Last Sunday evening Sarah was rapidly oscillating between telling us all of her ailments and happily running around pretending to be the big red panda from Turning Red. We tried to ascertain if there was anything she was stressed about regarding Monday, but we weren’t able to get any information that felt current. She did go to school on Monday and handled her extra long days with rehearsals beautifully. On Monday rehearsal went long and then some parents talked with the teacher afterwards, meaning Sarah got home in time to hand me her backpack and get in Anna’s car to go to her swim lesson!
Mr. _____ came to a rehearsal one day and clearly it made a big impression on Sarah. She talks about him often and wants to pretend to be him as he conducts. Her version of this is to wave at us and say, “All right! Listen up, Lost Kids!” That’s as far as it goes. Last night she sent me texts of “Sarah” and “Dad.” I wrote back, “Yes, Mr. ____?” She thought that was hilarious. She also likes to re-enact a scene from Turning Red between the mom and the kid, so the rest of us are often pretending to poof into big red pandas. Luckily these two routines give us some respite from Sarah wanting to talk about the no-longer-used nickel chart.
We have learned that we need to give Sarah Claritin even if nothing presents outwardly regarding her seasonal allergies. She used to get itchy eyes and a runny nose. Now it all just invisibly goes down her throat and gives her a cough and too much phlegm. Her doctor said that is common and it does seem that daily Claritin has helped.
Amy had a good week and is now on spring break. Sarah’s spring break starts later this week. Carl had a super intense busy week so it has been helpful that I’m more capable of helping around the house. My recovery continues but not always in a linear fashion. It seems that as I get stronger then it is easy to overdo it without knowing I’m overdoing it until it is too late. Then I pay for it with an extra-achy night and needing to rest a lot the next day. Some nights had so much achiness and pain that I thought something was wrong, and yet once I was up and moving around for a couple of gentle hours then I felt back to my normal level of slight stiffness and discomfort. There are times that I feel quite disheartened and sad and other times I feel hopeful and can see how I will eventually be on the other side of all of this. I hardly ever need to use my walker anymore, which is great because I have calluses on my hands from using it so much. There were some advantages to it though because if I just use the cane then I have to make many more trips in the kitchen since I don’t have my walker basket in which to pile many things. I have taken a couple teeny tiny baby steps without any support, but I can tell I’m not really ready for that yet. I tried sitting in my car and driving forward a few inches and then back. That was enough to tell me I am not quite ready to drive. Mainly it is not comfortable to sit in the seat. Sitting with my hips at right angles is often a bit uncomfortable. Or it if is comfortable then the discomfort comes when I stand up, and I need to just stand for a few moments before I’m able to walk. There is usually a moment in every day when I reach my limit and don’t want to walk anymore for anything. Luckily this usually coincides with Carl being available to finish whatever needs to be done.
I have read many books. I have ventured outside to sit on our porch swing for short bits of time when it was warm enough (and not hailing as it did yesterday!) I also got a new dishtowel about wearing a crown made of the femurs of one’s vanquished enemies. I love the concept and yet it really makes no sense. Femurs are way too big and heavy. Or would this be a crown made just of the parts removed during hip replacements? I still think that would be too heavy, but crowns aren’t known for being light.
Our cat is often super helpful, positioning herself on the stairs and rolling around so I can’t get past. She has always done this but when I was fully functional I would just take a huge step to get over her. Now I need someone else to find a toy to throw so she will move.
Last night Amy decided to dress up like me. She put on the paper tiara she made for me before my surgery. Then she wore one of my t-shirts and put her hair up in one of my hair clips. She donned my fuzzy blue bathrobe that I often wear on top of my clothes to be warm, grabbed one of my stuffed animals from my bookshelf, and held my cane. It was hilarious and she was cracking herself up too. Note that she couldn’t wear my ubiquitous orangish sweatpants that are seen in almost all pictures of me lately. I bought them just for this recovery time and thank goodness I did. It is not comfortable to have anything pressing against my leg, so wide-leg sweatpants it is!
Sending you all lots of love for whatever part of your journeys you are navigating.
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