the walking. Increase mobility and strength and stamina with targeted exercises.

Onward.

Here we are, nine weeks later

So physical therapy continues to be good, and I'm making real progress. My therapist bumped me up a pound on the ankle weight, from two to three, last Friday.

Progress stopped for a day. Heh. Seriously, you wouldn't think one measly pound would kick my surgically altered arse so badly, but I took Saturday off. Completely. No walking and NO exercises.

Sunday I did them without any weight, and didn't have any trouble at all.

Yesterday we dropped back down to the two-pound weight, and added a 10-minute warm-up session on the bike before we did anything else. That helped a lot, and I got through all the moves without too much discomfort.

One of the exercises uses a resistance band, and they're color-coded from easiest to ouch. I started at green. Since they were out of blue, they gave me two greens to use together.

Each time I've gone they've added something else, and yesterday I got to march in place. My husband informed me Richard Nixon worked out in the Oval Office by marching in place, so I guess I'm presidential. SNORT.

The good thing about marching is it makes me raise my knee, and the good thing about raising my knee is it increases flexibility in the operated leg, and the good thing about increasing flexibility is … I can put my socks on!

With difficulty and effort, but hey … PROGRESS!

This week I'm going to increase my steps per day into the 8000-range. I'm pretty consistent on the weekdays, but drop down to only a couple thousand on Saturdays and Sundays, so an additional goal will be to make sure I get 8000 steps every day, not just during the "work" week.

So that's it for this week's post-surgery report. I feel just as positive this week about PT as I did last. It's been helpful and motivating and just what I needed to really feel like I'm recovering my strength and mobility.

Still working on stamina.

Finally … physical therapy

Another post-surgery update. It's been 8.5 weeks now, and I continue to make progress. Slower, now, than earlier in the process, but I occasionally surprise myself by doing something I couldn't do a week or two ago.

Most folks begin physical therapy much sooner after surgery than I have. I think it's routinely prescribed to knee patients, but not so much for hips. When I went in for my last appointment (a week ago Tuesday) with my surgeon, he asked how I was doing.

I'll be very happy when I don't need this any more!

How I'm doing, then and still, is pretty darned good. But I have a slight limp, especially when I'm tired, and I still need to use one of those sock-putter-onner-helpy-things. I'm doing better getting in and out of the car, but still need to steady myself when I stand up after sitting in a chair for a while.

He thought some physical therapy might be helpful to strengthen the muscles in the operated leg, and prescribed a dozen sessions. I've been to two this week.

It's a little early to notice any difference in my ability to do things. I certainly do notice muscle soreness, sometimes as soon as the same night as an appointment. I'm also doing the exercises at home on the days I don't go to the hospital for a session.

I gotta tell you … I love physical therapy appointments. It's like having a personal coach, but my insurance is paying for it! Heh. It's motivating me to try a little harder, stretch a little further, do things I wasn't sure I could do.

I've been assured I'm not going to do any damage (unless I run – NO RUNNING!). I've been released from all post-surgical precautions. So all that's left is to work on strength, mobility, and stamina.

Stamina is probably the hardest, because you can't really work on it. It just … comes. In its own good time. And for me, that's not soon enough. But I have a feeling that one of these days I'm going to look at my sadly neglected perennial beds and think, "I need to get out there and clean those up."

Instead of, like Scarlett, saying, "I'll think about that … tomorrow."

Feeling the burn

Spring has sprung here in southern West Virginia, and as my mobility increases following my hip surgery, all I wanna do is have some fun be outside.

My energy level and stamina are still an issue, and will be for a while – or so I've been told – so I'm giving myself permission to do as much as I'm comfortable doing and then collapse at the end of the day.

Yesterday, for example, temperatures were in the upper 70s. A slight breeze was blowing. My husband and I walked together for about a half-mile, and I suggested we keep going. We ended up walking 2.5 miles outdoors – the farthest I've gone on foot in more than seven weeks.

I was definitely feeling the burn when I got back home. None of the household chores I'd planned to do got done. We had the simplest of dinners – green beans, ham, onions and potatoes, which some paleo purists would disqualify, but it was better than chicken pot pie, which we still have in the freezer. I rested. A lot.

With the additional steps I took throughout the day (and a couple laps up and down the driveway), I hit the FitBit 10,000-step goal after dinner. First time since last fall.

