Fear of falling part 2

Yes I still have that fear of falling because my balance isn't what it used to be, nor is it what it should be.  I will never have balance like I had when I was a teenager, or a young mom balancing two babies as well as myself.  But my mind tells me I can do all that stuff still.  Then I fall.


Fortunately, my chiropractor is working on my balance as well as my sciatic nerve issues.  I sometimes feel that both my balance and sciatica are getting better, but then there are days like today when the only relief I can get is -- well there isn't any relief really.


I go on with my life, though.  Today, I did clean up the kitchen and started my silent dishwasher.  I mean it is really silent, but then I'm slowly or rapidly going deaf, depends on one's point of view.  Alan can't hear the dishwasher either and he can hear a TV with little or no sound emitting from its speakers.


It used to be just the opposite.  I could hear a very low-tuned TV, and then about two years ago I noticed that Alan's level of hearing the TV was better than mine at which point I asked my doctor to check my ears.  She looked and said it wasn't wax buildup and suggested I see an ENT doctor. 


However, two knee surgeries and a three-break fall put the ENT on back burner.  I'm still trying to get my schedule so that Alan and I are only at doctor's offices one day per week and at physical therapy two other days per week.  That just about wears me out. 


I want you all to remember this is the ramblings of an elderly 71 year old woman in body, but her mind is still in the early 60s. 


Another shocker this week.  Two weeks ago I went to my primary physician (they used to be called family practice doctors) and was weighed.  I didn't like what I saw.  Then I went back to the chiropractor this week and he weighed me and I was twenty pounds lighter than my other doctor.  Now, that's the second time that has happened, so I figure one of the scales is wrong.  Guess which one I'm hoping is correct.  When you battle weight, you'll take as few pounds as you can get, and it isn't at my primary physician's office.


And, since I was in high school I have lost 3 inches.  So you see, I'm vertically challenged as well as horizontally gifted.


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Fear of falling

I'm afraid to let go.  I have a walker and I have such a fear of falling that I won't let go and try using a cane again.  Yet, sometimes I forget my walker and walk unaided, then I remember I have nothing to hold onto and I panic.  I panic and stand still right then and there -- and hope I don't fall while I'm waiting to get myself straightened out mentally and look for my walker.  I walk around holding onto each piece of furniture along the way.

On the other hand...I have made, what I consider to be a lot of progress since I left Forest Hills Care Center.

I loved Alissa, the occupational therapist assigned to me.  She was terrific and she taught me quite a bit about how to exercise slowly and carefully, and if it hurt to decide whether I wanted to hurt myself, since I had two badly broken bones in my wrist, or stop, wait, and think.  Was what I was doing a helpful hurt or a harmful hurt? 

There are at least two kinds of hurts I discovered in therapy.

The hurt I got in physical therapy was, in my opinion, hurtful hurt.  I say this because when I came home I only used the wheelchair we have for 20 minutes then I got up, used my walker and used it improperly, I'm sure, but I didn't used the wheelchair again.  And everyday for the five days after I got home until the state of KY sent a physical therapist to take care of me, I got better and better, and so by the time he got here, I knew what to do, he knew I knew what to do, and he didn't have to stay with me for very long. 

He didn't bother with the hand/arm at all.  Just let me hang it down or lift it up, or rest it across my chest (if it hurt), and I went from there.  In fact, there are days when it hurts pretty bad still, and it feels like the screws are trying to get out from under my skin.  I know that is in my imagination, but there it is.

I wish I could remember his name, because he was such a good therapist, not that the PTs at Forest Hills weren't, they were, but they pushed me in the wrong direction, when I was telling them what I needed to be able to do when I got home, they were going by the book.  Sorry, but you can't always go by the book.  Sometimes there are instances when the patient knows better what he/she needs that the therapist does.  And, of course, I rebelled, which didn't help any.  I really feel sorry for the physical therapists who were assigned to me this time.  I wasn't a good patient at all even though I really, really wanted to be. 

Pain does things to a person that people who have never had pain don't understand.  I had to push through terrible fibromyalgia pain because the therapists had a time schedule and there were no sick days for the sick people at Forest Hills Care Center.  :)

Anyway within one week after my release I was sitting and standing unaided, with the walker right in front of me.  I could get myself up without using my hands.

Now for the real reason for this memo, or whatever you want to call it:

I cooked a wonderful Christmas dinner without any help, except from Stovetop, Kroger Cherry Pie Filling, and Birds Eye frozen corn.  I made a chirkey (that's what I call  a roasting chicken that tastes like a turkey.  I have learned how to spice up some butter to put between the skin of the bird and the bird itself which changes the taste of the chicken to taste somewhat like a turkey.  Anyway, it was delicious, and I had enough left over to make my annual pot of soup!

I made a cherry pie just before I started the dinner.  A bit late, I know, but it was still warm by the time we had dessert and the ice cream melted over it, just like in a restaurant. 

