almost felt normal today

I've had a tough time with this recovery process. Yesterday was one day short of two weeks, and I felt like shit. I was annoyed and regretting having the procedure. I think part of the problem is dealing with Sharon and her surgery and her negative attitude. I think it's contagious.

This morning, I woke up and almost felt normal. I haven't been lightheaded once today. Even when I bent over. I did Milly without a problem. I was feeling more positive.

I had a meeting at noon at Panera on Freemansburg Road. It's right near school so I decided to go to school from there. I was really early, and it was a beautiful day. I decided to do the College's Poetry Walk. I figured it might be close to a mile if I did the whole thing.

I parked in the overflow lot, near the sign, and headed for the gardens. There is zip to look at this time of year. Although I did notice that the culinary students are getting their area ready for the early crops. (My dad always had to have the peas in by St. Patty's Day.) I walked thru the 7^th hole of the disk golf course to get there and followed the path to the garden.

I was greeted by the "Welcome" sign but no instruction. It didn't tell me where to go.

 

 I opened my phone to the website https://www.northampton.edu/news/2023/11/poetry-walk-inspired-by-an-east-40-residency.html. I remembered a half-ass map. All I got was a big yellow square and a map the size of mini penne pasta. Clicking didn't help. Clearly you need to go with an ipad or something. Maybe (gasp) print it.

I went thru the arch and turned left.

 

I went past the wood kiln.

I got distracted by typography.

I got to a fence and turned left. I finally found a sign. And I kept walking a walking around the perimeter of the gardens and nada. I followed the path into the woods, and it was muddy.

I found the bee hives. Everyone was still sleeping.

I walked past a "walking path" sign. The kind they have on the official walking path on the front lawn. I think I tried to take this path once and got lost. Maybe I'll try again later in spring when it's not so muddy. I walked a bit and nada. I turned around and came back.

I headed back into the actual gardens and saw another sign. And I think I found two more. It might have been three. It was not nine. I headed back to the car, said hi to the disc golfers, and went to class.

 This is the map. I looked it up when I got inside. It's useless in the winter. But probably not very good during growing season either. All the arrows point nowhere. Every one I found was not any where near the locations on the map. In fact you can see one of the signs in the middle of the image. 

I did a lot more walking than normal. Maybe half-mile with some rolling hills. I stopped a lot. When I finally made it back to the car, I had spent nearly 45 minutes there. After sitting down, I realized how tired I was. I felt like I walked a marathon.  I was still tired when I entered my classroom. Eventually it went away.

My legs are sore. So are my feet. I'm a wreck. But I have 3 months to Canada. I need to get in shape.

 

first steps

 

 

I had thought yesterday I found someone to plow my driveway. My first post-surgery workout was to walk around the block to check the garage. The back sidewalk wasn't shoveled either. The timing of the storm sucked. Okay, 

I exxagerate. It was more like a half block. Down to Bastian, out to Sassafrass, up the hill to Sioux and then back Bishopthorpe. As you can see our 11 inches of snow has compressed down to about 3-4 inches. I bet it's heavy. The walk was slow and I stopped at least six times. Three times going up the hill. All sidewalks are done but mine.

The rash I told you about yesterday seems bigger. It still itches. I'd kill for some Benedryl. But when I was first diagnosed with afib they said no OTC drugs without asking. I'm not paying for a doctor's visit for Benedryl.  So I'm toughing it out. But it's worse at night because I'm not working.

I finally got my car back. Boy was it expensive. Even the freakin horn didn't pass inspection. I've used it like three times. I'm parked out front. So tomorrow I'll be walking up the hill. I'll try to get a full around the block walk in between Pat's blood work at 7 and taking Sharon for surgery at 11:15.

I need to find a way to manage stress. The snow was a huge stressor. Not being able to shovel had me worried about people falling and law suits. The car taking four days to fix, moving class online, and the expensive repair bill. also added to my stress. And then Sharon's nightmare with her shoulder. I just want to run away for a couple days.

it’s done. but I don’t feel better.

 

I guess I thought the surgery would be my “magic pill” and I would get back to normal. That is not the case. I feel just as tired and crappy as I did before, plus it appears that I’m allergic to the stickers they use. My torso is full of round and square red spaces. But let’s go back to the beginning.

Sunday I took my car to the garage. On the key envelope I told them I was having surgery in the morning so I’d call them back in the afternoon. Dawn brought me home.

