setbacks or healing?

I had to get up out of bed at 4 am today due to severe right shoulder pain again. I think I strained the shoulder again yesterday standing up from a chair; my legs didn't raise me up and the weight went to my arms... and bingo... arm strain again. So I iced it and heated it and took pills and used skin rub. Kim got home from school and gave me a message again like she did last week when the shoulder was painful. The pain is much less now and I have to try hard to not strain it again. The worse part of this recovery is being so weak and deconditioned; tis my usual state of being but it's not a good state to be in when a leg is compromised. When the leg is back to it's usual strength, things will be better.
The best part of today is that neighbor Dan is finally sixty too!! Now he can stop bagging on me n Joan about being so much older than he is.
later dudes.

It's June already yet.

Wow. Tis June already. 3 weeks since I was in an ice cold surgery suite getting sliced open, wrenched around, and put back together with new parts. The time has gone by quickly I must say. You may think I don't do much, but my days are full of activity and chores to acomplish. and not enough time to do it all! getting up, having a cup of coffee, leg exercises, sponge bath, changing pj's, reading the paper and doing the daily SuDoKu puzzle; reading the mail, taking vitamins 3 times a day, taking a walk outside (maybe), crocheting, blah blah blah... wow! too much to do. I need a vacation from this recouping routine!
2 days ago we saw the surgeon, who said "Take your time healing; go slow; you'll get there." He changed his tune from the pre-op visit when he told me I'd be driving in 28 days. HA. It is a major event to just get into the passenger car of my van with help! The dr assistant (a gal I used to work with in the call center who now does orthopedic back office work) took out 36 staples from the 8 inch incision... as I hung onto the wall, spoke to her in broken Spanish, gritted my teeth etc, trying to not feel what was going on. She commented that the incision looked exceptionally healthy, no redness, no drainage, no crustiness etc. We told her that when I got home, for 2 weeks I was fed only fruits, vegetables and meats or chicken or fish... no sweets!! In fact, our neighbor had made a plate of brownies and brought it over the day after I got home; Joan walked into the bedroom where I was and showed me them and let me smell them... BUT WOULD NOT GIVE ME EVEN A CRUMB OF THE BROWNIES!!! So the healthy food plan paid off, and helped the healing. The dr wants to see us again in 2 month; he extended my time off to July 5, and said again, take your time, all your muscles are working differently now, you'll feel like yourself in 6 months.
so there ya have it.
The fatigue sets in easily, yesterday I had lab, OT and PT all visit, and was exhausted by late afternoon. didn't get a good nap. napping is essential... so...
good night for now! am going to a sheet show for a spell; I get to shower later today for the first time in 3 weeks... something has been REAKING in here lately... something stinks to high heaven... what the hell... it's me! hahahaaaa.

What will hurt next?

The hip healing continues well; tomorrow Mike will take me to Kaiser to have the annoying staples yanked out of the incision site... rip and burn; rip and burn... I anticipate that's what the staple removal will feel like. I may have TWO vicodin on board for that adventure! The last 2 days I've only taken one vicodin three times a day; the few days before that, I needed a tab 5-6 times per day, and during the night when I'd get up too. I was having horrible right shoulder pain and left back pain. Friday Kim gave me a scalp massage that was wonderfully relaxing,and she said I smiled the whole time, but when she massaged my shoulder to try to reduce the pain, she told me the brow furrowing was pronounced and didn't unfurrow even when she stopped touching me. She put me on a homeopathic sublingual tab of Arnica every 2 hours; she works with a homeopathic practitioner who told her that arnica is the only substance that won't potentiate coumadin. I was desperate to get rid of the shoulder pain, so I tried the arnica all weekend. Mike and the PT lady also lowered the grip handles on my walker so that when I use the walker more of my weight goes through the arms than right to the shoulders. and it all worked together to reduce the shoulder pain! Thank you, God. I'd gotten up crying in pain a few mornings due to that shoulder pain.
Now, the left back area screams at me intermittently; and the hip incision area sings out at intervals, and the lower back yells, "Hey! remember me??" and the right knee talks back after I do the exercises for the right leg.
For now, I am letting them all bitch all they want, I use heat or cold packs on various spots, and a well-timed vicodin slaps them all upside the head every 4 or 5 hours. All the parts will settle down in their own time.
I can feel my right leg getting stronger each day. I still need to be careful to do "hip precautions" when I move, but standing up is easier, and I think I put less weight on my arms when using the walker, altho I don't dare try to walk without it yet. I did sneak a try yesterday but could hardly move my legs without the arm support, so I will give that up for a few more days.
Yesterday I spilled my coffee and cried, and Mike cleaned it up so nicely without complaining, then an hour later I had a bathroom accident and cried, and Mike cleaned it up so nicely without complaining. Then he put Johnny Cash music on the stereo and went around the house like a Whirling Dervish cleaning everything. Mike is the BEST!!
Time to go rest again. Can only be vertical for a short spell, then all the parts tell me it is time to get horizontal again. so bye for now.

milestones

Many milestones reached in the last week. I can now get out of bed by myself, go to the head by myself, and get my own pain pills as needed. Hooray! Hurrah! and OhBoyGoodie! Another biggie is that Joan turned 60 over the weekend.
she is so excited to be 60! She kept saying, "60 is the new 90!", "60 is the new 90!". No one knew what the hell she meant; we are still trying to figure it out; we dasn't dare ask her what she means by that statement though, because we are likely to get a more confusing explanation and then we'd all wonder which ones of us really have senile dementia and which ones carry a full load of marbles still. We are at that "don't ask don't tell" stage where we all suspect each other of being demented, but are afraid to confront others for fear of being exposed ourselves. So we avoid that boondoggle for the time being.
I am going to try to post 2 photos with this entry now. If I screw it up, the entry will seem incomplete, so forgive me, I am on drugs.