My final surgeon's appointment was this past Tuesday. Because of a couple lingering issues, he ordered some physical therapy sessions, which will begin Monday. I'm looking forward to working on strengthening and stretching and resuming all normal activities – including putting socks and shoes on without assistance!

Today … I'm a little stiff and sore. I'm not sure if I'll take a day off or if I'll use the treadmill, which I've been cleared to do. Or if I'll hit the road again, before the rain settles in.

Returning to normal

And … returning to paleo.

Not walking regularly, after many years of daily activity, has resulted in yet another unacceptable weight gain. I knew it would happen, I was prepared for it. I'm not happy about it, not at all. But at least I know how to handle it.

I wasn't willing to handle it as long as I was either

1. in pain, or
2. recovering from surgery.

Since I'm not experiencing neither of those, it's time.

I started last Monday. I'm not doing a Whole 30, but am following the no dairy/grains/sugar/legumes protocol. I'm going to take a day off every couple of weeks.

I have not followed through with light weight training, as I said I would. My at-home physical therapy plan also has fallen by the wayside. I go back to the surgeon for my final appointment on Tuesday, and I'm not looking forward to confessing that I'm not doing my knee raises, adductions, and backward extensions. They just seem unnecessary at this point.

Range of motion is not 100 percent, but it's getting there. I still have difficulty bending over while sitting (to tie my right shoe, for instance).

I also still run out of steam by the end of an active day. It seems to work best to alternate days when I take it easy with days when I walk outside, go shopping, or do some other extended activity. I'm certain that will improve with time.

And with weather. It's pretty darned easy to declare a rest day when it's cold/snowy/rainy outdoors. Spring is on the way. We're going to see temperatures in the 70s next week.

It'll be pretty darned hard to stay indoors on my ass when the sun is shining and it's warm outside.

A tiny setback

It was a dark and stormy Wednesday this week, with lots of wind. Sometimes lots of wind means loss of electricity, and Wednesday was one of those days.

I had something to return in Princeton (about a 45-minute drive), and rather than sit in a cold-and-getting-colder house all afternoon waiting for the return of lights, heat, and water, the husband and I headed for Lowe's with the wrong-sized drip pans for our electric cooktop.

Note to self: Make sure you write down the brand of cooktop the next time you buy drip pans.

Lowe's is a big place, and we didn't know when our electric problem at home would be resolved, so we crawled through the aisles a couple of times in order to get some walking in. Walking is still my preferred activity, but I'm trying to remember to do the knee raises, adductions, and backward extensions. True confession: I've not started using dumbbells. Yet.

There's just so much plumbing and lighting one can look at, and we got bored pretty quickly. We called a neighbor, learned electricity at home had been restored, and headed out on the return trip.

We had to fix the garage door when we got home so it would go up and down at the push of a button again. I had to climb a ladder to adjust the mechanism. I DIDN'T FALL. That wasn't the setback.

When I got back to the car to move it into the garage, I completely forgot about how I was supposed to get into the seat. (You have to move the seat all the way back, approach the seat butt-first, sit down carefully, and then swing your legs carefully into the car.)

I acted like a normal person. Think about how you get behind the wheel. You probably don't ever think about it. I put my right (operated) leg in and onto the floor and then sat down on the seat. 

IN EXCRUCIATING PAIN.

I apparently strained the thigh muscle(s) of my right leg. My hip is fine. I didn't pop the joint out of the socket. No pain at all other than in the thigh, above the knee. But wow, did it ever hurt.

I briefly considered using the cane again. But eventually decided just to rest and use a heating pad. It helped some. I followed that same course yesterday and by last night I was almost walking without a limp.

I will do some walking today (indoors; it's freezing and horrible outside), but probably not much more than yesterday (which was considerably less than I've been doing). 

And I will be very, very careful getting in and out of the car from now on.

Five weeks out

So one week walking without a cane and I've totally overdone it.

I'm a bit, um, competitive. I'm only competing with myself, but I really didn't need to more than double my steps/miles from the fourth week to the fifth. It. Was. Too. Much.

I didn't hurt myself. But I exhausted myself, and I'd just gotten back into a fairly good sleep routine. Now I'm all messed up again.