Alan and I ate alone on Christmas night, and the dinner was really, really good.  And...I made it myself.  It was my first large effort at cooking a lot of dishes all at once and then putting them on two plates, artfully arranged, instead of just slopped on the plate, and God sure did bless us and our food on Christmas night. 

And, oh yeah, I did it without my walker.  But I do have a galley kitchen so I didn't let go of the counter on one side without have a touch of the counter on the other side.

I think that's about all from this end for now.

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Broken bones

This happened in October.  And a lot of people have asked me how I could possibly break my arm and both of my legs.  Well, I really don't know how it happened.

On October 11 after dinner I was cleaning up something from the library floor (in our home).  As I got up and almost reached the top of my rising from a squatted position, I got a jolt from my sciatic nerve and fell backwards and hit my wrist on one of the book shelves and hit my head on the floor.  I knew I had broken my wrist because it was bent in a really awkward position. 

Alan got me to the ER along with help from the EMTs of Campbell County, KY.   I was admitted.  I had grabbed my arm and pushed it back into position right after I fell and this enabled the doctors to hang my harm by two of my fingers for an hour to get the bones positioned so the doctor could continue the process -- OUCH. He told me it was similar to a dislocated shoulder being put into place -- OUCH. 

They then set the arm with plaster and elastic bandage -- hard to explain this type of cast.  It was not all the way around my arm just on the bottom of the arm and up behind the elbow with the elbow bent so that my arm would be comfortable in a sling.  Well, that didn't work because the case came off in my sleep. 

In the meantime, Dr. Lee a surgeon with the Wellington Group told me he was going to put a rod and pin in my arm on Saturday, October 16.  So they put another useless cast on my arm and sent me home. 

On Friday, the 15th I had a meeting with Dr. Lee to discuss the surgery and his PA put on another cast.  This time it stayed on.

On Saturday morning (the 16th and day of surgery) Alan was concerned because I wasn't getting ready to go to the hospital fast enough.  In an effort to help me move faster he tried to help me get off the bed in my office where I was getting things together to take to the hospital with me.  I basically slid to the floor when he tried to help me up.  I couldn't get up.  So, once again, we called 911 and the EMTs came to get me up.  They couldn't get me up to my feet either.  They got me up with effort and put me into the ambulance gurney.

Apparently when the EMTs left me off they told the ER people to check out my legs.  He thought there might be a break somewhere.  Well, good for him.  There were two breaks, both in the same bone of each leg.  Both in the same place in the bones of each leg.  Hmmm.

I don't know when or how I broke my legs.  I haven't a clue.  I don't remember anything painful in my legs the day after my arm break until Saturday morning.  I walked all over the place during the week after the arm break and Saturday morning.  On Saturday morning the pain I felt was in my ankles which I badly sprained.  Those sprains must have happened when the EMT tried to get me to stand up.

I don't remember much of Saturday's visit to the ER or what occurred.  I know I was admitted and instead of the surgery being on Saturday it was rescheduled for Sunday.  Dr. Lee was on call that weekend and so he did the surgery.  He decided not to do any surgery on the legs telling me that they would heal naturally with therapy.  I didn't believe him.

Back I went to the Med-Surg floor and everyday I was updated on the progress with my legs which were not cast or balloon wrapped.  They were just left alone.

On October 20th I went to the rehab center where they worked with both my arm (OT) and my legs (PT). 

I'm home now, my arm feels great and I'm typing as I normally would have before I broke the arm.  My legs hurt a bit, but not so bad that I can't walk with a walker.  I might mention here that it was my right arm which I broke and I am right handed.  Doing things with my left hand was extremely difficult.  And getting to a standing position with only one good hand was the most difficult, especially since my legs weren't working.

I was told in PT that I would have to use the walker the rest of my life.  I plan to walk back into the PT unit of the therapy center and show them they were wrong.

I have a new PT instructor now who is tough but recognizes when he has pushed enough.  OT hasn't showed up yet.  The nurse comes 3 times a week for now.

That's where I am at this point, so...

ttfn

Conglomeration

I cannot believe that summer is almost over.  How do I know this?  I feel like a blanket is being thrown over me.  In the morning and in the evening the light from the sun is diminished.  I don't like the dark of the coming days.  I do love the weather, though.

We've had a coolish summer, except for a few days in early July, and now in late August.  It is always hot when we close the pool and have those last couple of days of pool weather.

I cannot believe that the leaves on the trees are already changing and some are even red! 

Well, Alan is getting better every day.

I have been walking a bit.  And in therapy I am now using a tread mill.  It's the first I've used it in this series of back therapy exercises.  I'm walking further with each trip and I am still feeling quit well, pain wise.  Oh, I still have days, but mostly I am pretty good.  Now, it's time to work on balance so I don't fall so often.

