Well, it hasn't been as easy as the doctor said. The surgery went perfectly on my husband's right knee but the recovery is going much slower and with more complications (swelling, loss of appetite and nausea, and drowsiness) than we were led to believe.
Thank goodness for the ice and compression machine, the pain medication, the walker, and his calm and caring wife -- without us all where would he be?
After this is over I'm going to need a good long girls only vacation.
Any suggestions!?!
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Back from Denver -- there's no place like home
I was expecting cold, and what I got was COLD. And today, my last day to be there, it was so snowy, that I decided I had to get out FAST.
After a few quick calls to the airline and family members, I changed my flight to the 1:00 instead of the 4:30. But until we were in in the air -- after an hour and a half wait to take off -- I really had my doubts that I'd make it out of town in time to take Bob to his date for knee surgery tomorrow.
Even so, the visit with family was wonderful. It's just their choice of a place to live that I find a problem. As I've said before, we all make our choices. And, it's very clear, some folks make choices that are not necessarily in sync with our own. But, that's a story for another time. Right now I'm relaxing on my family room couch, blogging, reading the Sunday paper, and glad that I won't wake up tomorrow to a snowy landscape yet again. Sure, the snow is beautiful, but not in my backyard.
After a few quick calls to the airline and family members, I changed my flight to the 1:00 instead of the 4:30. But until we were in in the air -- after an hour and a half wait to take off -- I really had my doubts that I'd make it out of town in time to take Bob to his date for knee surgery tomorrow.
Even so, the visit with family was wonderful. It's just their choice of a place to live that I find a problem. As I've said before, we all make our choices. And, it's very clear, some folks make choices that are not necessarily in sync with our own. But, that's a story for another time. Right now I'm relaxing on my family room couch, blogging, reading the Sunday paper, and glad that I won't wake up tomorrow to a snowy landscape yet again. Sure, the snow is beautiful, but not in my backyard.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Finally a choice -- after too long a delay
Today is a special day.
I decided to take the day off so I could go with my husband for his appointment with his knee surgeon in Santa Monica. The appointment started at 8:00 and after xrays, an exam, and much conversation, we decided to go ahead and book Bob’s surgery for Monday. How's that for making a decision!!! How's that for finally choosing to act rather than living with pain and the inability to walk more than a block without discomfort.
Also, the prognosis is very good. He only has damage on the inside of his knee – no more cartilage there so the bones are rubbing against each other and causing him the pain and his leg to bow. So, he only needs a partial replacement. Before I saw the xray I was definitely an advocate of full replacement, but not anymore. Plus, recovery time is much less with a partial.
Anyway, he’ll have the surgery on Monday, they’ll get him walking the same day, he’ll go home the second day, and he will be able to go about his business almost immediately after that. The doctor says he should be able to walk a mile without any pain, limping, leaning to the right and with a straightened leg within three to four weeks. Amazing. Really amazing.
It’s just too bad he didn’t choose to do this two years ago when his first doctor offered him corizone to ease the pain instead of telling him the benefits of surgery then. Think how much pain and knee and leg damage he would have avoided.
Well, he says he was scared. He needed a push to go forward. That his sister had a successful back surgery in the last year pushed him a bit, but I think my saying over and over that I couldn’t travel with him until he could walk distances again was the actual springboard.
Hopefully, he’ll have a successful time of it, and he’ll stop calling himself an old man once he can walk normally and long distances again -- without any pain!
I decided to take the day off so I could go with my husband for his appointment with his knee surgeon in Santa Monica. The appointment started at 8:00 and after xrays, an exam, and much conversation, we decided to go ahead and book Bob’s surgery for Monday. How's that for making a decision!!! How's that for finally choosing to act rather than living with pain and the inability to walk more than a block without discomfort.
Also, the prognosis is very good. He only has damage on the inside of his knee – no more cartilage there so the bones are rubbing against each other and causing him the pain and his leg to bow. So, he only needs a partial replacement. Before I saw the xray I was definitely an advocate of full replacement, but not anymore. Plus, recovery time is much less with a partial.
