Wendy's Recovery

Sept. 13: Four more weeks?

While supporters of George Bush, Jr. are busy chanting "four more years!", I am on the point of wailing "four more weeks?".

I got a call from my surgeon's secretary today, in response to last week's fax asking whether the bone grafts would add further time to my non-weight bearing period. The jury is apparently still out, but odds are on another four weeks tacked onto the first six (as of today, I am at five weeks). I suppose I shouldn't jump to conclusions, but knowing how conservative my surgeon is, the chances of my walking before the end of October at the earliest are faint to imperceptible.

I am angry for two reasons: If I have to be treated with such caution, why wasn't I treated that way the first time around? Maybe this fiasco could have been avoided. And secondly, NO ONE told me about this extended period of hopping. Such important information should have been imparted to me before the surgery. Now I'm starting to wonder how long he'll keep me on precautions, such as not breaking the 90 degree rule: six months, forever? "Sorry, we didn't think it made a difference to mention that."

When I went for my first out-patient pool therapy today, I was given four (count 'em four) exercises, which I did in about five minutes. Then I asked about walking, assuming that the physio would say yes since I had been allowed to walk in the pool TWO weeks earlier while I was still a patient at that hospital. Wrong. The sheet says totally non-weight bearing, so even at almost zero weight in the pool, I can't do anything. We may very well scrap the pool therapy since it's next to useless.

I'm almost no pain, I've got energy to burn, I'm following all the rules and all I can say is fuck this. I'm starting to feel iffy again about ever seeing the back of my crutches or canes.

I admit that four more years of Dubya is much worse than five more weeks of non-weight bearing but it sure doesn't feel that way to me right now.

posted by WRG @ 3:37 p.m.