#1 love...

That would be my “grabber.” My (current) #1 LOVE. I’ve shared I’m a recent hip replacement patient. (A cute friend told me she calls grabbers “magic wands.” CLEVER.)

As I’ve also shared—I cannot CANNOT CANNOT bend over. To pick anything up. NOTHING. I have to use this grabber/magic wand (the long thing next to my sock-putter-on thing in the above picture) to help myself get dressed, too.

Let me say this: I’ve never dropped so many items in my life as I have the past two weeks. Truth. Murphy’s Law, I guess.

Here’s what happened this morning:

My Sweet Hubby (aka MSH) had waited for me to get out of my shower before he left for the grocery store. He drove off while I put some makeup on and then was going to get dressed. (More jammies. My 24/7 outfits...JAMMIES.) As I was about to get some socks on, I dropped my magic wand.

EEEKKKKKK!!!!!!! I think I actually might have said a not-nice word. Then I got up from our closet chair—put my slippers on—and schlepped into our den.

I could have gone into the kitchen and gotten some long tongs out of a drawer or looked for MSH’s pantry grabber to take back to our closet to pick up my magic wand. I was pooped. I’d lost interest in socks. I needed to sit and ice my hip.

BUT...trust me...I LOVE MY MAGIC WAND! I see it becoming a permanent necessity for the rest of my life.

Gotta scoot. Watching the Super Bowl! And also getting sleepy. Clearly worn out from my morning work.

Have a FABULOUS First WEEK in FEBRUARY, Friends!

Hugs,
ELC

...more love...

February! Tomorrow! Actually in just a couple of hours. 

WHHAAATTTT?????

So guess what we’re going to do? All during the month of LOVE?

Yep! We’re each going to share 14 things we love! 

Now don’t think you’ll have to read 28 posts. We may share three things in one post. Or ten! Or one. A total of fourteen for TLC. Fourteen for moi. 

May be a book. A food product. An IG person or company. 

Get ready! (We may be surprising each other.)

Buh Bye, January! It’s been...well, real. (Winky. Wink.)

Hugs and Smooches...

xoxxooxxx

ELC

...tales from the couch...

Here I am! Doing what I currently do. Sittin’ on my couch. Makin’ myself get up and walk and do my hip replacement “exercises” periodically. I’ve now had three showers since January 15th. That is BIG, Y’all. Yippee!

This past Friday, TLC, Little Leighton (aka LL) and Belle came over to see me and My Sweet Hubby (aka MSH) and have lunch with us. TLC had decided to keep LL home from school. She’d been to the nurse’s office the day before at school with a tummy ache.  She seemed to still be a bit puny when they got up that morning. (Belle doesn’t go to pre-school on Fridays.) So a visit to Grammy and Pa-Pa’s was something we were all excited about!

After lunch, Grammy laid on the twin bed designated as LL’s (and the one I’ve been sleeping on since I got home from the hospital—our master bedroom bed is too high and scary for me at this point...), and I watched LL and Belle play. I watched them watch TV. They were welcome entertainment! They came to our casa in their jammies. (Of course they fit right in with moi.) Here are My Sweet Princesses...busy:

And here is TLC—purging and organizing in our other guest room:

Yes—that closet has been quite awful. In my defense, I’ve been waiting for a free 3-4 days in a row to work in it myself. Winky. Wink. TLC couldn’t take it any more.

I occasionally checked on her. But my physical therapist came at 12:15 and kept me from monitoring TLC for almost 50 minutes. I’ll never know what I lost forever during that time. I guess I must admit it’s okay. If I don’t remember now what was in the boxes she went through, would I ever remember?

So this “recovery” is not going exactly the way I expected. I’ve had two rough weekends. I’ve cried. I’ve whined. I’ve had moments of regret, fear, confusion and, yes, anger. But this much I can tell you: I had no choice. My hip was causing me unbearable pain. My doctor told MSH and TLC—after my surgery—and me, the next morning—that I had a muscle tear he fixed and it was certainly contributing to my awful pain. It had to be done.

I’ve become expert at getting around with my walker! (If you’d told me when I was 40, 50 or even 60 that I’d have to use a walker when I was 65, I doubt I would have believed you.) My “grabber” (I cannot bend over for at least six weeks and I use it to pick up all kinds of things I drop/need/want.) is my third best friend after MSH and TLC. And then there’s this lifesaver...my sock-assist:

I sit in the chair in my closet and get my clothes and socks on using my grabber and sock thingy! like a professional joint replacement patient. I feel like I could enter a timed contest and win! (Thank you to whoever thought of both of these invaluable inventions!)

