One Week Out

...And I have upgraded my day to fixing my own food, driving myself to PT, and standing up at candle light vigils for abused animals.  If you have not read about the horrific conditions in Memphis and want to, here is the link.  Warning- graphic, awful picture.  I think I officially hate Memphis now, but I am not sure how New Orleans is any better.  I think I need to move out West and live off of the land, but unfortunately Dave is such a weenie and has to live by a big city lest he become bored.   

So I felt good enough to convince Laura to ditch running with Joy and come protest with me instead.  That is what you do when you are out of shape and can't do anything- you sabotage your friend's workouts too and convince them it is the "off-season".  Oh- she didn't mind.  It was fun!  We felt like hippies in the new century- except I was wearing my triathlon Los Locos jacket.  And, someone asked us if we were with the college, which made my day at 31-years-young!  This morning I found out the shelter director did get fired- great- but what ignorant POS are they going to put in charge now?  I am think I am going to try to throw for the job.  I bet I can learn in 1 month more about running an efficient and humane shelter that all of these bozos could learn in a lifetime.  

But, yes, the knee is doing well.  I am basically moving around just fine with some soreness if I do too much.  I think my knee already feels better than it did before surgery-I am using mental persuasion on myself.  I know the truth on if surgery helped or not will not be realized till a couple of months from now when I try to run.  :)  

But, I was told they extracted a cyst of 10 cm out of my knee/hamstrings.  Since I am a dumb American, I measured 10 cm today just to see what 10cm actually looks like.  I feel so much better knowing I don't have a cell phone in my knee anymore.  

Wait!  Addendum!  I have correctly identified the Nuun tablet holder as being the culprit.  Exactly 10 cm.  2-3 cm width.  Hmmmmm.....maybe that was bothering me a spot.  

Cayenne is back in her flower.

Tonight Dave and I drove home from the vet's office with our two dogs in the backseat. We were musing over the fact that we had just spent a quarter of our paycheck on Cayenne's elective foot surgery. Foot surgery that I chose for her to have to hopefully alleviate pain, which has ended up in an amputation and possible loss of function- and more pain than any dog should feel. Do I feel like a bad mom? You bet. Does it hurt to lose money when we are trying to claw our way out of debt Dave Ramsey style? Of course. And mostly, I am worried sick about my dog.

As we drove through a Memphis ghetto, Dave and I chewed on some of the decisions we have made or contemplated through the day we spent together: Cayenne's foot, moving to New Orleans, remodeling the nasty kitchen, purchasing a used car to replace our dying car, my surgery, paying back student loans, etc...

Dave gently said that life is full of tough decisions, and we sat quietly in the car, reflecting our day. Every day we will face challenges and tough decisions- it doesn't get any easier, and we don't even have kids yet.

It was such a beautiful moment for me, though, as we concluded that life is about the way you handle the tough times and make the tough decisions. I couldn't have been happier riding in the car with my husband and two loving dogs- my family.

Look at this picture? I love this picture. I have a happy family and a great life. This picture of my two dogs gives me warm fuzzies.

Picture of the posterior incision-

Day 5-The knee is doing well. I am recovering nicely and staying off of it. No rush here to get moving, and that is the beauty of being injured so long. My patience is getting stronger and I am willing to rest more and heal more to reap long term benefits. I will be excited to share good news as I start to do a little more rehab and strengthen the leg again.

Day 3...

Day 3-
Things are going okay. I definitely have ups and downs all day long, and I am sure it is mostly the result of medication and sitting on my bum. Most of the time I feel positive and I can't wait to start rehabbing my knee. There are moments, though, where I feel afraid that my rehab won't be good enough or that I won't return to running or triathlon. I just have to push those fears aside and continue to give myself a lot of positive talk.

This is my daily view! The dogs have been great company :)

I am a little surprised at how needy I have been post surgery. Since Dave has been working full time every day, I have really felt lonely. By about 1:00pm yesterday, I was in full tears as I could not fix myself lunch and had no one around to help. Dave called with his normal cheery self and I had to explain to him through tears that I need him to check on me more often. Lucky for me, Kathy walked through the door right then with pumpkin pie- followed by Bekah, Laura, Latte, and cheesecake an hour or so later. I also started getting some phone calls and text messages which really cheered me up. Thank you!

I think Bekah understands how much I have really needed help and company because she came back to visit me last night in full Halloween gear. Her husband, Jon, is Brett Michaels, and she is his Rock of Love.


And just as I am writing this Bekah has walked through my door! Thank goodness!!!!!!!! Seriously, she just walked in- and look what she brought over!
Which thing does not belong in this picture?