I fell a couple of weeks ago.  Twice in two days.  The first fall was in front of my beautician's shop.  I knew I was going to fall.  I had to cross (on foot) one of those speed bumps, and I just knew that I wasn't going to make it.  I even stopped to figure out the best way to cross the bump.  Well, I figured wrong and fell on my right side. 

The second fall was flat on my knees, rather than on my side.  My left knee hurt pretty bad and it clunked when I walked so I went to the surgeon who had replaced my knees and all is well.  No fractures or anything.  The knees are still the way they are supposed to be and the knee-cap is still where it's supposed to be.  I'm told that's the most important thing -- having the kneecap in place.

So now I'm getting ready to walk the puppy who is almost a dog. The past six months have gone so fast.  An almost nine-month-old pup is almost a dog, right?  She's still pretty small -- about the size of a large cat.  She still cute.  And she is still chewing everything in sight.  She can tear apart a rubber toy in 15 minutes and a cloth toy can be unstuffed in five minutes.  She is, however, passing a new obedience test every day and she is FINALLY potty-trained.

I finally got her a real bone to chew on.  Today she doesn't want to chew on anything else.  Yeah!

Well, I'm going to walk her now.  Good-by until next time.

ttfn

It's Alan's turn

I've been blogging about the ailments that oldsters have to put up with.  And I've been writing from my point of view. 

I was thinking, though, that my dear husband has been suffering quietly for almost 14 years, ever since he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma (which is still in remission).  My dear husband grew tumors in his spine (the bony part) which pushed out on the bones and fractured them.  The tumors went away when he started chemotherapy, but the bones have calcified and he has continuous back pain.  The only relief he can get is in his recliner.

Now, let me address recliners:

Alan's recliner which has a handle on the side (it's a LazyBoy) and he is having more and more difficulty raising and lowering the foot thingy.  I, on the other hand, have one of those ejecto-style recliners and it's in bad shape.  It's deteriorating at an alarming rate.  The lever on my recliner is a button that is pushed to raise or lower it.  I, too, am having difficulty with my ups and downs because the push-button thing is wearing out, just like me.

I have to say, I prefer my recliner to Alan's, and so does he.  Medicare helped pay for my recliner back before I got my knees fixed, but after my first bout with sciatica.  I can get very comfortable in my recliner even when I'm suffering from sciatica.  Alan can't get comfortable in either. 

However, we solved a problem with his back, in order to help him get some relief.  We got a therapeutic mattress.  All he has to do is lay on it.  It conforms to his back and he is fine.  All the pressure is taken off his spine.  Unfortunately, there's not much he can do in bed except read and sleep. 

I realized today that I'm tired of reading, sleeping, moving around, cleaning, and cooking.  I think I was a pretty good housekeeper until all the leg/back problems started unenabling me.  Now, I don't even care. 

Just an example of how much I don't care:  earlier this week the shelf/hanger rod on my side of the closet came out of the wall.  You wouldn't believe the size screw that was used to put the shelf up and no molly.  Just two screws into the wall  and one of them not even into a stud.  The screws were not even as long as the screws used to hold chair seats on a dining-room chair.  It's a miracle it held up for 12 years.

Well, all my clothing is piled up on the chairs and sofa in the living room.  If I need to get dressed, I have to sort through the piles. 

Now, if this was five years ago, I would have sorted through the clothing, thrown out the no-longer-in-style clothing, the too big clothing, the too small clothing, etc., and put the clothes in piles of dresses, blouses, slacks, and skirts.  Now I have no idea where anything is. 

Oh, well.  Maybe tomorrow, I'll get to it and sort through the piles of clothing.  Or not.

ttfn

It's a sign.

I realized yesterday as I was trying to decide what to do with my hair and getting input from my hair stylist, that having my hair done up like I had it when I was 18 including that color, wasn't going to do any good as far as making me look like I was 18.  We were progressing toward a more "subtle" color, talking about a "golden color" and because I have 70-year-old ears and haven't gotten an "ear horn", I thought we were talking about "olden color."

I also realized that I would look 70 even though I put my "age 69" make-up on to make me look 69.  No longer do I look 69.  I noticed that the wrinkles are deeper and more are showing themselves every day.  No matter how many tightening creams I purchase and use, the wrinkles are still there increased at warp-10 speed -- whatever warp-10 speed is.  I just made that up and it means really, really fast.

Next topic:

I had 12 days of no pain at all.  I could walk and I could walk at a pretty fast gait.  At least I was faster than my husband, which I haven't been for quite some time.  I could bend over.  I could empty and fill the dishwasher without grunting or making loud noises because I hurt.

Then I twisted my body the wrong way without realizing I had done so, and now my hip bone no longer feels like it's connected to the thigh bone or any other bone for that matter.  I feels like it's trying to get through my skin.  Unpleasant, to say the least.