Anyway, he’ll have the surgery on Monday, they’ll get him walking the same day, he’ll go home the second day, and he will be able to go about his business almost immediately after that. The doctor says he should be able to walk a mile without any pain, limping, leaning to the right and with a straightened leg within three to four weeks. Amazing. Really amazing.
It’s just too bad he didn’t choose to do this two years ago when his first doctor offered him corizone to ease the pain instead of telling him the benefits of surgery then. Think how much pain and knee and leg damage he would have avoided.
Well, he says he was scared. He needed a push to go forward. That his sister had a successful back surgery in the last year pushed him a bit, but I think my saying over and over that I couldn’t travel with him until he could walk distances again was the actual springboard.
Hopefully, he’ll have a successful time of it, and he’ll stop calling himself an old man once he can walk normally and long distances again -- without any pain!
Sunday, November 29, 2009
More November poems
The November PAD challenge is almost over. Here are a couple more from my collection.
November PAD 25
For today's prompt, I want you to write a temperature poem. Remember: Temperature can mean the heat outside, the heat of something (or someone), or even the temperament of someone.
My husband says lime sherbet
runs through my veins.
He could be right.
My hands and feet are always freezing
even in the hottest summer days.
But, remember that old saying,
“Cold hands, warm heart.”
I like to think my heart is warm
making up for my body’s chill.
And, that works fine for me.
November PAD 27
For today's prompt, I want you to write a poem involving a shape (or multiple shapes). You can make the shape the title of your poem, or you can work the shapes into the actual poem in some way. There are two dimensional shapes, of course, like squares and circles, but don't forget some of the other shapes available out there: horseshoes, coffee cups, houses, etc. After all, some objects become so iconic that they actually are considered shapes unto themselves.
The Shape I’m In
I’ve learned over time
that dieting doesn’t have a lot to do with it.
I’ll still have the thick waist I’ve had since puberty
and a straight up and down torso.
I’m a rectangle.
I’ll never be the ideal, the hourglass,
no matter how much I work out
or control what I eat.
I’ll never have big womanly breasts
that people can snuggle into,
hips that sway as I walk,
and a waist small enough
that a pair of hands can wrap around.
But I am lucky.
I’m not a triangle with a big top that tapers down
to skinny hips and legs
like my poor mother-in-law
who kept breaking her ankles
because they couldn’t support her weight.
I’m not the inverted triangle either,
tiny on top and wide from the waist down.
You see a lot of examples of those
on TV these days,
examples of how not to be.
No, I’ll keep the shape I’m in.
It’s served me well all these years.
And, I know better than
to try to change myself now.
November PAD 25
For today's prompt, I want you to write a temperature poem. Remember: Temperature can mean the heat outside, the heat of something (or someone), or even the temperament of someone.
My husband says lime sherbet
runs through my veins.
He could be right.
My hands and feet are always freezing
even in the hottest summer days.
But, remember that old saying,
“Cold hands, warm heart.”
I like to think my heart is warm
making up for my body’s chill.
And, that works fine for me.
November PAD 27
For today's prompt, I want you to write a poem involving a shape (or multiple shapes). You can make the shape the title of your poem, or you can work the shapes into the actual poem in some way. There are two dimensional shapes, of course, like squares and circles, but don't forget some of the other shapes available out there: horseshoes, coffee cups, houses, etc. After all, some objects become so iconic that they actually are considered shapes unto themselves.
The Shape I’m In
I’ve learned over time
that dieting doesn’t have a lot to do with it.
I’ll still have the thick waist I’ve had since puberty
and a straight up and down torso.
I’m a rectangle.
I’ll never be the ideal, the hourglass,
no matter how much I work out
or control what I eat.
I’ll never have big womanly breasts
that people can snuggle into,
hips that sway as I walk,
and a waist small enough
that a pair of hands can wrap around.
But I am lucky.
