Three weeks is an exciting "milestone" in that it means I get to start adding more weight onto surgical leg, which in turn means I am that much closer to being done with crutches!
Exciting news! I was cleared for the pool for real. (Before was only with strict warnings regarding keeping the incisions protected and dry.) So, of course I went to the pool and walked in the water!!! It felt really weird at first. It was strange trying to figure out how to tell my body to put weight on the leg it has been so carefully protecting for three weeks and that had hurt for so long even before that. Then, I just hung out in the deep water to unweight everything and give my tired neck, back, shoulder, and both hips a much needed break.
Crutches are challenging. Hence being so excited about being closer to being done with them. My left shoulder and right hip are really not happy with my left leg getting a free ride. My hands are not too happy about things either--sore and tender. It is hard to be feeling well enough to want to be up and doing more but have a body that is negating the idea with every try.
Other than the challenges with crutches, there have been a few other incidents that made this a more challenging week than the previous ones. I am still choosing to focus on the positive as much as possible, but have gotten a bit discouraged at times. This is not an easy recovery and I am not pretending it is. It still is much easier than I had thought it would be and I am grateful for that. I am grateful for a surgeon and his staff who respond to questions and concerns promptly.
I am still trying to find something new that I can do each day. In some cases, it is not a new thing, so much as gradually returning to normal ways of doing things, rather than the vastly modified versions I have figured out from necessity. In some ways having lived with so much pain for so long before surgery was a blessing in that I had already figured out various methods of getting things done and that has made recovery so much easier. I already had modified ways of getting dressed, getting into cars, cooking, etc. I am also working on seeing how much variety I can get with foods, especially vegetables--at least I am getting variety in something even if not so much with activity.
Physical therapy is going well and I am making rapid progress. I cannot always notice the progress on a daily basis, but when I look back at what I was doing a week ago, then it is obvious how far I have come. This week, we added back an exercise I used to do before surgery. Funny getting excited about something I used to do without thinking. Context and perspective make things appear so differently. I am grateful for a physical therapist who knows me, knows what I was capable of before surgery, knows my tendencies, then finds ways to keep me from getting bored, but also holds me back from hurting myself by trying to push forward too fast.
Overall, I am continuing to do well. I am so grateful to family and friends who have come alongside and helped me out so much the past few weeks! I am so grateful for a loving God who sustains and meets all needs!
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