Next topic:

 I am enjoying the weather -- warm but not humid.  The aviary is active again.  Lots and lots of birds flitting from branch to branch and tree to tree.  This year we have a bird's nest in our front door light fixture.  No wonder the dog has been barking at odd times! 

I also noticed that the grass is green again.  We have no daffodils or tulips yet, and I haven't seen any blooming forsythia nor tree buds.  And, I'm wondering if this hot/cold/hot/cold weather had done something to stop the buds from presenting themselves.

Well, Spring is coming and I am looking forward to the flowers of spring.  Spring flowers -- golden.

I love this time of year!

ttfn

Update

I titled this "Update" because I couldn't think of anything else to call it.

I am a member of our community's Board, and I had my first Board meeting on Tuesday.  All went well, but I signed up for two projects that are probably going to required a bit of my time.  Oh, well.  I need something else to do. NOT.  At least they are mostly sit-down chores which I can do without pain.

Doxi takes up a lot of my time. Trying to potty train her is a hassle, and keeping her from biting is a big pain as well.  Between yesterday and today, she has bit through TWO, wires -- one is the plug to my Amazon Fire, and the other was a plug to the phone charger.  I can order a new wire for the Fire, and fortunately we had an extra plug for our phone. 

We have bought some spray to keep her in only certain parts of our house.  It seems to be working, but Alan hasn't been willing to tighten up the area she's permitted to roam.

Another update on Doxi -- she is getting big, even though she is the size of a cat, she has probably doubled in size since we got her.  She's supposed to be a small dog, but she's getting bigger all the time.  How long does it take for a puppy to get to its full size?  Six months?  One Year? 

I've had a bad sciatic nerve week, but my knees are still doing so very well, and I love that they are.  Once I get past the sciatic pain upon rising from sleeping or sitting, I can do pretty well, Then when I have to bend forward, I hurt really bad again.  Those of you with sciatic pain know what I'm talking about.

Alan and I have had so many "appointments" this week.  I find all this running around very tiring.  Is it my age or is it the activity?  How I wish we could eliminate some of the doctor's appointments, but we can't.  Alan's visit to the oncologist was this week.  We almost missed it.  Everything is still fine..
We're coming up on remission of 14 years for multiple myeloma (bone marrow cancer).  Praise the Lord!  I guess all the running around is worth it after all.

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The takeover

Can you guess who is the most gullible person in the world?  That would be me.

My husband, for 10 years, has wanted a dog, or rather a puppy HE could train; a puppy HE could feed, a puppy HE could clean up after; a puppy HE could walk no matter the weather.  Finally, after 10 years of his saying so, I believed him.  Not so.

 

So gullible me is now stuck (sorry Richie) with a puppy that has really grown on me in the past month.  She is about twice as big as she was when we brought her home.  She bites a lot.  She "kisses" a lot (licks).

My children are amazed that I even touch the dog.  While I do like dogs a lot, I like them better in someone else's home than mine.  At least I used to.

Doxi is cute as can be.  My grandchildren had a lot of fun with her this weekend.  Doxi was pleased as punch to have more than two people to run to.  And run she did.  From one person to another, then around the house.  We have an open-concept home so she was having a ball. 

My children reminded me that one rule of the house was "no running in the house" and didn't that apply to a dog?  It used to. 

I just want you all to know that having a baby puppy is like having a baby:  fun to cuddle, lots of poop to clean up; there is an exception, however, this baby sleeps through the night!

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THe puppy and other things

I have taught my husband's dog, Doxi, to do a couple of things. 

If I say, "kiss", she will stick out her tongue and kiss me.  If I'm not holding her close enough for her to kiss me, and say, "kiss" she still sticks out her tongue.  Cute.

And, I have taught her to sit before she runs to gobble up her kibble or whatever else I have put out for her. 

Now, if I could just teach her how to consistently use her grassy box or to go outside to pee or poop.  She's getting better at bath rooming outdoors, I think, but a few days of no accidents will be very telling.  She has never messed up her night cage.  I just don't want to keep her in that for all day long, but maybe I'll have to.

Regarding my physical therapy for the sciatic nerve.  After a two-week hiatus because of the stomach flu, I went back on Monday and had no problems getting back into it.  In fact, it felt quite good afterwards. 

I still have some twinges, but I have found I can sit in a hard chair and work out the pain.  Do I perhaps move the nerve a bit so that it doesn't hurt me so much?  I don't know.  But my prayer is that the sciatic nerve pain will disappear like it did for five years, and I will be able to walk normally again.

ttfn

Rough week/night

I had the flu.  I don't remember feeling as bad except when I was 16 and had the Asian/Hong Kong flu.  The aches from the fever were really bad.  It was a stomach flu and hung on for several days. 

Then I felt good for two days and FINALLY took down the Christmas tree and put away my snowmen, although with all the snow we've been having the past few days I think I should have left them out. 