Bonnie picked me up at 5:30. am for a 6 am hospital call. They took me in at 6:10 and the nurse starts telling me about my day. Now I knew about the 2-4 hour part. I figured I’d be out of there by 1 at the latest. I had class scheduled for Zoom. Wrong. The 2-4 hour part was correct. What they didn’t tell me was the 1 hour flat on your back (and you'd feel like you got hit with a Mack truck). Then an additional four hours, but you got to sit up. Shit. I had to cancel class. I did it on my phone. Angel would have been proud.

They came in for the CD of the CT scan. I wondered why they took the scan. It maps your veins. I didn’t know they were going to do this by entering my groin on either side of the genitals. That poor nurses aid that has to shave you.

Just around the time they left Bonnie back in they brought me water, a dry tuna sandwich, chips, fruit and a fig newton. It’s amazing how much better I felt after eating. I called the garage back. Bonnie ate the green melon and cantaloupe. Then it was just waiting. I ended up drinking two glasses of water and two ginger ale. Needless to say my four hours was nearly up and I asked to use the bathroom. Nope. Couldn’t stand up yet. Needed to use a bed pan. Nothing happened. Oh, and my incisions were still oozing. 

Finally it was time to get up. I walked like I was drunk but made it to the bathroom where everything happened multiple times. The nurse actually knocked to see if I was okay. Another 45 minutes in bed and lots of questions about how I felt. I said my chest felt like I exercise too much. Other than that, not too bad. Tired.

We probably left there at 6:30. More than 12 hours after we arrived.

I was sluggish when I got home. And cold. If I bent over to plug something in I felt like I would pass out. Pat laughed at me. I need a better roomate. I ate my soup at around 9. Went to bed at 11.

When I got up I checked my fit bit. I was normal. I got a sleep score. (The true way I tell if I’m in afib.) I was tired. As tired as I was when I woke up in the hospital. I took an hour nap after breakfast, then I went to work on my computer. It was snowing like hell and everyone was calling/texting saying don’t shovel the snow. Duh. I cannot push, lift, carry or pull anything over 10 pounds for a week.  I already had school set for Zoom since I couldn’t drive for 48 hours, but school ended up being closed. According to fitbit I apparently took another nap between 5-7.

All in all we had 11 inches of snow. For the first time since we moved in here in 1974 my sidewalk was not shoveled. It was not from lack of trying to find someone. I guess kids play video games and sleep on snow days. We went out and earned cold hard cash. Like my nephew John. He would have done it — he already did 5 — but I needed to pick him up. That wasn’t possible. I was—and still am-- certain someone would fall and sue me. The guy across the street was plowing this morning I went out to ask him to plow my driveway, but the plow was broken…of course. Dawn might bring Andrew over. Now he hates to work and he hates to leave the house, so that should be interesting.

I still don’t have my car back so I moved class to Zoom again. But honestly even if I had it back I couldn’t drive it. And how and where would I park it?

It’s now Wednesday. I have enough energy to type this. But not to walk across the house. The stairs last night were awful. I haven’t taken any naps today. And put in a full days work so far. I itch, my chest still doesn’t feel normal, and I’m coughing like there’s no tomorrow. But I can bend over without feeling like I’m going to pass out. Progress. Basically I feel like shit. 

Tomorrow's another day. 

one week before ablation

 February 12 is ablation day. I am both excited to get this chapter the duck over and terrified as well.

Saturday I tried a Volkssport walk in Easton. We were starting at the garage on third street and it goes down Larry Holmes Drive and over the free bridge. My goal was to make it to the bridge. Gravy would have been crossing it. It was a beautiful, but chilly day. One hitch. We had a rule follower in the group who made us walk back to the “start” point at Forks of the Delaware and start there.  I made it there and back to the parking garage. It was probably the same difference but there is a hill but it wasn’t my goal. I was defeated. And exhausted.

I have been doing Milly and chair yoga. So I haven’t been a total slug. I still am cheating at parking at school. After the ablation I’m going to have to tackle that hill on the regular again. I also want to do the Poetry walk once it gets a little warmer.

Because this has turned into a medical blog Friday I went for blood work. Today I went for a CT scan. My first. Not awful. They gave me my results on a CD. I need to take them with me on Monday for the ablation. I guess this has replaced the envelope of xrays that we used to get.

T minus one week to ablation. Hopefully life will go back to normal. My students have no idea. They just know I can’t drive for 48 hours afterwards. My students have no idea why class will be on Zoom. I wonder how many will come. And if they keep me, will I be wearing a hospital gown with frazzled hair.

Congrats to J&A on the new batch of kids. They are adorable.

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