Week 3

Tomorrow will mark 3 weeks since the surgery.While I am still restricted in my activities, i.e. no swimming pool, not yet driving, no lifting, etc. , overall I feel pretty good. I've been trying to walk daily and extend the distance and number of times a day. The beautiful weather with the sun warming me has to be healing. Today I went to the grocery store with Ike and Doris. They were also nice enough to help me dispose of my recyables.

They gyn dr. gave me a good report on Tuesday as did my biannual checkup with the retina doctor. So I guess it's just a matter of time to get all these internal stitches healed and the muscles and organs back closer to normal. Of course my patience is not great at this.

I am doing lots of reading and some computer research. Highlights of this week was a nice long visit from W. Palm friend Betty who came complete with a Valentine's themed picnic lunch. We never run out of discussion topics and she greatly enjoyed working on the 500 piece jigsaw puzzle and we made some good progress. Then the following day, boating friends Elizabeth and Don arrived and they took were hooked by the puzzle leaving only the difficult shades of purple sky for my struggle. They treated me to dinner out and we also spent a great hour down at the community fishing dock watching boats and dolphins. All in all I feel very fortunate and blessed.

Outing

I thoroughly enjoyed the concert Friday afternoon. The balcony seats seemed more comfortable than the chairs at home. Fortunately there's a elevator and our seats are down only a couple of steps. We were able to park close by as well. All this added some wonderful and interesting musical selections made my first outing most enjoyable and doable. Today I'll take in a quilt show opening at the library with Ginny and Doris at one of the local libraries. Only problem, no time to finish my puzzle or books! Such a busy life!

A week at home

I can't say it's gone quickly and yet I've kept the time filled at my slow pace. I'm now walking the cul de sac circle alone and today made two rounds. Yesterday I saw the urologist who declared his part was a success. Tuesday I'll see the gyn and hope she'll ease up on the restrictions. The ur Dr. said I can do most anything after next week but no bicycling for 6 weeks. I'm still on 1/2 a pain pill every 4-6 hours. I decided to stick to one kind after some lightheadedness. At least I know what to blame my symptoms on.

I was really concerned how it would go living alone but it's not been as scarey as I thought. My neighbors have been great checking in on me. I highly recommend the "grabbers" that I inherited from Les. I think I'll keep them handy. I go out to get the paper with them and retrieve items from low places. I also keep a notebook to record medications, symptoms,etc.

I've really been enjoying my jigsaw puzzle set sent by boating friends. There are 3-100, 300, and 500 piece sets. I finished the smallest and now doing the middle one on the dining room table. I forgot how addictive they can be..."just one more piece". I would never have thought of it as a get well present but it's a great idea, at least for me.

Our weather has been cool and windy but sunny which helps my attitude though the electric bill may be a shock. The manatees have been coming past the dock trying to find warm water and I was able to spot one the other day.

I'm also reading Loving Frank and Reading Lolita in Tehran for some library book groups. The latter I've partially read before and am finding a bit tedious knowing how little progress if any has been made for women in Iran since the book was published.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to attend the Atlantic Classical Orchestra at Stuart's Lyric Theatre. The soloists are Christopher O'Reilly and violinist 16 year old Caroline Goulding, both of whom performed singly with the group last year. It's an afternoon performance and Ginny will drop me at the door so I think it will be ok. I just hate to miss any of the season's performances. They are always a treat including the pre-performance talk by the conductor given in his wonderful Scottish brogue.

In recovery mode

I returned to my condo on Thursday morning accompanied by my neighbors, Ike and Doris. Doris and Ginny drop in frequently and accompany me on short walks outside. Overall I have been pleasantly surprised at my progress. There have been a few blips primarily involving getting the systems back in gear, but the pain has been mostly in the form of pressure and discomfort. I'm halving the prescription pain med and only using at night supplemented by Motrin in the daytime. I'm still a little fuzzy brained and move slow but enjoying getting some reading done.

This morning is my first adventure onto the computer and working my way through the accumulated emails. Two new Facebook friends to greet. I'm still understanding how that all works but hope to have some fun with it while I recupperate.

Not much interest in food yet but my neighbor Arlene brought over homemade chicken soup last night and it was a real treat. Nothing like chicken soup for the soul or the system!

More later...Doris is ready to take me for a stroll on this cold, windy but sunny Florida morning. Thanks for all your good wishes and positive thoughts. It means a lot to me.

Update from daughter Emily:

Mom's surgery went well (in and out in about 3 hours) and she is in recovery in the hospital with a nice view of the river. Ginny was there to see her once she got into the recovery room around 11:15ET and she seemed groggy but fine. They mentioned she will be there until Thursday most likely. I'll update if any other news ensues...

Upcoming Event

My bag is packed, I'm ready to go, leaving via Ginny's auto before the sunrise on Monday Jan 26. Unfortunately the destination is not far away or exciting, but is Martin Memorial Hospital where I have a 7:30 a.m. date with a surgeon for a total hysterectomy. It's taken me 14 years to agree and hopefully it's a wise decision and I'll come out better than new. My principle caregivers (I'm tempted to say "handlers" will be my neighbors Doris and Ginny. I decided to include a photo of our Maine Lobster Banquet that Ginny and I feasted on at Doris's house in August. It's a more positive photo than I'm sure we'd make tomorrow morning.

Daughter Emily will post some progress reports here on the blog until I can get my hands back on a keyboard. I have a stack of books to read, some computer projects lined up, and some of Les's home health equipment so I should be good to go when the hospital sends me out the door in 3-4 days. So until I can get back to you...so long for a while.

Happy New Year

Emily, Gayle and Margaret are ready to party!

Michael with Josh

Granddaughter Katherine

Well we are a week into the new year and a week after my birthday. Somehow it seems longer as a lot has happened since I wrote my Christmas Post. I flew to Chicago, landing despite fog, on Saturday the 27 to attend a 50ies themed Bridal shower and batchelorette party for nephew Luke's Bride-to-be Caitlin. I managed to keep up with the younger women until about 12:30 a.m. despite my 4 a.m. rising time. On Sunday they treated me to a brunch as a pre birthday celebration.

Later that day Michael and Karen brought Katherine, Josh and Carl to Ginny's for a visit. Then Monday morning Ginny and I hit the road for Florida having beautiful clear skies and dry roads all the way back to Stuart. The 31st neighbors had us over for a wonderful dinner with birthday candles in my dessert before going on to another neighbors for New Years toasts. I began the New Year with a long bike ride which I hope heralds the start of a good year. I've also been working on my Facebook page where more photos are available.

I will be the "old lady off the road" for a while as I will have major surgery Jan 26 for a hysterectomy. I've been avoiding this since 1995 when my excuse was going sailing. Now however I'm told the size and location of fibroids make it necessary. I plan to use the blog for updates. Meantime I have one more camping adventure first meeting sailing friends in our land "yachts" at nearby Jonathan Dickenson State Park January 21. I plan to keep up the biking until the 25th! We've also had good weather for our pool exercise class. I'm already looking forward to returning to these activies.

Have a happy and healthy New Year everyone.