Tomorrow will be one week since my surgery and things are going well. I'm slowly getting my life back. I'm still not back to normal but at least my entire existance isn't consumed with pain management. I have my incision and some residual pain from the compressed nerve but I'm told that will eventually go away. I have to abide by some restrictions over the next 6-8 weeks, mainly no lifting over 10 lbs. I'm also not supposed to sit for more than 10 minutes at a time but I'm finding that to be easy with four kids to take care of.
The main challenge now is taking care of Mia. She's about 11 lbs. so I'm ok carrying her. I can't bend over to lift her from her crib or swing or go from sitting to standing with her. It's a little tricky but we've found some ways to work around my restrictions. The hardest thing is that I'm still not able to go anywhere with the kids because I can't lift Mia in her carseat. That's keeping me close to home and it makes driving Tristan's carpool impossible unless someone is here to leave Mia with.
Yesterday I drove for the first time in almost 6 weeks! It was surreal. It reminded me of when I returned home after spending several weeks in Europe. Everything seemed new. I'd forgotten the presets on my stereo, the DJ on my favorite radio station seemed like a long lost friend. I felt like a tourist as I drove through Kaysville. Really, it was weird. The strangest part was the realization that the outside world was exactly the same but that I had changed. Who could have known that a trip to Albertsons could cause such an epiphany?
Finally, I need to let everyone know that I am, in fact, at home and not in a Utah County rehab facility with Lindsay Lohan and Kirsten Dunst. I know there were many among my friends and family who were concerned that my heavy reliance on oxycontin would lead me there. At least MOST of them were subtle in their concern and didn't actually ask me outright how many pills I had taken that day... and then call me the next day and ask the same question. No, I'm not making this up. I have been thinking, though, since my medical bills have already started rolling in... I could probably sell my remaining oxycontin on the street and pay a lot of my medical bills. Would that make me a bad person?
2 comments:
Michelle, I'm so glad to hear that you are doing better. I loved your comments about driving again after 6 long weeks (I believe I would feel exactly the same way - I'm a big fan of driving). As to the whole "rehab" bit - they say back pain is one of the worst pains there is. Suffice it to say that I know you well enough to know that you're being prudent. Having said that, I'm a little disappointed that you won't have any LiLo and KiDu stories to tell. ;)
So glad to hear the surgery went well and you are beginning to almost feel normal again. I've been hoping to hear how it went. I knew you'd be OK with the drugs, although the Rehab in Utah does get some fun movie stars, and you could've given us some good dirt. J/K!!!!! Look forward to hearing that you are 100% better!!
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