Tuesday, December 13, 2016

A Foggy Tuesday Morning

It is a foggy morning and of course foggy mornings make me think of NC and the beautiful layers of silver and gray fog across the pastures and gently lying on the mountains. I have to squint to make a similar scene here using roof outlines as mountains and the green space and water feature as a pasture type view.

Yesterday was my first appointment for outpatient therapy. I had to be there about 20 minutes before the appointment time to fill out mountains of paperwork and the traffic was horrible. The office is probably 22 minutes away from the house in normal conditions but with morning traffic and a light misty rain, it added to the time. I decided not to go the regular way because I wasn't in the mood to jockey for position to get on the flyover onto I 10. I really like the PT person I will be working with and again reminded of the story of Jonah where God arranged....I believe God arranged for Kelly to be the PT to help me. When I mentioned that I spent a lot of time in the mountains of NC and needed to do hills, hollers and valleys, she told me she would map out a plan that included "mountain" work along with the strengthening. Really, such a small thing, getting out of a chair without pushing and pulling and adjusting and it is one of the hardest things I have ever attempted. My brain comprehends what I am wanting to do but my hips and legs are saying, WHAT!!! We haven't done this in 35 years. I did stand up a few times but not in good form. I would have definitely spilled food off my imaginary paper plate I had in my hand. To give a sense of having something in my hands, Kelly tossed a volleyball to me and instinctively I volleyed the ball back to her. Gee, how many years has it been since playing volleyball? The next time, I caught it like she wanted me to do in the first place. So there I was, sitting on the mat, with a volleyball in my hands and a mirror in front of me. The only thing I liked in that scenario was the volleyball. The good news is the degree my knees bend which is off the charts at 136. If I was on medicare, I would have probably been released from PT yesterday because 125 is the guideline for livability. Getting my knees completely flat when stretched out is my harder thing, especially my right knee. I'm working on it.

After PT I decided to stop at Home Goods. I should have probably gone on home. But I wanted a little field trip. I did find a container for Buddy's food and several other things I could not live without. Made it home and fixed lunch and then I was down for the count the rest of the afternoon being worn out from PT and from Home Goods.

Today is one month out from surgery and I am so thankful to be a month out and able to work out. I'm enjoying my recoup time in Katy, keeping myself entertained. I'm not getting as much reading done as I had planned. I start reading and the next thing I know I am asleep. Stamina will come. But I do miss NC. This past weekend was live nativity and the cake auction for the student ministry. The choir concert is coming up. I was watching TV on Sunday and caught a program Appalachian Wild. The scenery of the place I love so much got to me. They were at the Cataloochee filming and tagging the little baby elks. They were also keeping an eye on all the bears. But I know it is best to wait and be near 100% with knees and of course the weather...

No comments: