Well, I guess I have.
I have been in the hospital or in a rehab facility for three months, and only was released last Monday to go home. I still can't walk and my son still needs to take care of me for meals, and for bathroom duty and so on. I am awaiting scheduling for another surgery on my ankle, and then more rehab. I dread both of these.
But anyway I will try to do better here.
The mail was an enormous pile, even though C winnowed all the junk stuff, and paid the most urgent bills too. As Christmas approaches the catalogs are present in increasing numbers, but I just pitch them all. I can always go on-line to find a gift, assuming I can think of something to gift C and R. So far I am clueless. Especially for R whom I haven't seen in 2 months or more, even though her work place is a few blocks from the hospital and the rehab places.
I have two therapists that both come twice each week. The exercises they give me to do are limited by my foot, which is non weight bearing. I would need to hop like a bunny rabbit to do them, and I'm a little heavy to do that. I can't even cross the bedroom, which is very large, and very full of wheelchair, rollator, bedside commode, desk, file cabinet, and so forth. I would like to get to the desk. Meanwhile I work on a card table with my laptop.
Don't ever take the ability to walk for granted.
My roommates were a mixed bag -- but all the same in one way. They would call for "a nurse" (even though the floor staff was a CNA). They would call LOUDLY "help" or "I need you" or the like, never using the nurse call button, and when one would appear and ask "what do you need?" The patient would say,"I don't know". My last roommate, the one with the broken pelvis, would haul herself into a wheelchair and push out to the hall to waylay a CNA and be put back into bed for her next go-round. If they moved the wheelchair out of reach (or locked the wheels) she would crab her way on foot. This would continue for the entire night, only giving me rest when the CNAs would take her out to the nurse' station for an hour or two. Her daughter would give her a stern lecture and that night it would start again. I can't imagine the pain the pelvis would give her, or how she got any rest, but still she would haul herself out of bed. I think she just wanted company, but the place was chronically understaffed and they were too busy to sit with her to keep her in bed. The goal was for her to mend somewhat so she could have surgery. She was 94.
I think the main blessing I got at home is the freedom to nap whenever I want.
Well, that is it for now, I will try to keep posts coming more regularly, even though there is little to write. Bye for now!