Then last night I really felt awful.  I prayed and prayed and prayed for the pain to be taken away and I finally fell asleep. 

I woke up this morning and feeling pretty good, so I can get on with the day which includes cleaning up the mess from dinner last night and getting a load of laundry done. 

I hope to get my valentine cards addressed today -- the ones for the grands which I didn't send last year because I was in rehab and they kept me busy for 18 of the 24 hours each day.

So, I'm about to get to work.  I'll write again soon.

ttfn

Christmas party pictures

I would post pictures if I could figure out how to.  Blogspot has changed the way you load up pictures and since I didn't put them into Picassa, and I don't have them in an URL, I have no idea how to load them into this posting.

Well, my sister is about the only person I know that doesn't have Facebook, where I did post the pictures, and all 70 of them are in an album there.  So, sis, get in touch with your son, who does have Facebook and take a look at the pictures.  Maybe he can figure out how to transfer them to you so you can see them at your leisure.

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So much fun

Well, after six days, I'm still pain free (except for mild fibro pain).  Last night at the party I was walking around the Clubhouse with no pain at all having a great time with my 14 grandchildren,am my one adopted grandchild, Naomi, and my three children, and another "adopted" child, Tamara.  I had a young lady (another of Tamara's children) take pictures.  She has taken such beautiful pictures for her BLOG that I thought, it would be a good idea to get her to take the pictures of the party.  I will post them when I get them back.

Back to "adopted".  I put the "adopted" in quotes and don't want any of my friends or non-friends to get miffed because my husband and I have 'adopted" Tamara and Naomi.  By "adopted" I mean have brought them into our family and I love them both so very much.

Five years ago when my knees were so bad and after a couple of mild strokes we decided I needed help around the home and for shopping at Krogers.  My bff Nancy recommended Tamara and she's been my personal assistant, friend, shoulder to cry on, daughter,personal shopper, and so on for four whole years plus.  It has been a wonderful relationship for both myself and Alan.  She is not only a friend, but a daughter ("adopted") to us.

But this BLOG is about getting older and coping with it.  Well, last night at the party I coped very well.  My husband and others were praying that my health would be well and it was.  And today is another day of waking up with no pain and walking with no help or noise from my mouth because of the pain.  I'm so glad.

I really am so thankful to my Lord for the respite from pain and we're believing that the pain will be gone for a long, long time. 

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The end of the year review

This has been a year of change for me.  Since the purpose of this BLOG was to describe getting old and dealing with it, I'm going to review all the elderly changes that occurred this year.

First, I finally, after over 15 years of severe knee pain, decided to go under the knife and get my knees -- both of them -- replace, totally.  Why, I ask myself, didn't I do that sooner?   I now have no pain in either knee and walking is like walking on air, seriously.

There has been one hitch, however.  After my second surgery, the sciatic nerve -- on both sides, started giving me a terrible time and until recently I have been unable to walk hardly at all, which has been a real bummer since the purpose of getting new knees was so I could walk again.

I still have days when I cannot walk at all.  Take this past Sunday for instance.  I was all ready to go to church, starting toward our in-house elevator to go down to the garage, and BAM! I was hit was a pain in the back of the legs (sciatic) that nearly knocked me down.  Then by afternoon I was walking again, and by evening I was not walking or bending or reaching.  Wierd?  No, for me, that's been the norm since April.

The fibromyalgia problems have been few, but when I have an "incident" -- I don't know what else to call the pain -- it hits hard and fast and usually clears up in a day.  My dear cousin, Joan, who hasn't hit elderly yet, has helped me trememdously to deal with this disease. 

God has been very good to Alan.  He is walking and enjoying some of the things he had forgotten, I think.  He wants a dog.  He wants to walk HIS dog.  I sort of want a dog, but I know I can't take care of it at all since I still can't bend over very often, so picking up dog poop would not be a possibility for me. 

I really have to say that God has been very faithful to me as well.  Lately, my dear husband has taken to praying for me when I am in pain.  It works.  The pain is relieved for hours and now days.  Sciatic pain meds are reduced, and I'm not so loopy as when I take pills for everything that's wrong with me.

SO, what is wrong with me now that I'm going to be 70 in 2013?  Not too much.  It could be worse.
I have normal blood pressure, kept there by that tiny pink pill; no cholesterol problems; weight is down about 40 pounds; the knees work great and I'm climbing and descending much better than I have since the day my son was married (the last time I recall running, or moving quickly, up and down steps); my heart seems to be fine; I have infrequent panic attacks; I droop like I should in all the places we elder people droop; my hair fell out twice due to the epidurals I had this last year and has come back in nice and full and straight; and fibromyalgia, kept under control most of the time. That's about it.  Not bad, eh?

