Miscellaneous

Thanks for popping in on a late Sunday evening. It's been a quiet (and thankfully, uneventful) day. DH is taking good care of me, bringing meals downstairs, some snacks, plenty of liquids. I've finally gotten the hang of levering myself up out of the recliner and hopping on my right foot to seat myself into the walker. Then I can roll to the bathroom. Once again, manage to stand on one foot, hop around to where I can sit down on the toilet. This walker with wheels is really a unique piece of equipment. My hat's off to whomever designed it. Taking  a shower is a real event - and I am a person who always has at least one shower daily, sometimes more depending on what it is that I've been doing. If I say I've had 2 showers since Tuesday, that may give a clue as to how much of a chore it is to get a bath! (Baby wipes are WUN-DA-FUL!) I have to keep my weight totally off my left foot, and also keep that lower leg dry; I have a bandage-cast type contraption on it, then the whole is covered with an ace bandage. The post op instructions to keep it dry, were in huge black letters. So we cover it with a big garbage bag that has a tie closure, which is then taped shut. Our shower has a 'lip-type' of ledge that I can't hop across, so it's a delicate maneuver to get me from the walker into the shower without falling or accidentally putting my left foot down. We put one of those molded plastic yard chairs into the shower, with the back facing the shower head. We have a seat in the shower, but if I sat on that, my left leg would have to be inside the shower, getting wet. With the chair positioned as we have it, I can let my left leg hang outside the shower. I soap up all I can reach easily, then rinse off. So far, that's not a problem. THEN comes the bits I can't reach sitting down, and that's when we get water all over the floor. DH helps me to a standing position, trying to hold onto me while I soap and rinse. Gotta tell you, so far the bathing has been the hardest part of this procedure! I was so lucky in the outpatient center...had the best nurses who kept checking on me constantly, were so friendly & caring. I like the doctor too. It always helps the recovery process in my opinion, if you have good experiences with the folks who are responsible for you. I try to be a considerate patient too, not be too demanding. I also try to do everything I am instructed to do, to the best of my ability. Well, that's it for tonight...Hope I didn't bore you with too many details. And a big thank you for the cards & emails I've received. You can't know how much it made my day. Catch you later, and have a great week.