giving thanks

I have so much to be grateful for. A loving family, all healthy, a lovely house in the woods, many friends, plenty to eat, the breath and yoga.

I am incredible grateful to the surgeon who performed the miracle that is my new hips. To be able to walk.sit,sleep,kneel without pain seems truly a miracle. This past week I was fortunate enough to be in FL with my teacher Gabriella and to discover that there was still a lot of asana that I could do. It will be a slow journey but I am still revelling in what I can do without pain.

I am looking forward to a lovely thanksgiving dinner with my daughter and son-in-law and 2 of my grandchildren. I will miss the rest of my family some of whom are gathered in Boston with my son and the Mexico group.

I hope all of you are enjoying this day of thanks wherever you are.

coming up to 8 weeks since left hip done

Today when I hiked up the mountain behind our house which goes from 900' to about 1200' I was able to step up on a log with my left foot. this may not seem like such a big deal but for the last few months even getting my left leg over the log was a big painful effort. I felt so uncertain on my legs after the operations as you loose your proprioception because there is no feed back from inside the hip, and now I'm feeling much more confident.
I'm even feeling my old energy coming back in spite of not sleeping well. Being able to bend over and get back up without pain seems so miraculous each time I do it. I got used to counting the steps everywhere to see if I could minimize the effort by carrying a number of things at one time. Now I cross the kitchen and back with nary a thought.
I'm looking forward to taking my first yoga class in ages on Sunday. In my own classes I am a beginner again and it's okay. next weekend I go to Chicago to be an assessor in training for the certification of beginning Iyengar teachers. I've been on the other side so I know what a scary process it is.
Shortly after that Jack and I go to the Outer Banks for a week I can't wait. We usually bird watch, walk the beach and eat lots of seafood. At least this year I will really be able to walk on the beach and not be looking for the nearest place to sit down.

able to hike again

I was so excited last Sunday as Jack and I went up into the Blue Ridge and did a short hike. It felt so good.
Yesterday I climbed up the hill behind our house to a place near the top where we have added, over the years, to a pile of rocks that was there. The rule is you must bring a new rock to add to the pile when you come to it. I was so thrilled to get up there as it's quite a climb and I hadn't done it for over 6 months. You cannot imagine what it feels like to be able to lift your leg to step over a fallen tree without pain!

My cane is gone so I feel more like a normal person each day. I continue to go to PT and it's hard work but I feel each new day brings new strengths.

I had my checkup with the surgeon and xrays showed " a matched pair of hips" according to the surgeon. Sounds like good news to me. I'm going to try some standing poses this week as he cleared me to cross my legs (on the right). It's useless to ask him about what poses I can do so I'll simply let pain be my guide.

Again thanks for all the support and food!

some things lost, some things gained

Tomorrow will be 4 weeks from surgery. I have been forced to take coumadin since the operation and am supposed to take it for 6 weeks ,but as I stopped the last time at 4 weeks, I'm doing that again. I am very active so it seems to me the risk of clots is slim.
the nurse comes once a week to measure the level and in spite of increasing the dose I haven't gotten to a 2 yet ( optimum level) so it seems rather pointless to continue.

I noticed today that when I bend forward from the hips I don't have groin pain, nor do I have it when I stand up from sitting and best of all when lying down and doing straight leg lifts there is no pain. This is something i have not been able to do for about 3 years!

Trying to do some yoga poses is another thing. When I think back to the days of dropping back to a back bend from standing, it seems like another lifetime. On the other hand my progress from day to day amazes me. I can and do walk mostly cane free in the house. I feel fairly upright also something I wasn't able to do for years. I can even stand one legged on the new hip side.

Again I have been enjoying cooking though as usual I overdid it and have a back spasm today.
But I have also truly enjoyed the great food we've been brought, including fresh picked green beans and dahlias

One thing I've lost and don't know why my facebook account has been "disabled". I didn't realize how addicted I was to it till I don't have it. So I don't know what anybody is doing.

