Gift of RA

It has been a long 3 months – feels a lot longer at times.  I saw my surgeon yesterday afternoon and he cleared me to drive finally.  I have to admit I feel more ready for it than I did 3 weeks ago when the sling came off.  So this morning I went out for my first drive, I went rather slowly and took the back road into Burien.  It felt good, not too strange, but since my upper arm muscles are still stiff, I can’t turn to the left very well.  I am going to start focused physical therapy to stretch things out as much as I can.  For some reason I was a bit hesitant to go out, putting it off a bit – yet it is what I have been waiting for all this time.

The surgeon said my bone would be completely healed in the next 2 or 3 weeks.  Then I need to decide whether I want to do the surgery or not.  The thought of being laid up for another 3 months, maybe more and be without meds for 2 months doesn’t really appeal to me.  He suggested I talk with my rheumatologist about it will take about meds – maybe she has something that can help me over the difficult period.  I will also talk to my primary care doc, he too has the opinion my rheumatologist has – they both are concerned because I am at greater risk for the surgery.

I plan to take it easy the rest of this week and just practice feeling more comfortable driving.  I will go to Breakfast Club next Wednesday, seemed a little too soon this morning.  I am not sure if I will go to my chiropractor Monday or see if she has an appointment on Wednesday after Breakfast Club.  I keep thinking of all the things I want to do now that I can drive.  I am finally going to have a haircut Friday – only 14 weeks overdue.  Eddie has the day off so we are going to the dealership to pick up my license plates and the accessories Eddie ordered.  He wants to put a personal plate on it.

This is a mixed up week.  Tomorrow is Eddie’s last day at the Future of Flight, starts with Andy on Monday.  He took a half day off yesterday to take me to the surgeon, this afternoon he had an eye doctor appointment and I drove us home.  I am not sure what day it is any more or what I need to do.  I have been feeling that way since the accident, it’s hard to remember how normal or regular feels.  I’m beginning to think it is now a new way of being, I just haven’t got the memo with the specifics.

Time to go to the eye doc with Eddie – this time I can drive home so he doesn’t have to do it.

Sunday

Time has gotten away from me, I planned to finish this Wednesday after we came home from the doc.  Eddie’s in good shape, though he too is developing cataracts.  It’s not critical, but the doc said to let him know when he can’t see very well.  No doubt he will tell me the same thing when I go in around the first of the year.  Getting old definitely isn’t for sissies!

For the rest of Wednesday Eddie couldn’t read or see much tv, may explain why he went to bed so early.  Thursday was Eddie’s last day at the Future of Flight, so they gave him a party in the morning.  He went at his usual time, finished things up and turned in his keys.  He was pleased to see how many people came to say goodbye – he has made a lot of cool friends there and they will miss him.  Before he left, he was up on the Stratodeck when the Dreamlifter took off – there were quite a few people and they asked all kinds of questions.  He spent about an hour there, then came home.  No more getting up at 4 a.m. or fighting traffic coming home.

I thought I was going to have coffee with Patti, but I didn’t hear from her.  What a difference to have the choice to go out or stay home!  I ended up staying home and doing a few things, plus I wanted to be here when Eddie came home.  Amazing how little i felt trapped now that I can drive again.  I need to call about physical therapy this week and see how much I can stretch my muscles.

Friday felt like a red-letter day – after being 16 weeks overdue and feeling shaggy and raggedy, I had my hair cut.  I drove down the hill, glad to see Michelle and now my hair is quite short – feels so good after trimming places myself and keeping ends from sticking out.  Now another piece of the puzzle that makes me feel more my regular self.

Then we went over to the dealership to pick up my license plates – I’m official now.  However, Eddie wants to put personal plates on – MY BBJ.  We’ll have to do those separately.  He had ordered a chrome tip for my exhaust pipe, also mudflats.  They put the plates on and the tip, but when we change oil for the first time, we can have the mudflats done.  On the way home we stopped for some groceries, we didn’t want to stay too long in Ballard because it was Friday afternoon and traffic would be building up.  We timed it very well.

It’s been raining since late yesterday afternoon, Eddie is at the Museum of Flight and we have decided to go to the Armenian Church in Redmond next Sunday.  We had planned to do that in July, but I broke my arm and it wasn’t possible to go.  As I look forward to this coming week, I suddenly realize, I don’t know what I will or need to do – it’s been so long I have forgotten.  I figure it will come back to me without any trouble – though it feels as if my life has changed and I haven’t quite recognized how yet.

This entry was posted on October 18, 2015 at 9:53 am and is filed under Musings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.