Surgery

My absence from this blog was due to the first real surgery I've had in my life.  Sure, I had a double hernia replaced when I was a month old, but how many of us remember anything from that time in our lives?  I can't remember much from before I was five-years-old, although Karen remembers things from an earlier age, perhaps three-years-old.  Girls, as they say, do develop faster than boys.

While I was home recuperating from this first adult surgery, I was pretty bored in between the therapy sessions designed to rehabilitate my hip.  Sleep was a difficulty for the first two weeks, contrary to what some would think.  Between having to be attached to a device designed to prevent blood clots from reoccurring and to ice my surgical scar and the pain of not being able to sleep comfortably on my side as is my wont, it was pretty miserable.  Just recently I've begun to sleep through the night -- five weeks after the surgery.

Add to that having to use a walker, which then became a cane, and one can imagine the fun.  The best part about it is that I get to do this again come May. 

Despite the relative difficulties which, by the by, were far worse for Karen than for me -- I'm not the world's easiest patient simply because I don't like the thought of others having to do things for me -- I was able to take notice of some things during my recovery:

--  I love war movies.  I own plenty of them.  They never get old.  But there are only so many war movies I can watch over a two week period.  I watched the following movies during my recovery at home:  Lone Survivor, Zero Dark Thirty, Sahara, We Were Soldiers, Band of Brothers, Zulu, Platoon, Gettysburg, and a few more I can't remember.  I would have watched The Pacific as well if I hadn't misplaced it.

--  Carrying plates of food or glasses of beverages is possible with a walker or a cane if one practices.

--  Likewise, putting on pants or socks even with surgically repaired legs is possible is one is careful.

--  I've noticed I have a unique problem with food.  No, I've actually lost weight over the past month, not gained it.  But once when I went to the freezer for the ice pack for my hip, I noticed a package of sausages I'd bought before my surgery.  They're still good -- Karen wouldn't eat them, but she wouldn't eat them if they were freshly made -- but for some odd reason, I'll buy food I want to eat and put it away, as if for a rainy day.  We're not in wartime conditions, nor is food being rationed, so there's no logical reason not to eat it.  It's as if I'm storing nuts away for the winter that never gets here.  The sausages are on my menu for the weekend.

--  A few years ago, someone circulated one of those games that people with too much time on their hands devise:  Thirty corporate logos that we all see everyday -- name them.  Well, I've come up with a twist on this game:  After sitting home watching endless hours of television, I've noticed the pharmaceutical industry could be used for the same purpose:  We've seen all these drugs advertised -- Xarelto, Movantix, Osphena, Humira, Lyrica, Viagra, Eliquis, Xeljanz, Celebrex, Restasis -- but how many of can remember what the drugs are designed to treat?  Unless one is taking the drug, it's unlikely someone can name with accuracy what each of these drugs is used to treat.  What's more, there seem to be new drugs every week!  A far more difficult test would be to list the potential side-effects accurately.

--  Having the love and support of a person whom one cherishes is humbling.  Listening to Karen take over the chores while I sat on my keister, helpless, was beyond frustrating.  In fact, the memory of it saddens me to my core.  At the same time, I realize just how fortunate I am to have her.  I think about so many people who don't have someone who, thoughtfully and selflessly, would do for them what Karen did for me.  In some ways, I had two surgeries, one actual -- my hip -- and one virtual -- my heart.  Everyone should be as lucky as I am.

(c) 2017 The Truxton Spangler Chronicles