I wonder if I'll live another decade.  I am sure where I'll be when I die so there is no fear to the end of this life.  And I have to admit on the pain-filled days I want to be gone and not have to put up with pain any more, but as the Apostle Paul was known to have an affliction, I, too, have an affliction, and my pain is not as bad as some others I know, so I bear it and move on.

I hear the wind rising and the lights across the street are fading -- the blizzard has arrived.  I shall be ensconsed in my home with my cocoa and later on some soup.  It's that kind of day.

I say to you all, ttfn.

Thanksgiving

I was going to do a Thanksgiving, then and now, BLOG, but decided there are enough Thanksgiving "then" past postings in Runnemede Remembered that I would just opine in my "Fat Lady" BLOG.  First, I want to begin with a short statement, "The Fat Lady is getting thinner, not much, but some."

Now, to Thanksgiving present.

I'm sorry, but this might not be so "happy" as in "Happy Thanksgiving" but nor have the past 10 or so Thanksgivings. 

When I realized about 10 years ago that family Thanksgivings were a thing of the past in my husband's and my life, we tried to take a vacation during that week.  We even went on a Thanksgiving cruise.  The turkey option at dinner was not very good, I'm afraid.  So even that Thanksgiving was sort of blah.  The other years we've not been enjoying a meal with friends and family, and that is not of our choice.  We've just not been invited to participate. 

I don't want anyone to feel sorry for us.  I've felt sorry enough for us except for the vacation years when there was something other than Thanksgiving to occupy my mind. 

I have to insert here that my DIL has invited us to dinner on Thanksgiving on several occasions, but we have been away during those years, and my daughter has invited us to join her and her husband's family, but I really haven't feel comfortable imposing on their Thanksgiving.

This year, a friend who was to be alone on Thanksgiving as were Alan and I, was invited to shared Thanksgiving with us.  I made a turkey dinner with almost all the trimmings.  I didn't make mashed potatoes, but I did make mashed sweet potatoes -- a dish with contains sweet potatoes, maple syrup, butter, and spices. 

I worked for a week slowly and did what I could each day in the approximately four hours of relatively pain free time my body permits, and got it all accomplished.  On the actual DAY I only had to prepare and stuff the turkey, and warm up a few cassarole dishes, and we were set to go.  One thing though, I forgot to salt (or season as the TV chefs call it) the turkey.

Let me tell you, an unseasoned bird isn't very good.  However, the gravy was well seasoned and that helped some.  The left over turkey was saturated with leftover gravy, which I didn't thicken too much so it didn't congeal. 

My friend, Alan, and I had a blessed time.  The food really was good.  And by 4:00 p.m. after our friend left, Alan and I were snoring away, and I didn't get up until the next morning.

I find I'm still sleeping a lot even though my knee surgeries were almost a year ago.  I wonder if maybe the long sleeping times aren't because I'm getting older, and we older folks need more sleep, like babies.  We start out sleeping a long time, then when we're teenagers we sleep a lot, in our twenties through our forties we sleep little, then we gradually add sleep to our daily routine until we are in our dotage at which time, we nod off as soon as we sit in a comfortable chair.

I hope you all had a Happy and blessed Thanksgiving.  I know we did.

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On the road again

Alan and I have had a wonderful time at Tybee Island, GA.  The weather, even when Sandy was churning up the coast was still not bad.  The waves were magnificent, but we had no rain, just lots of wind.  I guess SHE was saving up the rain/snow for the northern coast. 

I remember the 1962 storm which took out whole towns along the Jersey coast.  The current governor is too young to remember that event, and the POTUS was just a toddler.  The devastation along the coast is reminiscent of that '62 storm.  It's not unusual for Jersey to get one or two of those kinds of storms in a century.

When I was a little over a year old I do remember a hurricane (1944) and daddy got out kerosene lamps and a small kerosene heater and we sat in the kitchen with the gas oven on for heat as well as the kerosene heater.   I really do remember sitting in the kitchen and all of a sudden, "THUMP".  A tree went down, but missed the house.  Then right on the heals of "THUMP" number one, we heard another "THUMP".  Tree number two went down.  That was all we had to lose in the back yard.  Fortunately the wind was blowing away from the house, church, and garage.  That year the Jersey coast was destroyed also. 

But, once again, I digress.

Yes, Alan and I are on the road again.  Our last trip for the year.  We'll be home in a couple of days, and my daughter will have to return to her home.  I hope she's had a blessed time in the condo.

I want to get a time share down here.  They are going for $905 dollars.  Can you imagine?  25 years ago they cost around $10,000.  But Alan says, "No thanks." 

I thought I was dead for a couple of days earlier this week.  I had absolutely no pain whatsoever in my legs or arms or shoulders or neck or anywhere on my body.  But after four days of pain-freeness I was knocked to the ground again.  I'm coming out of it now, I think.  I have been exercising like mad to ward off the charlie-horses that are common to me because of fibromyalgia.  I was hoping I had found a formula to rid myself of the pain, but apparently I didn't.   Well, at least I know I'm not dead yet because there will be no pain in heaven.

