Superiority Complex Vanishing

I felt so terrific yesterday from all points of view: general wellbeing, mobility, skill with crutches, pain management, medication calendar, appearance of the knee, progress only 4 days after surgery, general ability to "get the job done". Fatigue did set in at about 8 PM but no matter. Thought a good night's sleep would take care of everything.

Tried to make it through the entire night without any medication. Bad idea! Woke up at 4:30 AM feeling as though I had been dumped out of a truck and run over by a semi. I had my nice medication calendar ready ... but it was for 6 AM on. While my mind was still functioning, I decided to have a couple of Tylenol until it was time to get up.

More or less did the trick. Had an early out for a post-op check-up and blood test. The obstacles are now expected: a couple of stairs here and there, very icey conditions on the sidewalks, narrow traffic routes in buildings, including my clinic. There is a general inability to address the very basic needs of people on crutches or otherwise mobility challenged. There is, in fact, very little awareness of the difficulty of standing for a long time on crutches, of having no place to ease a leg up and rest it.

We were home by about 9:45 AM but I was totally exhausted. Had coffee and a Diet Coke. I was happy to answer my email. I would really like to go out for a ride in the car but Bob likes me plunked safely here, away from the general hazards of life in the winter.

A couple of decades ago, our neighbor, Gus, said that he always declined pain medication because he preferred to self-medicate with a good belt. While I'm not prepared to go that route, I can see where a stiff drink could take the edge off the pain and stress!

So: this time yesterday, I was feeling that my progress was superior in every way. Today, I'm a little more grounded. Let's just say that I'm maintaining!