Random Musings

I’ve got a couple of un-related things to share. Actually, they’re all related to my bum knee, but that’s pretty obvious at this point. I just can’t combine them in the same neat, packaged story as my previous posts, and alone they aren’t worthy of “feature” status as a stand-alone blog entry. But they’re still important enough (relatively, of course; “everything in life is relative” is one of my favorite expressions) that I wanted to share them.

• Fierce independence – On Thursday I continued my series of “firsts.” I got in and out of the bed on my own for the first time. I brushed my teeth in my own sink for the first time (previously Christina had brought a toothbrush and cup of water to bed). I used the grown-up potty for the first time (though I missed my urinal bottle, which is frightening). Later that day, I used the Cadillac of toilet seat risers for my first poop. I’m not sure which was odder – dumping on an elderly crapper without incident, or going 8 days between poops. And, drumroll please, I showered for the first time. Major adventure. I had to disrobe before crutching from the bed to the shower. There’s nothing more humiliating than naked crutching. We inserted a shower seat in the middle of the shower, held down by special adhesive bubbling. The seat is basically a white, plastic bench about as tall as a desk chair. There’s a red handle on the side furthest away from the shower head. I sat on the seat facing the shower door, with my left side closest to the shower head, using my right hand to grip the handle and leverage my bum knee. Getting into the shower was difficult. The doorway is fairly narrow, there’s a slight step up into the shower, and the shower seat is 1 foot away from the shower entrance. The placement alone is difficult to maneuver to, but then I’ve got to do it going sideways and backwards, on a potentially slippery surface, while keeping my right leg – which is encased in a multiple hefty bags to keep dry – elevated, and avoid banging it against things. This easily could be an Olympic sport. The shower itself was uneventful, though I felt bad for Christina because she had to sit just outside the shower, holding my right leg just off the ground. I did the best job possible. I still stink, but I’ll no longer turn heads. I figure I did no worse cleaning myself than little kids.

• Recurrence of shin pain. For the first time since Day 2, my osteotomy hurt. Perhaps the pain was a gentle reminder that I pushed myself too much during the day. Whatever the reason, I realized that life really sucks when your shin throbs uncontrollably.

• Home PT. With Christina’s help, I completed my first round of home exercises. After postponing the start of PT an hour or so because my shin hurt, we removed the knee brace on our own for the first time. Christina was more nervous handling my heavily bandaged knee than holding our oldest child as a newborn. We should’ve stuck on my leg a large “FRAGILE” sticker.