Hope Y’all never need a joint replacement. Truly. But if you do? I hope you have it done at a top-notch hospital by a wonderful doctor. That you have a MSH and TLC in your life, family and friends that encourage you and help you. That you have entertainment and distractions as PRECIOUS as My Princesses! And a grabber and sock thing to make your life a wee bit easier.

Happy Monday! Happy New Week!

Hugs...
ELC

...ruthless...

I have a new hip! I’ve not been the “patient” I expected to be. Many people that have had this surgery had shared with me how “wonderful” it was and that I’d have regrets I’d not done it sooner. I apparently thought the moment I woke up from anesthesia and surgery I’d be healed and rarin’ to go. Not so much.

I’d had two hip injections at the hospital where my replacement took place. So I was confident it would be top notch/first class. It didn’t disappoint me. The nurses and staff were all beyond magnificent! I checked in at 12:30 noon a week ago this past Wednesday. I stopped remembering anything at about 3:10 when the anesthetist started putting me to sleep. I have about one minute of memory in Recovery. At 6:30, I was in a room and looking at My Sweet Hubby (aka MSH) and TLC.

MSH told me what the doctor had explained to them at the end of my surgery. I insisted MSH go home to check on Sweet Buddy Bear at 7:00. He needed rest and sleep. He’s 75. It’d been a long day. TLC was staying a bit longer. But I couldn’t stay awake so I insisted she, too, go home at 8:00. The rest of the night? I remember nothing until a respiratory therapist woke me up to breathe into a little machine thingy at 4:30 Thursday morn.

My doctor came by to see me at 6:00. He told me I should be able to go home later that day. MSH and TLC both came back around 9:30. The day was filled with a couple of pretty-good meals. Physical Therapy. Help from the awesome nurses. Hospital “stuff.”

MSH and I were able to head home at 4:30! From the moment I arrived at my casa until this morning, it’s been hard. Happy. Hopeful. Nice. Not so nice. Emotional. Frustrating. Good. And tough. FANTASTIC. All of that. And more.

I’ve had two visits from a SWEET Home Health Nurse. Three from a Physical Therapist. (He was my PT for almost three months last summer! That’s been a nice surprise.) I’ve tried to drink lots o’ water. Do my exercises. Not snack or eat too much. Get up and move around as much as possible.

I had to take myself off the prescribed pain medication last Saturday morning. It was causing me extremely scary side effects. Extra Strength Tylenol has been all I’ve had. Not quite enough but, well, my only choice.

I’m not sleeping great. I can’t bend over past a 90-degree bend at my waist for any reason. (Just be aware of how often you do this every day. It’s quite alot. I have a “grabber” to help me retrieve things I’ve dropped/I need.) I took my first shower a week after surgery. (That was heavenly.) I’m sore and stiff and must use a walker, of course, everywhere I go in our house. I’ve cried. Probably too much.

But through this whole experience, MSH has been his usual AMAZING self. My ROCK. He’s been my Nurse/Caregiver. He’s fixed every meal for me. He’s done our laundry and errands. He’s encouraged me and listened to me whine. He’s my Forever Hero.

TLC? She’s also been FANTASTIC/wonderful. She’s helped me AND her Dad. I’ve seen Little Leighton and Belle several times and they have been ANGELS.

However, TLC is using this opportunity to purge two of our closets. She loves to organize! (I call her Kanga. From Winnie the Pooh.) She also enjoys—a teensy bit too much—throwing and/or giving away ALOT of things she deems unnecessary. She. Is. Ruthless. I’m mostly thrilled she’s willing to help me. (She needs to do this purging/organizing thing for a living. I’m worried, though, she’d melt down when confronted with TRUE hoarders.)

So I’m 95% grateful. 5% fearful. Grateful for her willingness, time and energy. Fearful she’ll throw out something IMPORTANT. Important to ME. She’s coming today with Belle to continue her efforts. I’m determined to keep an eagle eye on her when I can. She’s lightning fast. I’ll have some trouble monitoring her. Now that I’m basically a sloth. Have I told you how much I love her? More. Than. Life. Itself.

Deep down in my very soul, I’m deeply appreciative of my doctor and all the nurses that have given me the opportunity to be out of immense, 24/7 pain. I cherish MSH and TLC and My Little Princesses. I’m beyond blessed to have caring family and FABULOUS friends who have prayed for and encouraged me.

Recovery and healing will take longer than I expected. I CAN do this! I’ll pray I don’t have to go through this fun ever again. Winky. Wink.

Happy Friday! Be safe. Be happy. Be healthy and strong. Be KIND. (Take care of your body/joints. They’re apparently important.)

Hugs...
ELC