poco a poco
Writing blog posts provides us with an opportunity to reflect on accomplishments from the past week. This is good for Tim -- celebrating his progress reminds him that he's getting healthy.
This week's victories:
- Tim gets through most days without any pain medication - yahoo!
- He can remember daily events now -- there's less need to repeat conversations.
- Tim now reads the newspaper every day. In fact, this morning, he walked down the road and through the woods to the gas station to buy a newspaper... all by himself! This slow 1.5-mile walk was his first solo voyage since surgery. (He only had to stop twice to catch his breath!)
- He finished reading a book -- there are two or three more waiting for him on the shelf.
- Tim called a few friends and family members to talk last week. He simply didn't have the energy for this before.
The weather is warming here and the sun is out most days -- perfect for napping on the screened porch or chillaxing at the beach. However, lest you think this time away is little more than a plushy beach vacation (Tim actually worries a little that people have the wrong idea about his time away), there's quite a lot that Tim still cannot do.
He can not yet...
- exercise. He's not allowed to do anything resembling his former routine, all of which would constitute a violation of doctor’s orders not to lift, push or pull anything greater than 10 pounds. Cycling, swimming, and golfing -- definitely forbidden.
- go on the boat – too wavy and too bumpy.
- drive. Thankfully, we have a house full of teens this summer who are all happy to run errands or get him from one place to another, but still…
- household projects – cutting firewood, mowing the grass, going to the dump... again, thank goodness for able-bodied teens!
- hear as well as he could before surgery (which wasn’t actually very well!)
- walk three-fourths of a mile without sitting down to catch his breath.
- get through a day without a nap.
Is Tim frustrated by this? Sometimes. Neither of us predicted the toll this surgery would take on his mental energy and physical strength. However, he is in good spirits. We are so blessed to be able to relax and restore here on the Cape, surrounded by our children and the down-to-earth vibe of this special place. We thank you for your love and support -- flowers, cards, and even meals sent from afar have been SO helpful! Life is good.
