7 weeks Post Op!

Well... things are getting moving around here. The car is moving, my kids are moving, and we are moving in it TOGETHER with mom at the wheel! That's right, this gal is a legal driver again, and this hip, with 6 pins and all, is connected to a foot that makes the minivan go! Hoo-ah!

No more hearing Nick (5) saying, "so, when you're a mom again, you'll take me to karate class, right?" or "when you're a mom again you'll come to my school performance..." He's actually genuinely excited for me, and brags to strangers at the supermarket about my newly-restored driving privileges.

This week of Thanksgiving I am especially grateful to be able to attend all 3 of my kids' school plays/ Harvest Fests/ sliced turkey parties. I am cooking side dishes and pies for my NY family's gathering. In fact, there is much cooking going on, since this was my most-missed skill these last weeks outside of driving. There were some wonderful helpers around here, but all of them could barely operate a microwave, much less whip me up something to ease my Pad Thai cravings.

I have made about 8 trips (as driver, of course)  to our new Trader Joe's in the last week, using their lovely little electric wheelchair with attached basket. That is some serious fun! By the time I work up the nerve to ask them to put my name on the back of it, I'll have to surrender it to someone much more worthy -- but I'l miss the scooter days!

Yes, there is soreness - usually after I've whipped up some pureed roasted veggie soup (like this morning at 7:30 am) and I need to sit down. But even at it's worst, these last 2 weeks at least have seen none of the pain levels I had in my pre-op months. It's time to begin to exhale...

Dr. Feldman and I joked that we'll have to split the "Rock Star" credits at my  6-week check-up on Nov. 19. He gave me a few side leg-lifts to do, as well as permission to start swimming (slowly) again, but no physical therapy until 12 WEEKS (6 to go!), which sure seems like a long time ahead. Scar is healed beautifully, and I am getting around the house cane-free (with a limp). Nick is still awed by this -- "look, Mommy is doing her magic trick again!".

Sometimes it does feel like a magic trick.

Coming up on ONE MONTH Post-op!

It's really something to think that exactly one month ago I was packing my freezer with homemade soups (very spicy, of course) and really hoping that my Living Will was up-to-date and losing a whole lot of sleep. 


What a difference a month makes!


Now I'm hobbling around on one cane -- though doc still says I need 2 so that's what I'll do when "my public" is watching; hiking myself up and down stairs (yes, more than once a day) and definitely getting out every day. I am a "Lady Who Lunches" now! Seen just about every decent movie there is in theaters these days (and some doozies, too). The Life of Leisure is very fun and about time.


Can we talk about the driving thing? So it's against THE LAW to drive before 6 weeks after this surgery - because I am Handi-Capable (which, BTW, made a great halloween costume). So girls like me -- even though I am narcotic-free now, cannot get behind the wheel, even to drop my little Sweets at a playdate or karate class 2 minutes away. Grrrr. But I am getting that badge thing for my rear-view mirror and look forward to activating My Special Parking Spot. Yeah, you bet! 


BUT I sound ungrateful. Rest assured, I am, as I sit around day after day in a bored and restless stupor, very grateful indeed. This recovery has gone remarkably well, beyond anyone's expectation (including my rock star surgeon). Was it the hours of distance swimming and completely psycho-cardio spin classes I took for the months leading up to it? Perhaps it was the recent hours (weeks?) of looking up old friends on Facebook or reading every posting in the Huffington Post? Was it the globally renowned rock-star surgeon? Do I have superpowers or even superbones (which is possible -- I have never cut through them before!)?


We may never know. Pretty sure it's been dumb luck so far.


But thank you for continuing to check on me and send me fabulous gifts (well, many of you, anyway:)).


Next MD visit: Nov 19 -- may I receive blessings to return to The Road! After all, a Trader Joe's just moved in a mile from my house. I may not have the strength to resist. Traveler's beware.