This ain't fun, but tis interesting.

Hi all, tis Ol' JRK meself here this morning; finally able to sit at the desktop PC for a short time and connect again. Thanks to all of you who've called, sent cards or flowers, or emails... each one has brightened my days and made me glad to know you took the time to let me know you be thinking of me. I can feel the prayer support so strongly; it would be impossible for me to be this content and calm if it were left up to my own weak soul to sustain me. With the prayer support of family and friends, I know The Lord is with me, The Spirit reminds me of that fact, and the angels are working 24/7 to block the fiery darts of discouragement, self-pity, etc that can sneak into one's soul in such a time as this. Thank YOU, Jesus, for holding me in the palm of your hand!!!
Today I expect the OT, PT and lab people to show up. I am still on blood thinner due to the blood clot in 1999, so the blood level still has to be monitored frequently post op. The OT lady wants to work on "getting stuff out of the fridge" soon. The PT lady wants to me walk to the drive-way today. All huge goals I am sure. I am experiencing severe right shoulder pain at times due to using my arms so much to move around in bed, sit up, stand up, use the walker; and I have a left back pain problem that comes from who-knows-where; it is so severe that just touching it can make me cry. PT says it is a "lat" muscle, and I need to apply ice to shoulder and back frequently. Then there are those "exercises" for right leg to do... some are easy, some are a bitch and hurt the knee. But all in all, the recovery is going along as it should for me I reckon. It ain't fun, but it is interesting!
Just have 2 words for you before I go: PROTECT YOUR HIPS... so you won't need a replacement someday.
later,
Gr Jayne

Laugh with us, not at us!

Joan here again. O.K., I just HAVE to tell this. Don't tell me that funny things don't happen even when someone is seriously recouperating from a major event. When I got to Jayne's this afternoon, she told me this story and I laughed myassoff and so did she. Mike didn't. Here it is: Recently, Mike has been going to church with longtime family friend Joe. But instead of leaving Jayne to go to church today, Mike told Joe to come over, they'd do a little Bible study and Mike would fix breakfast. However, Jayne got up fairly early and by the time Joe came over, she had to go back to bed. She had her cell phone with her and the plan was she'd call the home phone in the kitchen if she needed anything. Her bedroom door was shut so she could rest peacefully in quiet solitude. After a while, she had to use RR, so she dialed the phone. Mike and Joe were sizzling bacon, talking, and didn't answer it. Jayne leaves this message: "This is the patient in room 101 A, and I need help!" The men hear the muffled message, think it is ME calling from MY house and being funny, so they IGNORE it! Jayne sits up on the side of the bed waiting for Mike to come in and watch her get up so she feels safer, but no one comes in! She wonders, "What-the-hell?" FINALLY, in comes Mike with a plate of food and says cheerfully, "Here's your breakfast!" She asks him, "Didn't you hear my phone call?" and he tells her he thought it was Joan and he could call me later. Now I'm not tellin this story to embarrass anyone, I am tellin it for the laugh factor. Ya'al gotta admit that it is funny as all get out, and no one got hurt! Jayne says the next time they set up the "phone system" and she has to leave a message, well, let's just say it will be a "LOUD unmistakably Jayne message" that Mike will be sure to recognize. ............about Jayne: mornings are hard as she is pretty stiff and in pain after sleeping all night, but it gets a wee bit better in the afternoon after getting up a few times and doing those exercises. She was in good spirits when I saw her this afternoon. I will be there everyday this week, too, unless Mike kicks me out and Jayne gets sick of me! bye for now

Happy week-end all

Jayne coerced me into blogging again for her. She is on her bed now doing her list of exercises and watching t.v. She gets up to kitchen table 2 or 3 times a day for about 45 minutes. Yesterday she stood at kitchen sink for a shampoo. She is careful with the walker and slow and steady. She gets into and out of bed by herself now. her leg cramps up sometimes, but a few hollars and hoots and it goes away. Neighbor Dan brought over some freshly baked brownies, but Jordan and I ate them and we wouldn't give Jayne any. We did, however, tell her how good they tasted. Maybe next week we will give her the donut she's been craving and let her have a bite of chocolate. but for now it is healthy food that doesn't make her cough or stuff up. it is for her own good, right??? She is listening to music, laughing her arse off at funny movies, and doing everything right to recover. She doesn't think she is doing as well as we tell her she's doing, but that's a nurse for ya! One week since surgery and countin', and things are looking good. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers and for being in her corner, pullin' for her recovery. She can't sit at this computer and type yet, but soon, soon, soon,.....Have a great week-end, Joan.