Here's what I don't know: I don't know if feeling so tired all the time is a normal part of post-surgical recovery at the five-week point. I think my energy should be bouncing back. I was tired of being tired before the surgery, so I totally expected that once the source of the constant pain was gone, I'd feel fine.

And I don't.

At least I haven't the past few days.

This week I'm going to take it a little easier with the walking, and concentrate more on the physical therapy-type exercises that will build muscle. I also intend to use some light dumbbells to work on overall strength, and limit my walking to no more than two miles a day.

I have no idea if this will help or not. But going from about 8 miles two weeks ago to 17 miles last week didn't help at all. 

I also need to ease back into eating more healthfully. I like carbs way too much, and I've been pretty self-indulgent with them. I'm not ready to jump back into a full-on paleo plan, but I think starting a food journal would be a good thing to help make myself aware of what, when, and why I'm eating.

Time to woman up, I suppose. (Can you tell I'm not quite ready?) Heh.

That went well

I feel the need.

The need … for some speed.

HAHAHAHAHA!

Not really. But wow, can I ever navigate my house better without a cane!

As both of you know, my post-surgery exercise regimen has consisted of some simple moves with the operated leg plus as much walking as I can comfortably manage.

Walking with the cane was certainly manageable, but very slow, and I ended up putting a lot of pressure on my left arm and hand (the one holding the cane, obviously). I couldn't walk for more than about 20 minutes without having to give it a rest.

Without the cane, I'm not walking for longer periods of time, because BORING, but I'm certainly walking more easily and efficiently.

I have no idea when my last 5,000-step day was. Probably September, 2015.

No pain. No discomfort. The transitions – getting out of bed or going from sitting to standing – are still the biggest challenges, but compared to four weeks ago? WOW.

I'm doing better with everyday around-the-house kinds of things, too. Like cooking. We still have a couple weeks' worth of frozen meals (what a great idea that was), but I've cooked from scratch three of the last four evenings and I made oatmeal cookies yesterday.

Yes, of course one could make oatmeal cookies if one needed to walk with a cane. I'm sure it happens all the time. But I'm such a messy cook. And I never remembered to put a hand towel on the counter where I was making a mess. It was just so much easier not to cook. Heh.

I'll be walking indoors for a couple more days, because the weather is bad here. Snow, rain, ice, you-name-it – it's winter. But we're getting a tease of spring toward the end of the week. I'm going to deliver some oatmeal cookies to my very kind neighbors.

On foot.

It's been fun, Cane

Not really.

It's been slow. And awkward. And, for the last several days, probably unnecessary, but I've been really good about following doctors' orders since my hip surgery January 18.

So today is the last day to use it.

I've been thinking that the last day to use the cane marks the first day I can use the treadmill, but I looked over my notes and I have to wait until my next appointment, which isn't until March 8. According to Dr. Google, I can use the treadmill after six weeks, which would be February 29. But Dr. Google didn't do my surgery, so I'll wait for an official release.

I have a lot of trouble being patient about this, especially when I feel as good as I do. But there are real hazards in doing too much too soon, the worst of which would be popping the ball out of the socket. I imagine that would be pretty painful.

Not using the cane has one, and only one, down side. I do get a lot of respect and consideration when I'm out in public. Think about how you are when you see someone walking with an assistive device – you open doors, reach for things on high shelves, clear a path to make their walk a little safer.

But the up side – more mobility and being able to get things done more efficiently – outweigh the sympathy factor.

The weather has been pretty horrible here in southern West Virginia. Very cold and we have a wintry mix/snow storm coming in over the next couple of days. I haven't been out of the house for any reason since last Monday. Looks like it will be a few more days being housebound. Thankfully, Facebook and Twitter are very entertaining.

I think, over the next three weeks, I'm going to ease back in to a mostly paleo eating template. I've been taking a blood thinner, and one of the cautions was to not try to lose weight on purpose. I took that to heart – heh – but it's time. We booked a beach house for a week in August. I intend to be back to my goal weight and walking four or five miles a day by then.

Don't be surprised if you hear a little more from me in the near future. Having a goal seems to motivate me to write.

Imagine that.

Walking with a cane is still walking, right?

I switched from a walker to a cane last Thursday, and I also switched from Percocet to Tylenol that day. There's no stopping me now, baby. Heh.

