12/13/13 12:57 am

Mariam and i had a good visit last night... 
She was pretty tired but we enjoyed Toni's chili for dinner, and Mariam made fantastic gf cookies. 
A bit of tv, pills and such sorted, and out! 
She left cheerfully this morning for work at 7.

I was comfortable and content to be here alone for the first time for 2 hours. 
Cheantelle came at 9, put on coffee and got us some toast and yoghurt. 
We had a great catch-up blether - this luxury of hours-long patches of time to talk with friends is a jewel in the experience of these surgeries. 
We had the last of the chili for lunch, and my friend and hair stylist, Beverly, came to wash my hair for me.
I highly recommend having someone come in to help with hair washing, particularly if you are a woman (or man! :) ) with long curly hair to deal with. I love my long hair, but I confess it spends most of the time in a braid, post-op.  It makes all the difference to have the help! My hair is so long now that i have to be careful not to sit on it, so the help really saves  muscle strength. 

Toni arrived home with a few groceries as Bev was preparing to go- perfect! 

Today's pain levels have taken a good change for the better, and clearly stronger muscle. 
I notice today that I was able to increase the bilateral nature of load bearing, getting up and sitting down. Markedly less pain, feeling more and more balanced! 
Between this and my increasing abilities; and Toni having a night off from the care that this takes - it was very clear that the air was lighter, the tension and tendencies to misread each other and snap at each other over the last week are nearly gone! 
We both felt it, celebrated it, didn't dwell, and ordered Thai delivery enough for two nights' dinners!! :) 
We ate well and watched some tv and had a few treats ( a little See's candy- we enjoy a bit of it now and then! ) 

Decided to double the bedtime Norco dose for a couple of nights, as that stretch had been too painful after too many hours at a time.. Both of us felt better about it. 
Toni is getting more used to the situation, and is beginning to trust my judgment more as i get more steady. All contributing factors to getting us BACK to where our relationship is, which is loving sisters who very very occasionally have a wee, quickly- fixed spat... It feels wonderful to be back to our normal! :) 


Busy day today, friday the 13th. 
Physical therapy - a good session, and a few more added bits. Shawna taught me how to do ice massage for my knee (the bursa is very sore and tired of doing most of the support work) and added exercise strap work to work the ham strings and build overall thigh strength. 

Another new home nurse, Nancy came. She was great - 62, very cool - but a litle bit old school and doesn't know my case so Toni asking her things about my case makes me feel a little discounted. *I* know my case, norco or not. 
But the Coumadin level is perfect  - I have had near perfect levels throughout for both surgeries, and again I thank my healthy body - 
and I get only one 4 mg tab a day until Tuesday, when they (I hope it will be Nurse Mary again!!) will come and remove my staples - HURRAH! It feels so good - free, and the constriction of the bandage, which you don't quite realize is there, and then the staples being out, are just DIVINE sensations!! No pain whatsoever removing the staples, either. 

A handyman visited to change heater filters and replace a couple of my electrical outlets to bring up code to comply with new laws - great news, since my old outlets were practically useless! 

Leftover delicious Thai food for dinner, medications in their due times, and both Toni and I were ridiculously sleepy! She was off, I waited til 11 for my night dose of norco, and then came to bed (to catch this up a bit first )

More to come... I'll learn more lessons, too, I expect! 
Sea changes- these are what make the process so much more positive as they come! 
Hurrah! 

ZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzz