Staying Home

After Stan's exhaustingly long day yesterday, he definitely wanted to stay home and recuperate.  He's also had a cough and sniffle, so he needed to eat healthy foods, take a nap, and sit in the sun for a while, all of which he did.  I had nothing pressing to do either and was more than happy to spend several hours this morning reading political news about yesterday's elections.

To be honest, we had a somewhat desultory day but it was good in the sense that Stan needed a day of complete rest.  He slept quite a while this afternoon giving me a nice long stretch of time to read and do a few exercises. I cooked some nice spicy chili for dinner (cleared the sinuses!) which, surprisingly, Stan ate with a good amount of gusto.

In one significant way, this was a very special day--it was older son's birthday.  We were happy to have a nice long Skype with him but we're always a little sad that we are rarely with him on his birthday.  Coming when it does early in March, it's never quite spring break time so either he, we, or his children are busy with school (or were in the past).  So no, we almost always have to make do with a phone conversation.  But it's still a wonderful day and he has always made us grateful to be his parents!

Since there's not much to say about knee or me today (and that's great--all is well!), I thought over the next few posts that I'd mention items I bought which have been particularly helpful with my recovery.  Oh, before I go on, I should tell you that  yesterday was the end of week five since my surgery.  The difference a few weeks can make when it comes to how I feel and how I can get around!  Anyway, one item I ordered which may seem rather extraneous has, in fact, made a tremendous difference.  I'm not sure I'd be sleeping in my own bed even now without it.  And what is this wonderful item?  A step stool!

We have a very tall bed in the master bedroom and even before my surgery, I had to sort of flop on it and pull myself up (the joys of being short), but after surgery, there was no way I could get into bed.  As fate would have it, the second time I went to PT, I couldn't get  up on the table (again, too short) so my therapist went and got a stool like this.  It feels remarkably stable and the handle makes all the difference so I went straight home and ordered one.  A couple of days later, I was able to get in my own bed.  Not that I could sleep, mind you, but at least I was wakeful in a more comfortable bed!  Speaking of sleep, about which I know I've complained many times, I can't say it's good yet, but it's better.  I now can sleep two or three hours at a stretch, then will wake up for 10 or 15 minutes, and will go back to sleep for another couple of hours.  Considering that I could only sleep 30 or 45 minutes or so just two weeks ago, this is a vast improvement.

Well, enough of all that, but I love this stool and may just keep it around for quite a long time.  I actually managed to get in bed by myself last night, but why should I?  Safety first, right?  It was a good investment!  More recommendations in the future!