God was good to give me a few days of respite.  I pray he will once again bless me with deliverance and freedom from the pain. 

FYI, my knees are feeling great, no pain there.  Now, I'm ready to get to today's morning exercises and stretching which seems to help some.

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Back home again

I went down to Mt. Airy, NC, to visit my sister.  I had a great time.  I also had a difficult time.  And, while I was gone, Alan stayed home, and boy did he have problems.

First, I knew the freezer was doing funny things when I left, but I went anyway.  The ice-making machine was dripping and freezing as it dripped.  I had problems with that ice-maker on my GE refrigerator for 10-1/2 years of the 11 years I owned the refrigerator.  And I had service calls galore, and finally stopped getting it fixed.  But this time...

The man from Hagedorn (our local small business folks  who sell and fix kitchen appliances) came and looked at the refrigerator/freezer and said he could fix it, but it would cost over $400 to do so.  Well, Alan decided and I agreed, that a new refrigerator was in order, and it would not be a GE.  All my GE appliances have been duds.  So, I ordered a Frigidaire refrigerator/freezer, side-by-side, counter deep -- it doesn't stick out from the counter -- and I accepted the floor model.  I did this from NC by Internet and phone.  The thing works and I'm so used to going into the freezer to get out some ice, that I still start to do that.  This fridge does give me ice from the door, as well as water.  And the appliance is four inches wider than my previous fridge.

Now, for the down side -- I suddenly realized that white appliances are not easy to purchase.  Everything is stainless steel.  I would have loved to get stainless, but my other appliances are white and I don't think they are going to need to be replaced for a long time -- at least I hope not.  But I was able to get this refrigerator in white.  The one I really wanted didn't come in white. 

Also while I was in NC, the elevator, which was inoperable when I left, continued to be unusable.  Poor Alan.  He called someone to come out and fix it.  They looked at the switch, declared that it was illegal (it passed the state inspection when we put it in with the "illegal" switch) and he wouldn't touch it.  I think he didn't want to touch it.  So Alan called the people from whom we purchased the elevator, not the people we were told to call if there was a problem, and they diagnosed it correctly over the phone.  Now we have an elevator again. 

Because our elevator was out of sorts, I had to use the steps several times.  Going down wasn't too much of a problem, except that I was afraid I might fall, but going up?  Well, I made it up as many times as I had to and then stayed put.

Now, I'm mobile again.  My legs are working great.  My back feels pretty good.  I'm ready to go shopping -- which I did quite a bit of while in Mt. Airy.  I loved the antique shops and spent some money in those stores. 

The best thing is that I lost another two pounds, and I thought I had gained weight while I was at my sister's, because I ate a lot of food, but I guess all that walking around in antique stores and climbing Deb's back steps into the house, was beneficial for a person needing to lose weight.

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Vacation's over

Well, posh.  I had almost finished writing an epistle when I somehow deleted it.  I though Blogspot had automatic backup.  Aparently, it doesn't.

So, here goes again.

We are home from a three-week vacation to two western states -- Colorado and New Mexico.  We have been to both states before.  I had, however, forgotten how beautiful the Rocky Mountains were, or perhaps it was because the last time we were out there we came into Colorado from a different route. 

We spent four days at YMCA of the Rockies which is in Estes Park, CO; one week in Pegosa Springs, CO; and four days in Albuquerque, NM.  I enjoyed every place we visited, but I would love to live in Albuquerque.  A couple of things would be drawbacks to that move:  (1)  Typing Albuquerque stymies me and I have to think of every letter and it slows me down; (2) my children all live within 50 miles of us and that makes for easy visits with grandchildren; and (3) I don't ever want to move, not ever again.  It's too much work, hassle, and trouble.

So, we stay in Northern Kentucky and visit those places we find so interesting and enjoyable.

Since this BLOG is supposed to be about the difficulties we vertically challenged and mobility challeneged people have to endure, I will add only one thing.  The worst part of the trip was still the pain in my sciatic nerve and it slowed me down for several days, two in Estes Park, and two in Pegosa Springs.  It's didn't stop me in Albuquerque, though.  There were no episodes while I was driving, which was for the entire trip and for as many as 12 of our 22 days. 

The worst part of the trip was at the end of each driving day, unwinding to get out of the automobile, getting into a hotel room, and then just waiting for the pain to subside. 

The best part was that we didn't have to visit any hospitals or doctors for the first time in 10 years.  Isn't that a blessing?  I think so.

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Vacation -- part II

I say, part II, because I posted to Runnemede Remembered a tome about distant vacations.

