Category Archives: Health

Health-related posts go here.

26 Months

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My foot surgery went well. I’m not enjoying not walking on two legs, but everything is working out fine. I’m grateful to have friends who check on me,  offer me rides or to run errands for me, and who take me places. It made it easier to make bank deposits for MTOL and to pay the water bill. Cats, on the other hand, have not enjoyed the household upheaval, and several have been most demonstrative in a negative way on multiple occasions. I now have a pretty good idea of the cats without good litter box manners — I’ve been trying to compile that list for some time, and I believe it’s pretty comprehensive now.

My ramp works well. I take the knee scooter or crutches and go onto the front porch, then I get on the electric scooter, ride it down the ramp and pull in or take out the trash can and check the mail. I did learn that crutches have a useful place in the collection of tools that make this annoying process easier. I have another week of dealing with this before I can shift to walking on the boot (for now, it’s protecting my foot as I continue to attempt to remain non-weight-bearing while the bone heals from having the screw implanted.

Jase is doing well at camp, and my cat carers are doing a good job keeping up with the cats’ basic needs — food, water, and litter boxes.

For now, the house is done. Some finishing items still need to be completed, and those are stalled, but no new areas are being worked on at this time. The budget for this project has been exhausted, so I’m re-evaluating how I want to complete the things that didn’t get gotten to.

I’m at a point where everything is annoying to me. This item should not be a thing — Apple Watch charging. My Apple Watch 6 was running out of charge before it was running out of day, so, instead of spending $100 to replace the battery, I bought an Apple Watch 10. Twice now, it has refused to charge. The first time, I was prepared to send it in for service, and it began to charge. This afternoon, it is doing the same thing. I put it on the charger this morning, saw a full charge indicated on the phone, but obviously, it wasn’t, because this afternoon, it indicated 13%. I put it on the charger, and no charging bolt. I changed connections, and still no charging bolt. This is not a feature I desire. I’m tempted to see if I can return this Watch and wait for a new model that may not have this problem. It’s enough of a problem for Apple that they have a link on the main support page for it.

I tried trading in the Watch 6, but they changed their offer from $70 to $0 by saying there was a problem with the screen, so I refused the offer, and they returned the Watch to me. I have a backup now.

I experienced a lot of emotional ups and downs this month. Being cooped up and dependent on others for transportation when I’m accustomed to doing things for myself was a huge adjustment. I have been very fortunate to have people more than willing to take me where I needed to go as well as offering to bring me things.

 

 

25 Months

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I’ve been feeling a subtle shift over the last few months. The two-year point felt more like any other day, with a few moments here and there—just like every other day. I’m mentally accepting that this is my life. It’s not bad, but I would like some things to be different, and I don’t know if it’s even possible to make that happen.

After last month, I went into high gear to prepare myself and the house for me to be non-weight-bearing on my right foot after surgery on the 13th to repair a non-healing broken metatarsal. The surgery went well, and I’m recovering at home. I had my first follow-up visit today, and I’ll get the stitches taken out next week. So far, so good.

Christmas, 2019

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I could say not a lot has happened since my last post, but that’s not quite true. Ajax is successfully buried and we speak of him fondly from time to time. Mr. L had a good father-daughter trip to Pennsylvania. Shortly after he returned, I experienced something both odd and incapacitating.

On Sunday, October 27, I was my normal self doing normal self things. On Monday, October 28, I woke up early freezing cold then burning up. I decided to stay in bed for the day. On Tuesday, October 29, I woke up with really bad lower back pain that was unlike the annoying lower back pain I’d been waking up with for the last several months — and it didn’t go away. I opted to have Mr. L drive me to urgent care where they diagnosed a UTI and gave me naproxen for the back pain. I came home, took my meds, and rested in my chair. By later that day, I could not stand or walk. It didn’t get better.

On Wednesday, Oct 30, my neighbor called an ambulance — it was the only way I could get out of my house. The ambulance took me to the medical center where they said I had more than the garden variety UTI and gave me IV meds. At about 6 pm, they told me I could go home. I still couldn’t stand, sit, or walk. They gave me a pain med. No difference. They gave me morphine. No difference. They admitted me.

For 16 days, they did a CT scan, X-rays, an MRI, and a bone biopsy to rule out infection. No problems found that would cause me to be in excruciating pain from lower lumbar back spasms. They did start me on a muscle relaxant, that helps. The first time Physical Therapy tried to get me to sit on the side of the bed, I was in 10 out of 10 pain and begging her to not ask me to do anymore. Subsequent PT sessions went slightly better.

On November 15, I was transferred to a skilled nursing facility. It took two people to get me from the transfer wheelchair to the bed. For the next four weeks, I incrementally began to improve. On Thursday, Dec 12, I was able to walk out of the facility to come home only using a cane.

As for my current status — I still get spasms. I alternate between a cane and a walker, depending on how I feel, but based on advice from physical therapy, I’m mostly using the walker. I’ve come a long way to be able to spend a lot of time in my recliner and to gingerly walk around my house to keep my body moving. But at least I’m home. There’s apparently nothing seriously wrong with me, but my return to normalcy is coming slowly. I’m confident I’ll get back to my “normal” self, but I don’t know how long it will take.

For Christmas 2019, I’m moving slowly, but at least I’m moving. As I normally do this time of year, I’m reflecting on what has been and where I want to go in the new year. I’m not making resolutions, but I am planning where I want to go from here. Perhaps an enforced slow down will help with that.

 

Sleep In for A Prize

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Are you someone that would love to stay in bed a little longer in the morning yet feel more energized when you do get up? Then check out my 90-Day Wake Up Challenge over in my Facebook Group.

The challenge begins November 1. What do you do?

  1. Go to my Facebook Group and check out the pinned post.
  2. Watch Pamela’s video for her morning routine (the audio can be a little hard to hear, but the video shows you what to do). Why would you do this? It gets the synovial fluid moving in your joints providing lubrication and gently extends and contracts muscles, preparing them, and you, to face the day. Plus, you’ve accomplished something before you even get out of bed! How cool is that?
  3. If this looks like something you would do, Join the Group and comment, “I’m in.” on the post.
  4. Each week, stop in to the 90-Day Wake Up Challenge Unit and comment on that week’s post about your experience that week. If you miss a day, that’s okay. If you don’t do the full program, that’s okay. Just tell us what you did do and your experience with it.
  5. Do that for each week of the challenge.
  6. Upon satisfactory completion of the challenge (you made your entry during each week of the challenge), I’ll ask for your mailing address, and I’ll send you a 5 ml bottle of Peppermint Vitality — just in time for hot cocoa season.

 

I hope to see you there. This is a basic first step to self-care and a better life.

 

Merry Christmas 2017

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I wish each of you a Merry Christmas. I pray these wishes find you healthy, happy, and prosperous. If not, I pray you find all three in the coming year. Now that my two knee replacmements and the cracked patella appear to be fully healed, I’ve recently begun taking a … Continue reading →

What’s Your Story? Do You Like the Ending?

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What’s your story? Are you doing exactly what you want to be doing right now? Is your life where you want it or on the road to being there? Are you actively working for your dreams? Do you know what your dreams are? Last week I talked about the Master … Continue reading →

Master Key Experience: True Health

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One of my Personal Pivotal Needs is True Health. What’s the story? How’s it coming for me? I’m pleased with where I am in this process, which is mostly mental. When my mental state is in the right place, I do healthy things. My mental state was terrible when I … Continue reading →