Tues, 29 Nov 2005
My Dear Friends,
Got my staples removed yesterday afternoon. It wasn't too painful. Felt like being pinched 34 times. At least she didn't use one of those claw-like staple removers from Office Max! She had a thin tool that slipped underneath the staple to straighten it and pop it right out. Had a little problem about halfway through...she hit a nerve that caused a thigh muscle spasm. Found that pressing the palm of my hand down on the muscle prevented it from happening again as the doc finished. When I asked why that happened, the doc said it was a "random occurrence". No one knows why. She taped me up with some "steri-strips" and said to come back in a month for a check-up. That was that.
She OK'd me to start chemo next week but I told her I was putting it off a week. She said I do not need any radiation in the area. We are still waiting for the pathology report to find out the properties of the tumor. I'll give it another day before I start raising heck. Two weeks is long enough to wait.
Found an interesting website: www.totallyhip.org It shows what a hip replacement x-ray looks like and the brave among you can click on surgery pictures. No wonder I needed drugs. Ouch!
Check this out: the warning label on my sleeping pills says "May cause drowsiness." I kid you not. I only took them twice. Made me drowsy.
The church ladies have been keeping us well-fed. As we were eating dinner last night, dinner arrived! (The meal that came on Sunday fed us for two nights.) Did some dishes quickly the other day but it's hard to stand at the stove long enough to cook something. Mark is also thankful for the meals.
Dad took me out to lunch this afternoon. Except for hobbling around the fruit market yesterday after treatment, this was the first time I've been out in the real world for any length of time since surgery. It was hard to see all those business people having lunch and going back to work, and back to their normal lives. Reminds me of how far off the beaten path I have fallen. Mostly, I try not to think about that, as crying takes too much energy. Speaking of work, I found out before surgery that the job I'd lined up for tax season fell through. I would have probably had to cut my hours anyway due to chemo. Not sure what my next move will be now...
As for mobility, I'm able to get into the car by myself, without Mark holding up my foot. Not sure if I mentioned that before. I can also get into bed by sitting down and using the side of our rectangular wastebasket as a stepping stone as I slowly turn to lie on my back. Still waking up stiff at 4am.
So let me tell you about all the tools in this "hip kit" I bought. This is in addition to the walker, which I don't use, and the "shower transfer chair". That's a bench that sits 2/3 in the shower and 1/3 outside the tub. Carefully lifting each leg over the side of the tub, you sit and scoot. Sorry for the visual.
The hip kit has several tools. The first is simply a long shoe horn, so I don't bend. I do rely on the benevolence of my family to tie my tennis shoes, though. The second tool looks like a horse whip. It's a metal rod about three feet long covered with sturdy blue material. There's a loop on each end. One end goes around my foot and the other around my hand. The purpose is to raise my leg into bed or into the car, but I don't use it. Seems it'd be good for whacking unruly kids in the old days. Another tool that's neat is the claw, a long rod with a grabber on the end. Good for reaching the remote. The tip is magentic, which I found out when I picked up a bookmark off the floor. They also gave me a yellow sponge on a blue stick, for those hard-to-reach toes in the shower. The last tool is for putting your pants on without bending. It's a U-shaped piece of plastic about 9 inches long, with two ropes attached. You put the plastic inside the bottom of your pant leg then toss the pant leg on the floor. You put your leg in the pants, through the plastic, and pull up on the ropes. Pretty cool.
Mark got tickets for the Trans-Siberian Orchestra next Friday night. The Palace has seats set aside for handicapped people. They have courtesy wheelchairs and told Mark I would only have to go up two steps once we get to our section. Hopefully, that will work out.
Thank you for you continued prayers.
Love,
Jeanette
Got my staples removed yesterday afternoon. It wasn't too painful. Felt like being pinched 34 times. At least she didn't use one of those claw-like staple removers from Office Max! She had a thin tool that slipped underneath the staple to straighten it and pop it right out. Had a little problem about halfway through...she hit a nerve that caused a thigh muscle spasm. Found that pressing the palm of my hand down on the muscle prevented it from happening again as the doc finished. When I asked why that happened, the doc said it was a "random occurrence". No one knows why. She taped me up with some "steri-strips" and said to come back in a month for a check-up. That was that.
She OK'd me to start chemo next week but I told her I was putting it off a week. She said I do not need any radiation in the area. We are still waiting for the pathology report to find out the properties of the tumor. I'll give it another day before I start raising heck. Two weeks is long enough to wait.
Found an interesting website: www.totallyhip.org It shows what a hip replacement x-ray looks like and the brave among you can click on surgery pictures. No wonder I needed drugs. Ouch!
Check this out: the warning label on my sleeping pills says "May cause drowsiness." I kid you not. I only took them twice. Made me drowsy.
The church ladies have been keeping us well-fed. As we were eating dinner last night, dinner arrived! (The meal that came on Sunday fed us for two nights.) Did some dishes quickly the other day but it's hard to stand at the stove long enough to cook something. Mark is also thankful for the meals.
Dad took me out to lunch this afternoon. Except for hobbling around the fruit market yesterday after treatment, this was the first time I've been out in the real world for any length of time since surgery. It was hard to see all those business people having lunch and going back to work, and back to their normal lives. Reminds me of how far off the beaten path I have fallen. Mostly, I try not to think about that, as crying takes too much energy. Speaking of work, I found out before surgery that the job I'd lined up for tax season fell through. I would have probably had to cut my hours anyway due to chemo. Not sure what my next move will be now...
As for mobility, I'm able to get into the car by myself, without Mark holding up my foot. Not sure if I mentioned that before. I can also get into bed by sitting down and using the side of our rectangular wastebasket as a stepping stone as I slowly turn to lie on my back. Still waking up stiff at 4am.
So let me tell you about all the tools in this "hip kit" I bought. This is in addition to the walker, which I don't use, and the "shower transfer chair". That's a bench that sits 2/3 in the shower and 1/3 outside the tub. Carefully lifting each leg over the side of the tub, you sit and scoot. Sorry for the visual.
The hip kit has several tools. The first is simply a long shoe horn, so I don't bend. I do rely on the benevolence of my family to tie my tennis shoes, though. The second tool looks like a horse whip. It's a metal rod about three feet long covered with sturdy blue material. There's a loop on each end. One end goes around my foot and the other around my hand. The purpose is to raise my leg into bed or into the car, but I don't use it. Seems it'd be good for whacking unruly kids in the old days. Another tool that's neat is the claw, a long rod with a grabber on the end. Good for reaching the remote. The tip is magentic, which I found out when I picked up a bookmark off the floor. They also gave me a yellow sponge on a blue stick, for those hard-to-reach toes in the shower. The last tool is for putting your pants on without bending. It's a U-shaped piece of plastic about 9 inches long, with two ropes attached. You put the plastic inside the bottom of your pant leg then toss the pant leg on the floor. You put your leg in the pants, through the plastic, and pull up on the ropes. Pretty cool.
Mark got tickets for the Trans-Siberian Orchestra next Friday night. The Palace has seats set aside for handicapped people. They have courtesy wheelchairs and told Mark I would only have to go up two steps once we get to our section. Hopefully, that will work out.
Thank you for you continued prayers.
Love,
Jeanette
posted by Mark Kappe @ 12:38 PM
1 Comments:
At 3:42 AM,
Marcy said…
Hi Jeanette!
Thank you for the wonderful reports you are posting. Your struggle, courage and humor all shine through! Sharon and I look forward to rescheduling our lunch date when you are up to it. Prayers and love to you and your family!
Marcy
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