After receiving 6 inches of snow, area schools decided to close today. This, of course, resulted in Mom having to babysit 3 kids today. I felt so bad for not being able to help at all...She worked herself silly all day while I just slept. I know I have to let myself relax and heal, but the thought of shirking all of the babysitting responsiblities made me sad. Regardless, the kids enjoyed being off from school. They played together fairly well, aside from a few spats here and there. They made snow castles out on the deck and craved sledding. That unfortunately couldn't occur until either Mark or Gretchen got home. Elly and Wilson are so good about me staying here. They are very careful when walking by me, always offering to pick something up if I drop it, and hugging me (very softly) whenever I need it. I'm going to miss the Clardys when I move back to Jackson. I doubt they will miss housing an invalid, haha.
As for pain, today was somewhat strange. First, I'll address the minor issues. At one point I could actually feel the rods in my back, and it totally weirded me out. I also occasionally have these "hot spots" where my nerves feel like they're on fire. Today was odd because even with the freezing temperatures, I was constantly hot. Additionally, the bottoms of my feet and my knees hurt from walking so much. My only physical therapy is walking (a lot) every day, and I never thought about the effect barefoot walking on hardwoods and tile would have on my feet. Every so often I have a jolt of pain run from my lower back all the way down my leg. Gretchen thinks it's my nerves reconnecting themselves after being severed during the surgery. Concerning major pain, my hips are always hurting. Gretchen researched it, and supposedly that's a common issue with spinal fusion patients. 90% of my pain is usually in my hips. My lower back is the other source of pain, considering I had a lumber fusion. Some parts of the day I can't seem to be comfortable. I try walking and it hurts, so I try sitting down. I can't sit down for very long before my hips can't handle it. Then I try laying in bed and either my tailbone or my lower back ache. I wish my body would make up its mind. :) I just keep telling myself that eventually this will be a thing of the past, and as annoying as it is now, I will emerge from it sooner or later.
I got to talk to my dad on the phone today, since he is down in Jackson. He let me say hi to Macie since I miss her so much. She's glad to be home and out of the kennel for a while. I'm excited for Dad to come back up tomorrow and help me calm my nerves for the interview on Saturday. Speaking of which, I don't know if I mentioned before that I have an interview with the a school district at 10 AM on Saturday. Dad's going to wheel me in, so that should make an interesting first impression, hehe. I spoke with my niece's principal, and she said they could do my interview on the ground level instead of downstairs where they're usually held. Hopefully the pain will stay away long enough for me to articulate my thoughts and make a positive impression. I'll be sure to let everyone know how it went on Saturday. Tomorrow is my preparation day to think of possible questions and get myself more at ease before the big day. Two weeks and four days post-operation I agreed to an interview...I'm not sure if that's me being ambitious or insane. I guess we'll see!
For those of you who are reading this that would care to, please keep my friend's grandfather in your prayers. His health has suddenly worsened and they don't believe there's much time left. Please pray for healing for him and peace for his family. I've learned through this situation that He is the great physician and does heal where it is his will. Maybe through my healing process someone else can find support. If you are reading this and are going to have spinal fusion surgery, please feel free to email me. I would love to answer any questions and ease any anxieties you might have. My email is kelleykasten@hotmail.com if anyone wants to shoot me a message. Anywho, I'm off to bed. School was called off again for tomorrow, so I'm going to try and rest up to actually help Mom tomorrow. Goodnight! :)
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