3 weeks out

Yesterday was 3 weeks from surgery. I reread my blog to see where I was on the other hip at this time. My PT came today but I was somewhat hindered by a sore foot. She discovered that the arch on that side was slightly fallen leading to pain in that bone that sticks out just above the arch. this also contributes to knee pain. You think that just replacing the hip will cause an end to all problems but the reality is that the body has to adjust from the ground up to the new hip. My legs are at last the same length so that I'm sure will cause it's own adjustments in the body.
This is all a good lesson on interconnectedness not only within the body but in the larger world around me. The surgeon needs the support of the staff in the OR but also of the PT's to carry out the rehabbing. Add to that the support from friends bringing food, Jack doing extra duty in dishes and laundry, my son who came for the weekend. I've had a friend send books to read and have enjoyed having time to read.
I learned again how to get up and down from the floor so tried out supported shoulder stand this afternoon.. I'm happy to say it went well and felt great. The last 2 days I've driven myself to my neighbor's heated pool, temp 85. That was a treat. I've made up all sorts of pool exercises for my hip. I hope the weather stays warm for a while so I can do more pool time.
It feels like I'm on this wonderful staycation- if only sleep would come more easily!

home again

I came home on Friday. checking out of the SnF was fast, smooth and painless. When I left the other SNF I had to wait and wait for the paperwork. I heard that the day before I left a woman who had broken her hip and been in there for a month fell as she was saying goodbye to the PT people and broke her other hip!

It was so quiet at home that in the beginning it was a bit unnerving. I managed to get to the farmer's market on Saturday and even cooked a simple meal of chicken breasts and roasted beets. I think jack was glad to have someone cooking and I was glad to eat my own food. I also managed to get in and out of the shower. there is something so healing about water.

Sunday I took as a day of rest as sleeping is still a big issue. A friend came and we picked blueberries and the next morning she brought warm blueberry muffins. What a treat.

The home health nurse came on Saturday and said I was very healthy and my wound looked fine. Today the PT came and we did a few exercises. Fortunately it is a woman with whom I have been working the last few months at her facility to build strength in my first done leg. She will come 3 times a week for a few weeks and the nurse comes 2 times a week. I cannot complain about Medicare- I feel well supported.

Tonight friends brought shrimp and grits, roasted veggies, salad and apple crisp. I over ate. No sooner had they left than another student called to find out when she could bring food. I feel very loved and well cared for. I'll probably get fat!

One of my friends does flower arranging and my lovely children ordered flowers from her. I will post the picture tomorrow.

Life is good.

computers drive me crazy

I have spent what little free time I have here the last 2 days trying to retrieve my bookmarks. So far I have not been successful in Mozilla but luckily I also have bookmarks in Safari.

Today was again shower day and what a treat! I was a little more used to someone washing me this time and better able to stand during the whole thing.

as soon as I was through I had to go to OT where I prepared a salad. they had bought some lettuce and the OT brought a tomato and cucumber from her garden plus a few baby carrots from her house. So I washed the lettuce, tore it up, cut up cucumber,tomato and carrots added olive oil,braggs vinegar and a little salt and tossed. this is a test to see can I cope at home. all this was done in the PT room which has 8 PT's and the same number of OT's and all the people they are working with at that time. So while I was making my salad someone was making a toasted cheese sandwich, shrimp stirfry and everyone else was being put through their paces by the various PT's. Talk about a circus!

I ate my salad and daily fruit and veggie smoothie sitting in the sun and barely finished before being whisked back to the same room for my PT. I did my various exercises until 3:30 when my friend Susan came to visit. I was escorting her out when Jack arrived.

He stayed a bit then I worked on the computer then my daughter came with a wonderful dinner-parmesan chicken,asparagus,quinoa and Caribbean black beans.

I plan on going home on Friday and since I've passed my tests and the PT's think I'm doing well,I can walk with a cane again.

Just had a nurses aide who turned down my bed, she was from Liberia and has 9 living children.

What a place.