Thursday, August 12, 2010

Another big day!

Well, it seems that my days are somewhat returning to normal.  A little.  I went on a 40 minute walk with Dozer, there were lots of pee break stops (for him, not for me) and it was definitely a leisurely pace.  But still, my first real walk since surgery.  I'm planning on starting to swim with a friend next week.

The worst part about this whole thing is this - I don't know if or when I will start to really feel the effects of the surgery.  Since there are (as Dr. Heffez put it) "grooves" in my brainstem, I assume that may take a while to correct itself.  I think...?  I don't know.

So now that I am somewhat back to an active day, here's a few things that I found helpful during my 2 1/2 week non-active recovery:

  • narcotics (I was on some serious pain meds, and I was thankful for that!)
  • TV, particularly On Demand - I'm not a movie watcher, so TV was my best friend.  I was able to keep track of how long I had been upright and when I needed to lie down really easily  (I also learned a lot, like we know more about the moon than we do the ocean.  Thanks NatGeo.)
  • the laptop - at least I could feel a little bit connected to the real world
  • my phone - texting was a good way to keep in touch without having to be 'with it' enough to talk on the phone
  • my puzzle book - my brother gave me this awesome little puzzle book.  the puzzles were perfectly not easy and not hard.  it was nice when i was lying down to make the time pass
  • a caregiver - specifically my husband.  There were times I needed help up the stairs or help getting up, he was there.  It made life so much easier if I needed something he would get it for me.  He also kept track of my medication and when I needed to lie down.  And he made sure I didn't do too much.  He was/is my most precious thing post-surgery.
Tomorrow's plans: another walk with Dozer, more frisbee with Georgia (she's starting to catch it sometimes which is nice), and perhaps trying to tackle a few things on my 'to do' list, specifically continuing the organization of my closet...  

Thank you for all the well wishes and the support.  It is truly helpful to know that I am supported, and it's nice to have emails in my inbox!

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