.. boredom sets in.

17 days post-op. Last week I had big hopes of posting daily. Well .. i have never really successfully kept a journal so how could I expect to keep a blog. So, it's been over a week since my last post. Things have improved.. my pain has subsided. I'm no longer taking morphine which has done wonders for my ability to go to the bathroom. It was a problem, and I was getting really sick of prune juice. Now I'm only taking tylenol.. it doesn't totally work, but I can live with a little discomfort. It reminds me to be careful.

I'm pretty much completely independent now. My husband went back to work on Monday and I get thru the day without a problem. I can take showers, get dressed, make or get myself some food (like toast, fruit, etc..). I am using crutches and have mastered carrying books and magazines around while crutching. I can carry some stuff in a plastic grocery bag if I need to. This is how I've been getting and carrying the mail.. a highlight of each day.

Much of my independence is due to this wonderful grabber tool thing that we bought at a local medical supply store. It enables me to do all these things. I always have the grabber with me - I can pick things up, turn on the t.v., get towels out of the closet, pick up clothes, etc..

I've been trying to get out daily .. sometimes just crutching up and down the driveway. But lately I've been having my husband or sister take me on bigger outings to stores. I get around pretty well with my wheelchair on these outings.. crutching thru a store is too exhausting, so I prefer the wheels. Yesterday I went to the mall and that was an adventure in obstacles .. even after the ADA, the world is still not all that accessible to people in wheelchairs. It was frustrating. The big box stores are better.. Target and Home Depot were a breeze to cruise around. I bought myself some underwear at Target that doesn't rub against my incision so I can stop going Comando, as I've been doing for two weeks. I even went out to dinner last night with my friends to the Cheesecake Factory.. it was fun, but I think sitting upright for that amount of time was too much for my hip. It was very stiff and uncomfortable when I stood up from the table, and hurt on the car ride home. I had to take a morphine pill to sleep last night.

I'm seriously considering going back to work next week for a few days. Part of me thinks it might be pushing it though, because I haven't heard of anyone going back to work in 3 weeks after a PAO. My joint is still fragile and I probably shouldn't expose myself to risk. Home = Safe. I'll see how I do this weekend.

My worst pain now is my tail bone, and I think it is from sitting so much as opposed to the surgery. Pain from my hip is only when I move my leg and hip in a direction they don't want to move.. from time to time I step wrong.. today my toe got caught on the carpet when I was crutching so it pulled my leg backwards. Ouch!

Perhaps I'll start to post more often. Probably not though. Off to Lowes to pick up a new sconce for the hallway. Getting out is keeping me sane. Boredom is setting in. Today I read a book start to finish.