Soon, Alan and I will be taking one of our 2012 vacations.  We're going to head out west (again) and we're praying we won't encounter the awful health problems we encountered last time.  As a reminder, Alan had shingles really bad, and we didn't even know what it was.  Because it was so hot I thought it was prickly heat.  Eventually, Alan decided to go to a hospital and get it looked at.  He was given some meds to lower the pain he was suffering and we moved on to our next stop, where I wrenched my knee.  I had been walking really well until I foolishly turned my body around 180 degrees, but left my knee in its original position.  Then to make matters worse, Alan ended up in the hospital for a week after he collapsed twice at the Grand Canyon.  After the second collapse we both consented to his being sent to a hospital.  After two weeks with friends in  Cody, WY, where Alan suffered quietly, we headed home. 

This time we're hoping to visit Hannibal, MO; Estes Park, CO; Pagosa Springs, CO; Mesa Verde, CO; and Albuquerque, NM. 

Again, I am so fortunate to have someone to take care of the condo while we're gone. 

I might BLOG while we're on the road, but I probably won't.  I hope because I can once again walk and, oh yes, climb stairs (with the aid of a railing), I won't have time to BLOG because I'll be too busy sight seeing.

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I've been neglecting my BLOG duties

I do apologize.  However, this is really a diary of my travels and travails through the 60s (age wise) into the 70s.  I can't believe I'll be 70 next year.  I don't feel that old (until I stand up, that is).  In my mind, I think I'm 20.  Young.

Lately I've been neglecting writing because frankly, I haven't been able to sit at my desk for any amount of time.  I rarely even read my e-mails any more. 

I have had such sciatica since the second knee was fixed that getting out of bed has been terrible. 

My knees are fine and I still do physical therapy to keep them strong and get them stronger.  My goal is to climb stairs.  I practice every day, but I don't seem to be progressing very much.

I had another epidural in my back for sciatica and while I am down to a 5 on the 1-10 pain scale (I was at 8 or 9) I still hurt and doing any kind of bending, even when I don't think I'm bending is awful. 

For instance, just reaching for the faucet in the kitchen, or trying to turn on the stove is terribly painful.  I can't fill or empty the dishwasher.  That little bit of bending makes me physically ill.  So, I do what I can, which isn't much.  I can fill the washing machine and wash the laundry, but emptying the wet laundry into the dryer is another story. 

I can cook, mostly, since I have learned to put my cooking items on the upper shelves of the refrigerator and my pantry has been changed around to accommodate the sciatic pain. 

My therapists are working on the sciatica and it does help some. 

I can now walk if I get myself into a stiffened position after suffering through the standing up process, which is okay.  I have been shoppinig a couple of times, but have not tried food shopping.

So, dear diary, that's where I am at this point in my recovery and frankly I'm quite proud since the knees don't hurt at all.  In fact, I feel like I'm walking on air, which is a hoot, because I tend to float and then almost fall, mainly because I am slow in moving one leg after another and I think I'm moving the legs faster than I am.  That's really hard to describe here.

Alan and I are going to be traveling to Colorado late in the summer and I hope I am able to walk and climb a little bit at least. 

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I'm back, I think

The past few weeks have been a time of rehab, exercise, and pain.  The pain has been coming from my sciatic nerve, not from the new knees.

All the following information is true if I can push through the pain of the sciatic nerve.

I am loving my new knees.  There is no pain whatsoever in them, not even during rehab.  My biggest problem currently is balance and re-learning how to walk.  When you can't walk properly or hardly at all for more than 10 years, your body doesn't react properly to what you did when you were in pain and over-compensating for that pain.

But now...well, if I could run, which won't happen, I would.  I walked quite a bit this past weekend, more than I have since I got the two knees fixed.  I felt it, too!  I couldn't believe that my calves actually hurt from walking.  How long has it been since that has happened?  A very, very long time, and I have loved ever minute of that GOOD pain.

My knees will have ugly scars for the remainder of my life, but I don't care.  I can walk, and I can with care go up steps, very slowly, and rarely.  Curbs don't bother me, but stairs?  I try to avoid them.  I'm still not sure my legs will hold me up -- that old fear factor.  The physical therapist is working on my fears.  At least walking is no longer one of them. 

So, now I am able to cook again, do some cleaning (I still need my friend to do the deep, down dirty stuff).  I can't bend very well because of the nerve problem, which means I can't retrieve things from the refrigerator unless they are at chest level or above.  I'm still not up for doing grocery shopping, and frankly, I may never want to do that ever again.  Four years of having a personal shopper is going to be hard to get rid of.

I had received a packet from the doctor before I had surgery and was warned that this (bending) might be a problem and to put anything I needed to get in the kitchen or bathroom at chest high level.  Reaching up high is not a problem, just bending.  The therapist is working on this also.

I hope and pray I'll be very mobile by the time we go out to Colorado for Alan's high school get together.  Yes, he and other grown-up MKs from RVA are getting together for a reunion at the end of summer.

One more thing in this blurb -- as a result of all this medical stuff, I've lost 30 pounds, can you believe that? 

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