Again?

Tomorrow I go into St. Mark's hospital again, this time for left shoulder surgery. I feel pretty calm about it. Last Thursday I was holding my granddaughter--the littlest one. She was sleeping against my shoulder. When I looked down at her, I didn't want to leave because I knew that the next time I held her a sling (and probably some soreness at the very least) would come between us. I believe we have a bond even now. I have been blessed to have time with her very early on, thanks to her parents requests. Lots of things are giving me motivation to work hard at the recovery process, not the least of which is a beautiful little girl. Can't wait to put both my arms around her again.

Where did the summer go?

Where to begin...my hip surgery was incredibly successful! The recovery has been fast, the pain minimal, our hospital, rehab and home care people have been easy to work with and I now walk without walker or cane--for the most part. (Cane is a security thing in case I walk further than I thought and still have to get back home!) At my visit to the Dr. he said the x-ray indicates that the hip is "perfect" and I have no reason to think otherwise. We have an excellent Dr. and love his nurse, Portia. All in all, I had a good experience. I went to church last Sunday--Art had a cold so he stayed home. I did notice that I had a slightly harder time following lessons and talks. Just not as alert as usual, which I attribute to the residual effects of anesthetic. Now it's time to continue to walk and use stationary bike, slowly building up to more and more time. I don't know if you have seen the TV ad with the coach of Duke University. The particular brand of prosthetics he touts is the same brand used for Art and I. So I rather like watching the ad. For some time, Art has wanted to replace our driveway and extend it over to the fence so that we could have the cars side by side rather than rearranging them all the time. We just had it done last week. Midvale City will put in sidewalk and gutter for us in October, although we will pay half of the cost. Our tomatoes and squash planted for us by our next-door neighbors are doing well. We both cried when we saw that someone had put them in for us, as early in the summer we could not have done it for ourselves. Good neighbors are invaluable! I don't know why I haven't updated before now. Somehow, the day to day things were just hard enough that I didn't have the inclination to add one more thing, I guess. Anyway it's good to be back--and even on a new computer!

Graduation

I graduated from hand therapy! My progress has been steady and healing will continue on. I am to keep doing all my hand and wrist exercises until the 12th. When I am back home after hip surgery I can switch to 3 times a week for a month. I do have to make one more appointment with Dr. Heiden. Finally the plan is to live life, doing normal everyday activities. That should complete the process. What a process it has been, all due to the slip of a paring knife!

Make A Wish

I don't know about his wish here, but mine has come true. Art did very well with hip surgery. Yesterday he used a walker to move down the halls of St. Marks hospital. All has gone well, so today he will be going to rehab at Health South. (Our third choice of places, but oh, well. It's close to home and the other two choices had no rooms available.) The kids have all been great to provide transportation for me. And yesterday (Surprise!) I was given permission to get rid of the splint! Ta-da!!!

(Stephanie's feelings at the moment of winning Bingo pretty much express how I feel about it!)

I am actually typing with two hands this morning. It is a bit awkward as now the tendons in the other fingers have shortened by being immobilized for so long. So now it's on to more physical therapy (ouch!) to stretch them out. The thumb is still healing on the inside although the incision is totally healed at this point. As soon as I have a good left hand grip, I have permission to drive. Freedom! The picture at the top is a birthday photo from 2006! In 2008 I will be in the hospital for his August birthday and it will be two days after my surgery on his special day. He has been a good model for me. He's been patient, has had very little pain, is following instructions so his progress has been steady. I suspect it won't be long before he will be home. We're so blessed.

Singin' In The Rain

Art had his surgery yesterday, his hip is now bionic, and the Dr. said he did "very well"! We were concerned because of his being on Coumadin (blood thinner) and his heart is still irregular. But, as we were assured, all went well. When he was being wheeled away to surgery and was told to say goodbye, he began moving his arms in a windshield wiper motion, back and forth. The attendant said, "That's a first!" Kimberly, Tracy and I knew he was being funny for us, imitating actions from the old Gene Kelly/Debbie Reynolds movie. We laughed as we went into the waiting room then again at his semi-coherant witticisms after surgery. What a guy!

Thumbs and Other Digits

The past few days I have been fumbling as I type. The reason? My left hand is splinted (or maybe I would call it soft-splinted) in preparation for a surgery on my thumb which will take place in the early afternoon today. Nothing like not having normal use, to notice the many and varied ways having a fully functional thumb is helpful. For instance, it is pretty hard to open a cracked egg when the knuckle joint will not bend. And removing earrings? Forget about it. How did this all happen? A month or so ago, I was chopping vegetables (can't even remember what) with an especially sharp paring knife. I was in a hurry, not paying the usual attention. Yes, I did cut the back of my thumb knuckle. It was pretty deep but not wanting to go to emergency or anything, I just cleaned it and put a band-aid on. It was tender for a while but seemed to heal quickly and well. Fast forward to three weeks later. Another afternoon, more preparations for dinner. The ice in a flexible tray was sticking so I twisted it. Suddenly, the thumb felt funny. Not painful. Just different. Shortly thereafter, I noticed that it would not bend, no matter how much concentration I put on trying to make it do so. Well, I could make it bend manually, but not by thinking "bend" and having it happen. It just (excuse the cliche) stuck out like a sore thumb! Art had a Dr. appointment in two days. Our primary care doc thought I had probably nicked the tendon with the knife then finished the job with the twisting motion. He was right. I went to a hand surgeon so here we are today, awaiting another life adventure. I have felt a sense of rightness in having the reattachment done. No doubts as to going ahead, although other options were discussed. Even now, I feel no panic, which is somewhat surprising to me. Anyway, I know I will be fumbling around at the computer for whatever time recovery takes. And then, hopefully, nearly normal full use will be the result. (BTY: When in doubt and it is after hours, go to emergency!) As to the other digits (not fingers and toes) we are attempting to keep track of Dr. appointments. The numbers keep adding up. I haven't actually made a count, but it seems to be a big part of our life together now!