Cate's Diary

Thanks, Llama. I rang the hospital & asked about getting aids. They will send me home from the hospital with crutches & will show me how to use them. I might borrow some from a neighbour & have a practice beforehand. I don't have loose rugs & have either cork tiles or slate on our floors. I threw myself into "Spring cleaning" today as I found the energy & it distracted me from stressing. I have one room tidy & clean & the bedding from both king singles washed & on the line. I then put the trundle under the other & vacuumed the room. It looks spacious & would be a safe room to sleep in. I need some furniture gone from the spare queen room & I think I will try killing two birds with one stone & ask our older son, D & his wife, T to call in. He is taking a lovely large cedar wardrobe that belonged to my grandparents & it is filled with his stuff & she is a nurse who works with keeping older people in their homes. She may know of someone who could come & install some bars for me or maybe D could. I am not good at asking for help & we rarely see them. They are both usually drowned in fragrance.
It has felt like spring today. I exhausted myself doing the cleaning but it was good therapy!
I also rang my sister. It was good really. She wants me to insist on a private room but I can't insist on anything. She assumed I had already done that. I will mention my allergies again when they ring on the Friday before the op but I won't be insisting on anything.
Edited at 5.15 pm to say I have had a good day. G rang me when he was leaving the golf club & I took Arch for a walk. I have had an active day & feel so much better.
 
Last edited:
Glad you're feeling better and yay for spring cleaning, especially when it makes you feel like spring will come at some point!
 
I'm really glad you figured out your dream and that it helped! Is R handy with tools enough to get up some rails and things? I watch Youtube videos when I have to put up stuff like that. I still can not get over how D and T don't respect that you are allergic to fragrance. Grrrr! Glad you had a nice productive day and have a clean nice recovery room in your house now.
 
Taking this opportunity to get rails and bars put in is such a good idea. I hope D can help you out with that.
Nice work on channelling your anxiety into a good spring clean.
Cate said:
I have had a good day. G rang me when he was leaving the golf club & I took Arch for a walk. I have had an active day & feel so much better.
Click to expand...
Lovely to hear!
 
Thanks, everyone. :grouphug:
Throwing myself into getting one room ready at least was good. I need to make the king single bed up & then I can shut the door. It is a spacious room with little furniture. I want the other one to be similar but with a queen bed. I rearranged our spare bathroom so that there is a small cupboard next to the toilet that I could use to help me get up. I may be fine without it.
I am going to ask D & T for help & ask them to come unfragranced. I just sent him a message.
I'm about to go to golf. I don't much feel like it, but I am going.
 
I often don't feel like going places and am then happy I went anyway. I hope it'll be the same for you with golf today.
 
Thanks, Marsia & Llama. I'm glad I went. I won the day & I played with T. I'm home now & I'm aching from head to toe. I know I need this op as I almost fell over a few times & I think it's throwing my back out as by the last two holes I was in a lot of pain.
 
If you're putting more weight on your heels (which I assume since you mentioned nearly falling backwards) you're probably arching your back a little more than normal, which doesn't combine well with the rotation and quick acceleration needed for golf. Congrats on winning the day though!
 
It's really good the op is scheduled soon so you will be able to golf again safely without throwing your back out or falling backward. That sounds so alarming feeling like you are going to fall while twisting around like that. Glad you had a good day with T. I wonder if she has ways of framing worrying things like operations so she doesn't get as freaked out by them? She seems like an optimist, so I'm really curious.
 
I guess on the one hand it's good to get the confirmation that you need the operation--that would be helpful for me anyhow. Do be careful in the meantime though!
 
Cate said:
She may know of someone who could come & install some bars for me or maybe D could.
Click to expand...
That's a great idea, hopefully you won't need them but it can't hurt. About 20 years ago we put up some of the handicap bars for my stepfather. I liked them so much I have put them in all my bathrooms since. It helped when I had knee surgery, but it always seems to give a sense of security.

Hope all goes well with it, I think it will.
 
Thanks, Llama, Marsia, Liza & Rob. I think (know) I have been making adjustments to my stance & the way I walk for a couple of years (probably more than a couple). It's time to have that op & then, if all goes well, I'll probably have the other done.
T is one of those people who does not worry about things. She came close to dying from cancer years ago & said she has probably had 13 operations & "You'll be right!" She has so much faith in our medical system & says I overthink things. I know I do. She is very empathetic and can give strong advice with a loving kindness. She is such a gem.

At 7.20 am G got a call from his bossy sister L to say they had just got off the ship & were coming for breakfast. He tried putting her off by saying we didn't have any eggs or bacon & we had to go out this morning for an appointment but she said they would have whatever was here. He got off the phone & we were both so cranky about it. Then his other sister, W, sent a message to say sorry about that & there's 3 of us. He was so angry as we got up a bit earlier to give us some time to relax & have breakfast & are in our dressing-gowns. He asked me to message (on his phone) asking who the 3rd person was & that we are still in our dressing gowns & not showered. She messaged back that it's some friend of L's. When I read that out G ranted & raved & I said I wish you could just learn to say no to her. He rang W, after me saying don't be angry with her as it's not her fault, & said to do a u-turn & eat at the local cafe. They were almost here apparently.

We have both calmed down now & are still in our dressing gowns drinking our coffee. We need to do some food shopping as we are out of quite a few basics. I might do a food shop while G gives blood as there is a lovely grocery store almost next door. I will also look at grab rails. We might do that together. I'll see what's available where we're going today but we might visit A & M next week & go to a medical aids store that has lots of good quality stuff.
 
You know, Em. It has been. I don't think we have calmed down yet. G's sister is so bloody annoying. I mentally put spikes down on the road. I won't ask her for help as she comes with so many negatives.
I think I can get some strong grip rails that are suction ones so I might get a few of those.
 
Hi, Llama. You just posted while I was typing. He did need prompting "I wish you could just say no to your sister!" & he rang straight back while he was annoyed. Unfortunately, I feel sure it will not make much difference to her.
We're back from our shopping etc trip & it was good, but we're both very tired. We had a sit-down, delicious, inexpensive Chinese lunch. We needed new basin taps & toilet seat for our ensuite & have been putting that off. The taps were almost identical to the ones we have & weren't too expensive. We'll need to get the plumber though. I bought some PJs & did a lovely grocery shop. I chatted to some lovely women as I shopped & had some lovely exchanges.
I gave away one heart today to the young waitress, along with my tip. She seemed genuinely chuffed. I think people who work serving other people deserve every little bit of kindness you can spare. I had better make some more before my op.
Anyhow we are both no longer so grumpy. G's other sister rang him when she got home & they discussed how their sister is like a bull in a china shop. She had never met this other friend.
 
Bringing over an unknown and unannounced friend when you go to visit someone is already not something everyone would be ok with but spontaneously inviting yourself and two other people to breakfast at someone else's place is something else entirely. Glad the rest of your day was much better.
 
Trying to think how I would handle that situation of a bunch of relatives showing up on my doorstep without much warning! And doing it in a way that respects my boundaries while not being mean. All anybody could do is say "It's actually not a good time right now" and leave it at that. If the other person takes offense, that's up to them to deal with their own emotions, like grown ups. But I know it's not you with the wishy washy boundaries! You're dealing with a couple of levels of other people's stuff.

I can't imagine playing golf with a leg or foot that needed surgery. I'm impressed! I can't hit a darned thing with two regular feet/legs.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top