A Few of My Favorite Things

(sorry the picture is at the bottom; I'm blogging using an app on the iPad since I can't sit at the desktop computer...and I don't know how to move the pictures)

Yes, this is the full-on "Diva Zone."  If you look closely, you can see many of my current favorites (my number one fave, of course, is helpful hubby Jim...but he's behind the camera).  There's my crutches...really only used for doing stairs; my father-in-law's walker, used before I got my knee walker (not quite as good as a Skywalker, I suppose); my personal industrial-sized fan for those industrial-sized hot flashes; my recliner with extra padding and multiple pillows; my two end tables, which I try to keep divided into "tech" and "food;" my barely visible Tupperware O' medication; and of course the TV remote.  My iPad, like Jim, is not in the picture because it's taking the picture.

And this is pretty much where I've been, night and day (minus a few bathroom visits, of course) since I got home from the hospital on Tuesday.

The surgery itself wasn't bad.  The anesthesiologist suggested a spinal rather than a general, which I think helped the recovery process, although there were  a few queasy moments that i attribute to the Fentanyl they shoved into my IV after I woke up.  All the nurses were very nice and I assume the doctor knew his stuff, because I'm told the hammy tendon is now sutured back to the bone (with the help of a couple screws) where it belongs.  And it turns out that a very small part of that tendon--10% or so--was actually still attached to the bone, which the MRI hadn't shown.  So that has to be a good thing.

And now here are a few random notes from the first four days after Operation Hammie Re-install:

-First and foremost--yes, this sucks.  I remind myself that in the grand scheme of "bad things that happen to people," this is pretty minor: not fatal, likely no permanent disability, and let's be honest, self-inflicted (I knew my clumsiness combined with my chosen sports would bite me in the ass sooner or later).  Still, I'll be honest--this sucks.

Moving on to more entertaining and enlightening thoughts...

-Probably regardless of your injury, a good recliner is worth its weight in gold.  We got one last year when my father in law had hip and knee surgery, and got the same one for him.   Prior to my injury I had probably sat in ours twice--I already had my firmly-established "favorite spot on the couch"--but now I live in it.  I even sleep in it most of the time.  Given the location of my injury and the location of the  incision, normal sitting is not possible right now but semi-reclined is awesome.   Even if you're not injured yet, get a recliner...and spring for a power-operated one.  Perfect positioning at the touch of a button.  Hmmm, wonder if I could get one of these in my classroom...

-It is not possible to have too many pillows.  I currently have four in constant use, including one that found its way home from the hospital with us and thus probably cost us $200 or something. Leg prop, arm rest, iPad support, dinner table...the uses are endless.  I have not yet used one as a projectile, but I'm not ruling it out.

-iPads and the internet are gifts from God.

-it's exceedingly frustrating--although probably ultimately a good thing--to have vast acreage of scabbing road rash that you can't reach to pick.  Most of you are thinking "eeewwww," but my inliner friends feel for me, don't you?

-Sometimes, even though you know that wheat and sugar are inflammatory and probably don't help the healing process, and you're trying to stay Paleo...well,sometimes you just really need a donut.  And when you ask your husband to pick one up for you, he will--if he's a smart man--forgo any comments like "that's not Paleo, is it?" and reply with "sure, honey; what kind would you like?"

-After surgery and four days spent almost exclusively in the above-mentioned recliner, a 200-yard knee walker excursion will feel like one of the nastier CrossFit WODs--only without the loud music, sweat, and fun--and will leave you almost as sore.

-And finally...friends and family are worth their weight in gold.  Whether they're on the front lines changing your hard-to-reach bandages and catering to your every whim (thanks, Honey!); visiting and  bringing food or company; or supporting from afar with Facebook, phone, or text--they are all wonderful and are what make this whole experience tolerable!