Well THAT was fun...

I'm wiped. Roll Tide and all that, but DAMN people. I'm thrilled for the win, it is a W one way or the other - but we're gonna have to simmer down (or up?) if we expect to pull off Florida. And no I have NOT forgotten we still have Ms State and Auburn coming up.

We went to campus today to drink and be merry. This is significant because there is now a 1.5 mile walk to get to our favorite watering hole. Seriously, there is NO place to park anymore - so I've had to stay home more weekends than I care to simply because I haven't been able to make the long walk and then stand for hours to watch the game. Today, I did. Small victory, but a good one.

Progress report: I seem to have hit a bit of a plateau with the healing - it is really, really slow. So much so that I almost don't notice when I get a bit more feeling back in my leg/foot. The other day I'd been sitting for something like five hours without getting up (bad idea for ANYONE, btw, even if you have a healthy back) - I got up, freaked out because the numbness was worse, and promptly hauled my butt all over the neighborhood at record speed (for me, for ME - not for oh, say, a turtle but for me). The next day, another good long stretch of sitting. Got up anticipating the shooting pain and numbness...not bad at all. Walked to the coffee pot and realized my calf was really sore. Hm. Well, that sucks. WAIT. WAIT WAIT WAIT a minute! If it is sore, that means I am USING THE MUSCLES. And if I'm using the muscles that means I'm getting some function back! !! ! Soreness! Oh blessed soreness! It hasn't happened since, even though I've walked a lot more than usual. Hoping for more soreness...that HAS GOT to be a good sign, right? For now I'm trying to remember to take a break from sitting. I get so engrossed in whatever I'm doing with work I just forget sometimes (okay, all the time). I have an egg timer that I'm using to help me with work-related tasks...I am thinking about adding a second one to remind me to get up and walk for a few. And I am trying to learn to walk away from this computer for long enough to get in the car and GO SWIM. Down to two days a week: I think I need to push harder.

Still having significant problems with my leg and ankle swelling...just the "bad" side. It happens when I sit for a few hours. I asked neuro about this (can't remember if I blogged this part before), says when nerves are severely damaged they interrupt some fancy process (sorry he goes techie on me at times and I zone out) and somehow they slow the circulation and the ability for the fluids to move through normally. Obviously I was keenly aware of what nerves did in terms of pain and sensation - I had NO idea they controlled or could control all this other stuff. His suggestion to help alleviate the problem: get up and walk, a LOT. He also suggested wearing some sort of grandma foot compression thingy (apologies to grandmas out there) that might keep the swelling to a minimum until my sit time is over for the day. ACK. Can't do it. Just can't bring myself to do it. UGH. Anyway I'm losing my battle with that...I've been dealing with this for almost a month now, and it is rather uncomfortable...my ankle also looks freakish. Granny stocking may be in my future, at least for a little while.

Drugs: down to Lyrica maybe three times a week, usually toward the end of the week (see: sitting issues pain numbness get up stupid). Only take at night to make the electric current stop for a while. Motrin for the soreness (still have back pain, whoop de doo, nothing compared to this other challenge). That's it. The insomnia is better - SO much better. I have always struggled with it, way before pain began. Just me. But what I dealt with in the first few weeks after surgery was a real pain in the posterior. Made me feel lazy. Made me feel useless, because I wasn't able to do a lot at night (I used to go on cleaning binges if I couldn't sleep...my cleaning is pretty limited now...YOU try to clean house without bending or squatting).

Great week, to be honest. Obama won, Alabama won, I am winning too, I hope. Some days I'm really excited and hopeful and optimistic - other days, mostly when I'm particularly tired, I'm worried this will be as good as it gets. I have had more good days than bad - and (knocking wood), I have NOT had a repeat surgery. It has been 10 weeks. Here's to 10 more weeks. Or 10 years.