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Monday, April 25, 2011

On the Road Again

Today was a big step for me - I drove for the first time since my surgery. It'll be six weeks Tues. but I felt pretty confident in driving to Edinboro for my bloodwork. I have to admit I was a little nervous at first and even told my husband not to watch me pull out. I spent a little time moving stuff around in the car the way I want it and knowing that as long as I'm driving there's no need to sit in the backseat anymore. Once I got behind the wheel, it was like I never left. I put my Lady Antebellum cd in, cranked it up and took off singing. I felt empowered! The only glitch I felt was when I saw a guy in a big truck swerving onto the berm and back onto the road. My foot hit the brake and I almost took the car off the road. All I thought about was getting into a wreck and with my coumadin, bleeding is not something I want to do. At least I was aware of what was going on around me and I felt I had some control so I didn't panic. I made it to the ACL for my bloodwork and then stopped at Giant Eagle to do a little shopping. It probably took me twice as long by myself but it felt good to browse the aisles. By the time I made it home I was beginning to feel tired and I could also feel the muscles in my chest that I've not used for six weeks. I know I can do it now and little by little I'll get there.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Wake-up Call

Sorry I haven't posted anything for awhile. I've had some bad days and some busy ones, too, and didn't want to come on here and complain too much. There's no doubt I'm frustrated when I have these bad days and my recovery isn't going like I thought it should. Of course, I don't know what I should be expecting as far as my recovery. I saw the doctor the other day and he said he has no doubt that by Labor Day I'll be good as new. Labor Day is in Sept.!!!! What happened to that 2 month recovery time I was told about? If I had more motivation or interest in doing things I'm sure time would go much faster. Right now I'm thinking about my 6-7 weeks after surgery and getting rid of these restrictions. At that point I can get out more and maybe even start exercising. Hopefully that would improve my disposition considerably. Something else the doctor said while I was there that made me stop and think was about my bad days and being thankful I'm having any days at all. I guess I've not had that "wake-up call" with this open-heart surgery. I've never felt that my life was in jeopardy - probably because I had no symptoms before the surgery. This was something I knew I had to have done or it would shorten my life but it never really hit home for me. I think the only "wake-up call" I've had was after my knee injury and I realized how precious walking was. It was after that when I started exercising. Hopefully that will help me through this recovery also.

Friday, April 8, 2011

No Desire for Sweets

Every time I've been in the hospital for some sort of operation, I come home free of cravings. It doesn't bother me while I'm in the hospital, in fact I feel even better with no sugar or fat to affect my body. I remember with my knee operation, I didn't even have hot flashes while I was in there. But then once I get home and back to every day life, those cravings sneak back in and in a short while it's like they never left, until now. When I went for my check-up last week, the CNP told me the 2 things that were the hardest to overcome were eating and sleeping. The day after the surgery they were giving me solid food and I was eating something of everything on my plate. I knew it was important for my recovery. I've continued that since I've been home even though I really don't have much in the way of hunger pains and no desire at all for sweets. In fact, the thought of eating something sweet kind of turns my stomach. I had maple and brown sugar oatmeal yesterday and couldn't manage to finish it. I've come to realize that right now, eating is merely routine for me and something I'm in the habit of doing. I'm suffering right now with a little bit of a queasy stomach - probably from the hot dogs I've had the last couple nights. I'm not sure when or if this all will change for me but for now I can't complain. I thought for sure that during some of my low moments I would have succumbed to those chocolate eggs in the cupboard but nothing. Being such an emotional eater and feeling such a wide range of emotions since my surgery, I'm shocked that I haven't turned to food for support.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

More Commercials

It doesn't take much to get me going on commercials and as I read my DIL's blog it reminded me of one I first saw in the hospital. They are actually selling a spiral telephone cord with a full size handset that you can plug into your cell phone and talk. Who would want that??? Isn't that the whole point of having a cell phone so you can tuck it in your pocket? This was for real, not one of those commercials that make fun of products. Some more of my favorites lately have been the ones about "Missing something" and ads for eyeglasses. I especially like the one about the girl who's on her cell phone and gets into a police car thinking it's a taxi!!! I can't help but chuckle and give a high five to the creator.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Thanks for the Comments

I finally looked back through my blogs and realized I had a few comments on previous postings. Sorry about that. I guess I've just gotten used to not having any and stopped looking. I don't think I'm getting enough feedback as far as my recovery and that's when I start feeling a little low. Then I have a day like yesterday with all the rain and I think it affects my whole body especially with all this metal in it. And, Judy, I'll clarify my cleaning and laundry projects. I'm adhering to my restrictions which are no lifting more than 10 lbs. and raising my left arm over my head. That still lets me do some light cleaning such as dusting, decluttering and dishwasher stuff (didn't intend to do the 3 d's but there you have it). As far as the laundry, my husband and I have a pretty good system worked out. He'll take the hampers down, I'll load the washer, transfer to the dryer and even fold some stuff out of the dryer. He does any heavy lifting and if I'm too tired to make another trip down then he'll run the load through himself. This is at the least keeping me awake most of the day which is in itself quite a chore. I'm feeling stronger everyday and I'm sure it's because I'm doing more. Thanks for your concerns and keep those comments coming.

Monday, April 4, 2011

Overnight Success

There was some overnight success with Tylenol PM that I bought yesterday. I was surprised and concerned that it had 500mg of Tylenol plus the benadryl in each pill and the dose was 2! I just couldn't see myself taking 1000mg of pain medication with no pain so I just took one. Boy, am I glad I only took the one. I really felt groggy all night but it let me move more and get more rest and sleep. One of my goals is to stay in bed all night and not finish my sleep on the recliner. Hopefully I won't have to take these for too much longer now that I'm walking more and more active doing things during the day. We had a good trip to Wal-Mart yesterday and I drove one of the carts. They are very simple to use but my husband said I should have been driving faster. I was more concerned with people walking right out in front of me so I went slower. I especially liked backing up with the beeper!

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Little Walks of Mine

Progress has been slow it seems but when I do go out to appts, etc., everyone seems to comment on how well I'm doing. Of course, I usually find someone who is an expert in the field of cardiovascular surgery and insists on keeping me informed. I have to admit I hate that. I'm thrilled that these people have researched the surgery and are aware of what they are doing or a family member is going through, but I am less than interested in hearing about it. At this stage of my recovery all I'm focused on is my progress and how I feel. So when I started making a loop around the living room, hallway and kitchen and walking for 10 minutes, I was pretty proud of myself. In addition, I felt wonderful and full of energy. But then if I take a couple steps a little too quick, I'm down for the count, huffing and puffing. I suppose I should expect those setbacks and work toward the bigger goal which is stamina. I find myself more able to do things in the kitchen like cleaning up, emptying the dishwasher, etc. and I even made chicken and biscuits last night for supper. Of course, it was leftover chicken and the biscuits were already made but it was a project for me. This week will be 3 wks. since my surgery and traditionally that has been a milestone for me with other surgeries. Only 3 more wks. until I can get behind the wheel and drive!