Actually since my husband Bob started walking just less than a week ago our lives have changed considerably for the better. The scooter has been picked up (its real name is RollerAid by Footsteps), the crutches that were always at the ready on the bottom and top floor landings and the walker that he used for help in hopping in and out of the shower are now in the garage. The only implement still in use is the boot though at his physical therapist's advice he's even wearing that less and less at home. Walking with the boot causes another malady an aching back, so the sooner he can walk with a regular pair of shoes the better. He's also been staying at work longer, he's not reluctant to go out to dinner, and we even went to the movies and opera this past weekend. So, all in all things are definitely looking up especially since I don't have to bring him his orange juice and paper in the morning. He actually went out the last two mornings and brought the paper in to me. (My only … [Read more...]
Foot injury update
Well the "step down" day arrived and it went as we had hoped. Though Bob felt a lot of apprehension last night that he still wouldn't be allowed to walk on his foot, today's x-ray showed healing has progressed as expected six weeks post surgery. And, the redness and swelling have subsided considerably. So as of noon today, Bob took his first steps. And though he must still walk with his boot, he can take it off at night. He can also go back to taking showers rather than tub baths that have been easier for him during this recovery time. The next thing he wants to do is start weaning himself off the scooter. He's asked me to bring him one crutch for getting around at the gym with his personal trainer this afternoon. And, I must say I won't miss lugging that thing in and out of the trunk of the car and up and down our stairs. He can't be weaned off of it fast enough for me. I know he is anxious to be walking again, and I'm anxious to have him walking, but I hope he doesn't go too … [Read more...]
The big "step down" is almost here – I hope!
Next week, we hope my husband's doctor will say it's okay for him to put weight on his healed broken foot. That doesn't mean he's home free. He'll still have to wear the boot, he still won't be able to drive, and he'll have to spend an unknown amount of time in physical therapy. But it's all a step in the right direction (no pun intended), coming not soon enough. We have both gotten impatient and a little snippy with each other. Seven weeks of his being dependent on me and seven weeks of my serving him have taken a toll. I'm sleeping poorly. I have black and blue arms from all they hits they've taken by my husband's little scooter, and I'm feeling like my creative life has taken a step backward (no pun intended here either). And I know he'll be glad when he won't have to be a passenger in his own car. Just this morning he was so frustrated when I was being particularly careful about backing the car out of our driveway into oncoming traffic. He wants me to be more agressive. Well, … [Read more...]
The wonder of "room air"
It's been quite a week. From Bob's first day home until today we've been on a roller coaster ride. He was very weak at first and experienced shortness of breath just walking on his crutches from his bed to the bathroom a few feet away. But by the time he went to his cardiologist on Tuesday, his second day home, he was like another person with it, no shortness of breath, and moving quite agilely on either his walker or crutches. And when his doc concluded, after an EKG, chest x-rays, and a controlled test of Bob breathing room air, that Bob no longer needed oxygen, Bob's attitude and mood changed in a flash. By the time we got home he was ready to go back to using his scooter to avoid the wrist and underarm discomfort he felt with the crutches. No more worry over oxygen tubing gave him the confidence. We both began to feel so confident about his health and mood that we talked again about attending a family wedding in San Diego a two-hour drive away this weekend. But we would go … [Read more...]
I’ve always heard that life isn’t fair
When my husband went into the hospital last Thursday afternoon to have his broken foot repaired with pins he felt very healthy and upbeat. And after three nights in the hospital he came out with an unknown pulmonary problem that necessitates his being on oxygen 24/7. Needless to say he feels like he's been beaten up. That just isn't right. That just isn't fair. And of course i went through my share of fright. His condition was so bad on Saturday night, I had visions of him never getting back to normal. Thankfully by the next day he felt and looked and acted better, and now that he's been home a night and a day he's improved immensely. I'm feeling more confident that his oxygen deprivation is only temporary and soon all we'll have to deal with are the no stepping down on his right foot issues. Plus we're seeing his own cardiologist tomorrow. Hopefully this man will have a magic wand and make him all better with just a touch. If only I could believe that … [Read more...]
There’s no whining about a broken foot
I've had a lot on my plate for the last week and a half. I haven't been neglecting my blog, I've just had too much going on. First and foremost, my husband Bob fell down a short flight of stairs last week while we were on vacation in California's Gold Country. We were there to take in a little history and sip some of the fine zinfandels that flourish in Amador Country. Then we were to go to a zinfandel and food tasting in San Francisco and spend our last two days touring the city a place we've always loved to visit. Unfortunately his fall and the broken foot that resulted cramped our style. We still tasted some fine zins, but the only touring we got in, in San Francisco was a movie theater where we saw the wonderful Biutiful with Javier Bardem. I highly recommend the movie but you don't have to have a broken foot to enjoy it. We also had a couple of great meals one with a dear friend whom I met years ago at Esalen. I had intended to start work immediately upon our return on … [Read more...]
Small stones January twenty-three to thirty
One more day left - Jan 23: Thick black clouds rose into the sky and dissipated into the blue. And I don't know where they came from. Jan 23: Packing boxes, putting fragile ware out of harm's way, throwing out detritus, and running up and down the stairs until we've completed the prep work for our wood floor renovation this week, I wonder, is it more trouble than it's worth? Jan 24: So tired and it's only eleven thirty in the morning. But I'm pushing on. Jan 24: I walk from my car to the gym in the dark cold morning, holding my jacket closed to the chill. But I refuse to park closer. The cold wakes me up and the walk gives my workout a jump start. Jan 25: The plane's loud hum doesn't disrupt its smooth dissent. Jan 25: White snowy peaks rise just above the cloud-line. Jan 26: The clear lake like a mirror reflects the pine trees standing green and proud along its edge. Jan 26: One hundred year old vines, thick, gnarled, bent over like old men, stand in long … [Read more...]
