Hopefully Drawing to a Close

Well... I've just officially passed the 5 week mark on Monday, rapidly closing in on the 6 week mark... My leg is doing a whole lot better than it was, although there is still considerable pain and swelling if I'm sitting up or trying to do a lot for longer than about 5 or 10 minutes. I swear, I never knew skin could turn that particular color purple. And I am due for the pedicure of a lifetime when this is all over.

So, what am I doing with all my spare time?

There's a good reason I haven't posted. The last 39 days have blended into one big, seamless stretch of movie watching and internet surfing. And mostly movie watching. It's only been recently that I've really been able to sit up and tolerate having my leg up while I'm sitting.

A girl in my book club suggested I should get set up with NetFlix again, and they are really taking it on the chin with me. There is a 1 day lag in delivery and return, everything is basically shipped overnight. I returned movies yesterday (and our mail isn't picked up until 4:30pm) and I got an email saying it had arrived this morning at 9 and 2 more films were on their way.

I'll post separately about the movies I've watched and my recommendations.

I feel fairly lucky, really. I haven't had THAT MUCH pain and suffering. In fact, I only used 1 bottle of the 2 bottles of pain pills I was prescribed for this whole thing. And that one bottle was used up almost entirely in the first 2 weeks. The week after the surgery was the worst. I felt so completely out of it and the pain was the most intense. It was also quite bad when the cast came off and I had no support. I remember Sunshine telling me that I had to exercise my ankle, and I looked him dead in the eye and said, "Are you serious!?" He was completely taken aback, as were my sister and I, since I never, ever, ever talk to medical professionals like that.

Well, I'm pleased to say that now I'm able to flex and point my foot like a champion. I'm not able to "twist" it from side to side yet, due to the screw that's still in there, but once that's removed, I feel pretty confident that I'll be in great shape.

I'm still not able to drive, and it's killing me to be inside so much. My father-in-law installed a new screen door while he was here and I can at least now open the front door, look out and get a breath of fresh air. I wouldn't mind a 2 month vacation under most circumstances, but not to be able to leave the house, well, it's not as cool as 2 months to do whatever I want.

So I meet with the surgeon again on March 30th to discuss my second surgery, and after that, I should be walking, driving, and back to work.

A big thank you to everyone who has sent cards and letters and postcards, to everyone who has brought supper, cleaned the house, installed improvements, fixed things, come running the minute our number pops up on caller ID, bought supplies, done our grocery shopping, kept me company, left me alone, and also provided my primary caregiver, Judy, with the support she needed.

We are truly blessed, and I am so, so grateful to each of you, I can't express it. Words literally fail. THANK YOU!