My hip surgery was two weeks ago today. I've seen steady, daily improvement, and really dramatic increases in mobility and range of motion the last couple of days.

And yesterday … I took a walk. Outside. OUTSIDE!

I went about six-tenths of a mile. My husband didn't want me to try going uphill, so we turned back while we were still on the flat part of our road. I really wanted to do an outdoor mile, but my total steps for the day, according to FitBit, ended up putting me at 1.12 miles by the end of the day.

I hope I remember how happy I was yesterday when August rolls around, and it's hot and I'm not quite so motivated. I was a little tearful when I got home from my little jaunt. Yes, I was that happy.

Surgeon's appointment tomorrow. It's probably too soon to hope for driving privileges. But a girl can dream, right?

Home +7

I was discharged from the hospital a week ago today, and I'm making really good progress. No major setbacks. I had a slight fever for a day, high enough to call the doctor, but it was during the snowstorm and no one ever called back about it.

Dr. Office Fail, if you ask me.

Temperature went back to normal within 24 hours.

I'm doing my prescribed exercises several times daily. Two of them are helping increase range of motion (and they're working), the others are muscle strengthening.

I've gone to town once since I've been home, to the hospital for a blood test. I was started on a blood thinner in the hospital, and you have to monitor that carefully. Walking down long hospital corridors with the walker was no problem for me, but the FitBit didn't know how to count it and only gave me 130 steps.

I follow up with the surgeon next Tuesday. I'll be very happy to move from walker to cane.

The pain I'm having is quite manageable on 2 or 3 pain pills per day. I'll be very glad to not need those any more, and I'm hoping to discontinue completely by this weekend.

Still craving milk chocolate candy. The kind that comes in little paper cups, in a box. Soft centers. No nuts. Such a strange and very specific thing to want. My husband bought me a candy bar,but it just wasn't the same.

I ate it, though. Heh.

Home + 2

Surgery was Monday the 18th, spent Tuesday learning to walk with a walker, and was released Wednesday. I actually went up and down a flight of stairs Wednesday, which was a lot easier than getting in and out of bed.

The trip home was gruesome. Our normal hour-long trip took nearly two because of snow squalls. Nothing like what is predicted for today, though, and I'm very grateful I don't have to go anywhere through up to two feet of snow.

I have to do five exercises as many times a I want,  i can walk as much as I want, and there are no dressing changes to worry about.

I was sent home with prescriptions for Percocet (for pain) and coumadin (to prevent blood clots). No prescription for physical therapy, but that may happen later.

My husband has been a good nurse, especially after our chat about pain meds. I was taking 2 every 4 hours as needed in the hospital. The home prescription is one every 4 to 6 hours. I really do need them and am not afraid to take them. He's trying to have me stretch out the doses. Sometimes that's okay, but sometimes it isn't. I mean, SOMETIMES IT ISN'T!

He took my temperature yesterday and we discovered I had a slight fever, high enough to call the doctor per the after-care instructions. The doctor never called back, and my temperature went down, so I can assume it's nothing to worry about.

That's all for now. My sleep schedule is all messed up. I'm just counting on return to normal sometime in the future, as so many have assured me it happened to them. I appreciate all your messages, calls, texts, cards, and prayers. Thank you.

24

So. Twenty-four hours from right about now (8:30-ish, Sunday, January 17, 2016), they'll be prepping me for surgery.

I wasn't going to write anything today, but I started it, and I guess it would be remiss not to continue the surgery saga.

I'm surprisingly calm. I have great confidence in my surgeon, in the hospital, and in my ability to understand and follow doctor's orders. Others I know who've had joint replacement surgery are doing fine today, and their experiences have been so valuable and helpful.

I'm fifth on the schedule, so I expect the actual procedure will happen somewhat later in the morning. I have no idea when I'll be able to update the blog again … but I expect only a day or so.

Have a good Sunday. And a good Monday. I'll be back in business in a couple of days.

Five

Today's Leap Year Photo Challenge prompt is "anticipation," and that's pretty much been my word of the year so far.

Five more days before I get my hip fixed.

I used to count down the days to a race. The times, they sure have changed.

Today is the day I'm to discontinue my daily Aleve. I'm not looking forward to several days of severe discomfort, but I'm definitely NOT going to defy doctor's orders.