I’m not a triangle with a big top that tapers down
to skinny hips and legs
like my poor mother-in-law
who kept breaking her ankles
because they couldn’t support her weight.
I’m not the inverted triangle either,
tiny on top and wide from the waist down.
You see a lot of examples of those
on TV these days,
examples of how not to be.
No, I’ll keep the shape I’m in.
It’s served me well all these years.
And, I know better than
to try to change myself now.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Choosing not to take no for an answer
Lee Daniels, who directed the movie Precious, refused to take no for an answer when he received one no after another when he tried to get financing. No one wanted to support a film about an obese Harlem girl who had been raped by her father, abused by her mother, impregnated, and afflicted with H.I.V. But he persisted and this movie that he wasn't sure America was ready for has become enormously successful.
Well, I'm not sure America is ready for my book about madness and suicide, but I'm encouraged by the success of Precious to keep on pushing. I won't take no for an answer either.
Well, I'm not sure America is ready for my book about madness and suicide, but I'm encouraged by the success of Precious to keep on pushing. I won't take no for an answer either.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving
I can't beat the words of President Obama on this day. So, here they are:
Tomorrow, Thanksgiving Day, Americans across the country will sit down together, count our blessings, and give thanks for our families and our loved ones.
American families reflect the diversity of this great nation. No two are exactly alike, but there is a common thread they each share.
Our families are bound together through times of joy and times of grief. They shape us, support us, instill the values that guide us as individuals, and make possible all that we achieve.
So tomorrow, I'll be giving thanks for my family -- for all the wisdom, support, and love they have brought into my life.
But tomorrow is also a day to remember those who cannot sit down to break bread with those they love.
The soldier overseas holding down a lonely post and missing his kids. The sailor who left her home to serve a higher calling. The folks who must spend tomorrow apart from their families to work a second job, so they can keep food on the table or send a child to school.
We are grateful beyond words for the service and hard work of so many Americans who make our country great through their sacrifice. And this year, we know that far too many face a daily struggle that puts the comfort and security we all deserve painfully out of reach.
So when we gather tomorrow, let us also use the occasion to renew our commitment to building a more peaceful and prosperous future that every American family can enjoy.
It seems like a lifetime ago that a crowd met on a frigid February morning in Springfield, Illinois to set out on an improbable course to change our nation.
In the years since, Michelle and I have been blessed with the support and friendship of the millions of Americans who have come together to form this ongoing movement for change.
You have been there through victories and setbacks. You have given of yourselves beyond measure. You have enabled all that we have accomplished -- and you have had the courage to dream yet bigger dreams for what we can still achieve.
So in this season of thanks giving, I want to take a moment to express my gratitude to you, and my anticipation of the brighter future we are creating together.
With warmest wishes for a happy holiday season from my family to yours,
President Barack Obama
Tomorrow, Thanksgiving Day, Americans across the country will sit down together, count our blessings, and give thanks for our families and our loved ones.
American families reflect the diversity of this great nation. No two are exactly alike, but there is a common thread they each share.
Our families are bound together through times of joy and times of grief. They shape us, support us, instill the values that guide us as individuals, and make possible all that we achieve.
So tomorrow, I'll be giving thanks for my family -- for all the wisdom, support, and love they have brought into my life.
But tomorrow is also a day to remember those who cannot sit down to break bread with those they love.
The soldier overseas holding down a lonely post and missing his kids. The sailor who left her home to serve a higher calling. The folks who must spend tomorrow apart from their families to work a second job, so they can keep food on the table or send a child to school.
We are grateful beyond words for the service and hard work of so many Americans who make our country great through their sacrifice. And this year, we know that far too many face a daily struggle that puts the comfort and security we all deserve painfully out of reach.
So when we gather tomorrow, let us also use the occasion to renew our commitment to building a more peaceful and prosperous future that every American family can enjoy.
It seems like a lifetime ago that a crowd met on a frigid February morning in Springfield, Illinois to set out on an improbable course to change our nation.
