Recovery is HARD

There’s no way around it…recovery from this surgery is tough. I am almost three weeks out and it has been hard to think straight about what to put on my blog.  I guess this counts as another milestone in recovery to actually feel up to writing!

David (aka Husband/Man-of-the-Century) has been taking care of me non-stop with help from family & friends who have graciously spent time with us grocery shopping, adjusting pillows & blankets, and making tasty sandwiches. While he has an amazing smile each day and makes us both laugh by imitating me (it’s kind of funny to watch me try to pick things up) David is looking forward to the day that I can return to making him sandwiches. Let me tell you, I can’t wait for that day either!

We go for walks around the neighborhood once or twice a day. I am getting better at rolling in and out of bed without any help and I can still hold my own in a game of Scrabble or Boggle. Los Angeles has proven to be exactly as the rumors go, that there are people everywhere at all times and they all drive no matter where they are going! We are so used to our one horse town of Woodland but have put our iPhones to use in checking the traffic before we dare drive anywhere. I sit in the back seat (more comfortable and a little safer) and David totes me to places where we can walk and get a change of scenery.

Christmas came and went as another good day of healing. We had an amazing Christmas Eve dinner at my brother and sister-in-law’s in Redondo Beach (that’s the farthest I’ve gone away from “home” yet) and then my Dad, brother and sister-in-law spent Christmas Day with us at the condo. My mom is still recovering from a cold that got hold of her after my surgery.

Christmas night with Jes, Tony and David (Dad as photographer). I am wearing the LiveSTRONG fleece that my Dad got me!

 I have x-rays and a post-op appointment on Tuesday with my surgeon here at UCLA. Depending on how I’m feeling (the “pain managment” aspect of this surgery has been extremely difficult for me – the pain meds work and I have been on them non-stop since surgery but they take me on a narcotic roller coaster of emotions and hot/cold flashes) we will spend a bit more time here until we pack up and head north. I have to move/change positions every half an hour or hour, so driving back home would be much like our honeymoon in which we road our bicycles up the coast of California. So, we’ll see!

Thanks to all who sent lovely cards of support and holiday joy. We love checking the mail and have turned it into a daily outing. :0)

Here’s to walking around bigger blocks and gathering sandwich recipes for future lunches!

love, Clare