Adjusting in Packrat

On one hand I feel I haven’t been away at all and on the other I have to reacquaint myself with my computer and its workings and the realization that currently I’m limited in movement. I can walk, but my foot on the bottom is still healing (I had three surgeries on my foot) and the bandage makes me feel I’m walking on a ball, which throws off my balance, and I tend to rock when I walk, which is tiring.

Although I told Smart Man I made a good visual - I can say I hurt my foot kicking butt and now I have a stick (I’m using a staff).

I’m back at work part time to build my stamina. I was worried that I might show up in a housecoat and sit at my desk clicking my mouse to change the channel.

Baby is a girlie girl. When my mom picks her up she wants powder and lipstick, the latter which she puts not only on her lips but all around her mouth (as well as everyone else’s). I’ll miss spending the day with her. As I put on my face for only my fourth non-medical related outing yesterday I laughed that I hoped I didn’t end up looking like Baby!

Home health nurses came every day at first, and I was worried if seeing my healing foot would scare Baby. Instead, she was fascinated (my mom is the one who had the bad reaction!), staring intently, walking by my bed in front of the nurse to see better, grabbing Uncle Bachelor’s hand and pointing to my foot to share the wonder with him. Yesterday she placed herself under my walker (which I’m grateful to have but Is a PAIN IN THE HINDPARTS if I need to be out and about) to watch the process. She knows I have an “owie” and that my mom uses muscle spray for her aching joints; Baby likes to take care of her and sprayed my dressings. She used to try to help when someone was taking care of my brother. She shows indications of being a doctor or nurse.

I wanted her to be an attorney! I read her the story of the Three Bears and added in the child endangerment issues (an unsupervised kid walking into the home of bears), the juvenile delinquent activity (trespassing, breaking and entering, property damage, stealing food). She knows the nurses are there to help and took her baby doll to one and said her baby was sick. The nurse played along, but in a desperate plea I said, “When your baby’s sick, you have to ask, who do we sue?”

Yesterday a couple of coworkers stopped in to visit a bit, and I told them about Baby’s leanings. One commented that Baby would work in the medical field like her daddy (who worked in our pharmacy) and her waste of humanity mother (who works in the lab). I pretended to cry and said, “But not in the legal field like her aunt!!!” (I’m not a lawyer but I play one on TV - seriously, I went to school to be a paralegal and graduated top in my class back then. I used to work for a law firm and have been very involved in some legal cases here.)

She did the sweetest thing when I was in the hospital. After two months I was set to go home but issues developed and an MRI showed a spot on my foot bone (but the infection hadn’t set in). That was my last surgery (plus skin grafts for the original injury), but while the news was fresh I called my mom in a panic to let her know what was going on and that I wouldn’t be home as expected. She went out to pray for me, and Baby followed. Baby tried to soothe my mom and then she pulled up a chair, folded her little hands and bowed her little head and my mom heard her mention “Aunt Eriu”. My doctor and I agreed that yeah, I’m definitely getting better after that!

The CEO of the rehab facility where I was for so long said he was ready to put my name on the door. My crush joked that I was a fixture, that when he saw me as he got off the elevator he’d tell himself, “There’s Miss Eriu; I must be on the right floor.” But they all took very good care of me, and I healed far beyond anyone’s expectations and much quicker (as I said, everything in my foot had to grow back).

While unable to work I could get lunches from our elders’ program, which also provided me with a walker. I joked that I’m a temporary elder.

Still I’m impatient to be without limitations. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. Yesterday I said I have a new lease on life; well, I want to go out and live it, which is hampered by getting tired if I just go to dinner.

But I’m glad to be back in the human race!

Last updated June 17, 2017