In the years since, Michelle and I have been blessed with the support and friendship of the millions of Americans who have come together to form this ongoing movement for change.
You have been there through victories and setbacks. You have given of yourselves beyond measure. You have enabled all that we have accomplished -- and you have had the courage to dream yet bigger dreams for what we can still achieve.
So in this season of thanks giving, I want to take a moment to express my gratitude to you, and my anticipation of the brighter future we are creating together.
With warmest wishes for a happy holiday season from my family to yours,
President Barack Obama
Saturday, November 21, 2009
A couple more November offerings
November PAD 17
As mentioned above, today is Tuesday, which means we've got a "Two for Tuesday" offering. Remember: With "Two for Tuesday" prompts, you can write to either one or both (or none, if that's how you roll). Here are the two prompts:
1. Write an explosion poem.
2. Write an implosion poem.
We recently caused a small explosion
in a deep dark crater on the Moon.
A little satellite, called LCROSS,
crashed into it,
creating such a disturbance
that water vapor burst
out amidst the other debris.
After further investigation
that explosion exposed
the presence of water
on the Moon
in vast amounts.
Something we’ll surely use
as we continue in our omnipresent
quest for life beyond the Earth.
Note: Though I didn't work on this project or the proposal, I helped write the Aviation Week program excellence award application. We recently received notice that LCROSS won the award.
November PAD 19
For today's prompt, I want you to write an attachment poem. There are all kinds of attachments you could write about: physical, emotional, digital, etc. You could even write about your fear of attachment OR fear of no attachments OR fear of seeming to be afraid of attachment when really you're afraid of not being attached but you don't want other people to know that you know that...where was I?...oh yeah, write an attachment poem. Write it now.
I wear it everywhere.
It attaches to my clothes
on the wasteband
of my slacks or skirts.
It counts out my steps
and if I press a little button
it also tells me calories spent,
miles walked,
or the time of day.
My goal each day is 12,000 steps
and usually I overachieve.
Every year when it’s time to renew
my gym membership
I think about deleting
my step counting device
and the uploading software
from the menu of added perks I pay for.
I feel I’m much too attached to it
and much too obsessive about
amassing so many steps every day.
But, so far,
I can’t bring myself
to even begin process
of becoming unattached.
This little counter and I are
attached at the hip.
As mentioned above, today is Tuesday, which means we've got a "Two for Tuesday" offering. Remember: With "Two for Tuesday" prompts, you can write to either one or both (or none, if that's how you roll). Here are the two prompts:
1. Write an explosion poem.
2. Write an implosion poem.
We recently caused a small explosion
in a deep dark crater on the Moon.
A little satellite, called LCROSS,
crashed into it,
creating such a disturbance
that water vapor burst
out amidst the other debris.
After further investigation
that explosion exposed
the presence of water
on the Moon
in vast amounts.
Something we’ll surely use
as we continue in our omnipresent
quest for life beyond the Earth.
Note: Though I didn't work on this project or the proposal, I helped write the Aviation Week program excellence award application. We recently received notice that LCROSS won the award.
November PAD 19
For today's prompt, I want you to write an attachment poem. There are all kinds of attachments you could write about: physical, emotional, digital, etc. You could even write about your fear of attachment OR fear of no attachments OR fear of seeming to be afraid of attachment when really you're afraid of not being attached but you don't want other people to know that you know that...where was I?...oh yeah, write an attachment poem. Write it now.
I wear it everywhere.
It attaches to my clothes
on the wasteband
of my slacks or skirts.
It counts out my steps
and if I press a little button
it also tells me calories spent,
miles walked,
or the time of day.
My goal each day is 12,000 steps
and usually I overachieve.
Every year when it’s time to renew
my gym membership
I think about deleting
my step counting device
and the uploading software
from the menu of added perks I pay for.
I feel I’m much too attached to it
and much too obsessive about
amassing so many steps every day.
But, so far,
I can’t bring myself
to even begin process
of becoming unattached.
This little counter and I are
attached at the hip.
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