The Life of the Invalid

Here I am on my Jabba the Hutt throne. I've opened up my futon couch so that it is easy to climb off the side onto the cart and go to other parts of the house. Also, then I can store the newspaper or magazines or scriptures I'm reading right beside me. It's also much less claustrophobic than having it folded up into a couch. I prop up the foot; often I have it wrapped in the cooler. Note my tray table with dinner. CoolGuy has my phone cord plugged in nearby.

Well, I do get up and cook things now and then. I was making albondigas soup this day. It was last week before I got the fiberglass cast taken off. The little knee walker cart is fabulous. I can balance on it and stand by the stove. CoolGuy has been feeding me. Two or three times I've cooked. But he always serves and cleans up. He's a trooper. Sometimes, I just give him directions and he makes the whole meal.

And I did sit on my cart and do all the ironing on Saturday--three weeks worth. But I rather enjoy ironing...I know...weird. He had to put everything away, though. Mostly, however I lay there on the futon and prop up my foot and read or nap or watch vapid things on T.V.

Today, I got up and bathed and washed my hair and went to church. It was nice, and somewhat disorienting because I haven't been there in over three weeks. Also, my usual view of church is from the organ bench, so it was odd to be sitting in the last row in a corner. Some nice young men fetched one of the upholstered chairs from the lobby so I could sit comfortably with my leg propped up on my cart seat. (I wore a long flowing skirt so I could have the extra fabric for tucking around my leg.) But, it was fun singing for a change. I went home after Sacrament meeting because I couldn't figure out how I was going to sit in the Sunday School classroom with the cart and the propping and all. It's pretty crowded in there. Beside, by the time I'd gone through all the effort to get ready and got over there, I was tired and I figured maybe by next week I'll have more energy to survive the entire meeting block.

Here is a charming card made on poster paper that one of my co-workers brought over. It was passed around to all the classes for signing. I was most impressed by the correct usage of apostrophes and capital letters and spelling! Also, it was very sweet.

It's almost been three weeks: half-way to standing on it again! I can tell though, from the occasional mistakes where I turn it the wrong way, or move it differently, that getting to stand on this foot again is going to be a process. It's very, very sore. PT is going to be excruciating.

And a new body-fail has happened! Wow...don't get old if you're not tough. I went to the ophthalmologist last week after I realized that the blurry spot on my glasses was not on the lens but on my eye. I developed a bunch of new big floaters. He diagnosed it as the inevitable deterioration of the vitreous gel in the eyeball. Now there is liquid and the floater is pigment and cells in a clump which will eventually sink to the bottom. However...this liquid stresses the retina and so Monday I will go in and get a laser repair to a weak spot to prevent my retina from tearing. Gee, I'm glad I got right on it when I noticed the floaters. I do not want a torn retina. I've heard from relatives and friends that this is a very bad thing.

So, here I am--Jabba-like, reclining on my throne. Periodically I go into the computer because I have several projects that need to be completed--some students papers to correct (I'm helping my teacher/sub by correcting what he assigns, so he can correct what his sub is doing--we need grades) and something for college and something for being out sick for the district. I really don't have nothing to do, but I do have to be careful and not overdo, because the foot objects and swells up and gets painful. So, slowly and carefully, I creep around on hands and knees or on the little scooter and now and then, I lay there and heal.