Another week of PT this morning…this is week #2 and by week # 6 I should be using a cane instead of a walker! YIKES!!! I told Tom, the PT, that I think in another life he was a drill sergeant!! I am sore…but I think sore in a good way and was so tired when I got home that I had to take an afternoon retirement nap! Wow that felt good. So I think I have completed my exercises for today since Tom put me through the full drill during PT. I am keeping track of what I do on a little notebook so I can show him when I check in the next Friday and also to help me know what I have completed. We did one exercise today using the 30% open on the knee brace and that was interesting. He keeps saying we are building up the quad but I think along with that the knee needs to get its strength back also! Next week I will meet with Sammie since Tom will be on vacation. I asked her if she was a drill sergeant in another life and she just laughed!! She said I will see what Tom tells me I need to do.
It was nice that he shared with me the plan that he submitted to Dr. Houdek at Mayo to make sure that he was ok with what we are doing and working on. Dr. Houdek did approve and sent it back so Tom could show me that we are going in the right direction.
My scar area was really burning this afternoon that I had to use an ice pack again which I haven’t done in at least a week or so. Usually I take my nerve pain meds at noon, but didn’t take them right away. I had been thinking in the past, do those meds really work? Well today I think I found out that they definitely do what they need to do!!
When we did drive to PT, for the first time since probably December while in the car, I thought it would be fun to go on a road trip!! If we had not received that 5+ inches of snow, I can think of some places that would be good, but maybe we can do something early next week. Just something simple to get out of the house. But it was just good, I think, to just want to leave the house rather than the recluse feeling that I have had over the last few weeks. I think that is a good sign of healing too!!
Last week Tom did show me a different way to walk with the walker. I have really been doing the one step shuffle I guess I would call it, but he encouraged me to actually take a full stride like “really” walking. That really feels like progress and as David said it even makes me look like I am healing successfully and not so gimpy!
Still no word about a surgery date on the neck lymph node. I did talk to Shelby on Wednesday and at that time she said they were waiting to hear from the ENT team. They had put out a message on Wednesday, but had not heard back so she thought they would put out another message on Thursday. Once they connect with the ENT team they will need to assess the lymph node and determine what they feel should be done. And I assume all of this will have to be preapproved by the insurance company….of course. So it seems things never move quickly when it comes to medical decisions….although being on this end of it, that does get frustrating.
I have mentioned bon-bons before….LOL…it was just an inside joke while I was working at CH Robinson when we worked from home we said we were not really working just sitting around eating bon-bons… (Spell check does not like that word…LOL) I do not believe I have ever even had a bon-bon, or fully know what it is!!! But one of my friends from CHR sent me a care package and said although she could not find bon-bons she did find me macaroons and sent those along. I am not sure I have had those either and they were amazing…just melt in your mouth. Some day I need to meet my CHR friends for lunch and find a box of bon-bons that we can share so we all know what they finally are!! Thanks Carrie for the treats!! She also sent along an inspirational book that I have been reading each day. There was a quote in there today that I read before PT from Priscilla Shirer: Yes, the situation is difficult. Even so, God will strengthen me. As I was doing those leg lifts at PT, eyes closed, working to complete them, I thought of that!! 🙂
Well, my dear friend Kathy told me that I end up with a LOT of stuff in my blog….LOL…it is like give me a keyboard and I can’t stop! That comes from waiting until the last minute to write papers when I was in college and I think when I start typing my hands are on hyper mode thinking I have a paper to finish. So for all of you that start falling asleep about the 2nd or 3rd paragraph, I apologize and I will see what I can do to give you more Cliff Note versions rather than term paper versions! :-). Probably not…I just seem to be built this way…but one can hope.
Well in Minnesota we got 5 inches of snow on Valentine’s Day so things are still white outside. They are saying it will probably be gone this weekend. So if you are in MN, this may be your last opportunity to build a snowman or do a snow angel so GO FOR IT!! You in the warmer climates, we all stick our tongues out to you!! 🙂
Enjoy the weekend! Smile at a stranger and be kind to yourself!!
Dandy Ventures 