I updated my living will – that makes it reallyreal – and it gets notarized today. Need to print a list of phone numbers so my husband can report that I survived the surgery Monday afternoon.

Trying to figure out what I should take to the hospital and what I can leave behind. I want to take every electronic device and charger I own, but I know that's not necessary and probably not encouraged. But … but … I hate the idea of being out of touch.

So silly.

I'm only going to be in the hospital for two or three days. Surely I can handle my digital life with just my phone. And the Kindle.

But what if I need Photoshop? Hahahahahahah. Better pack the laptop.

Ten

Don't worry, I'm not going to publish a daily countdown post. I've very little to write about these days, and I'm sure you don't want to read that I played umpteen million games of Scrabble on my phone while resting in bed for the next 10 days.

Because that's about what I do.

EXCEPT FOR YESTERDAY!

I went to the surgeon's office in the morning for an X-ray and to pick up orders for lab work. Then I went to the hospital to have the lab work done. Then I went to an internist (mine is not on staff at the hospital where my surgery will be done, so I had to establish a relationship with a new one) for an EKG and general physical, to make sure I was in good enough health to survive surgery.

I didn't actually see the internist, but I will after surgery, while I'm in the hospital. I saw a Nurse Practitioner, who was a hoot! She could be my family doctor anytime. (For anyone local looking for a health-care provider, her name is Beverly Whitt and she practices at Blue Ridge Internal Medicine in Princeton.)

It says a lot about my ego that what I liked about her was how many times she said I was so young and healthy and wow, I don't take any meds except a diuretic? Heh. She was very encouraging about post-surgery recovery, saying that my daily walking habit (up until July) was going to really help me with physical therapy. She felt like it wouldn't take long for me to get back to better-than-normal – three to four weeks.

That sounds optimistic to me, but it was great to hear.

So far this hip surgery experience has been very positive. Every medical professional I've had contact with has taken all the time I need to answer my questions, and all have been unfailingly reassuring. The waiting game begins in earnest today.

My favorite picture of my mother, taken
when she was maybe 7 or 8 years old.

On another note, my mother died 25 years ago today. I was with her when she died, watched her take her last breath. I still tear up thinking about it.

I've outlived her by 15 years. She was a yo-yo dieter all her life: Up and down and up and down. She didn't know much about nutrition, and when she was up (in weight), didn't care at all what she ate or drank.

She was diagnosed with colorectal cancer when she was 55, and lived 4 more years.

I know a little more about good food, and I feel like my diet is (mostly) better than hers was, but I'm a yo-yo dieter, as well. My hopewishdreamGOAL is to stop the cycle. This surgery will give me back the mobility and stamina and support I need to get back on track with exercise, which will elevate my mood and help me not eat my emotions.

I just wish she were here to help me through it.

Two

With surgery scheduled for two weeks from today, I'm beginning to get a little nervous.

I try to remind myself that this is routine, and not life-threatening, and I really need to get out of myself and quit focusing on it, but I wouldn't deny you your thoughts or feelings about anything regarding your health (or anything at all, really). So why would I deny me?

Well, I try to deny it because I don't think dwelling in despair is a good thing for my mental health.

But I gotta tell you … the idea of someone slicing and dicing me is not something I'm looking forward to. Being able to walk without pain and to bend over (wow, is not being able to a huge issue at times!)? Now that's something to look forward to!

And that's where I've been the last several weeks: Looking at the end game. The past couple days, however, I've been looking at the procedure itself.

I've read and heard that patients wake up from surgery simply amazed that the hip pain is gone. There's no describing this kind of bone-on-bone pain, really. And the sound it makes is almost nausea-inducing.

So post-surgical pain is limited to the incision itself, and that will be something new and wonderful to deal with. Heh. I've informed my surgeon I'm a recovering alcoholic and would prefer not to take narcotics. But I'm certainly open to it if it's necessary.

When I start feeling down about all of this, I try to remember that I have friends dealing with cancer and lung problems and depression and all kinds of health issues that are much more difficult to conquer. I feel better today than I did yesterday – yesterday was, for some reason, very rough on my emotions.

Soon it will all be over. Soon I'll have no excuse for unmopped floors and unswept porches. Soon I'll be able to walk, either outside or on the treadmill, pain-free.

Two weeks to go.