Comfort and coziness

I made my bed today for the first time since surgery almost a month ago. It felt nice to do... normal. Even though I broke into a sweat spreading the sheets over the bed and arranging pillows, it was completely worth the time and effort. I am getting used to the reality that everything takes so much longer and so much more energy when you can't walk without crutches. I forgot about that since the surgery/PICC line in 2012. The hardest part was probably trying to lean over the bed to tuck the sheets between the wall and mattress while also trying not loose my balance.  I don't know how long it actually took my to do today, but way more than the 2-3 minutes it would normally take.

My days are usually pretty slow, other than an occasional smattering of doctors’ appointments. I am fairly tired most of the time, but I think that is to be expected. I have not been sleeping very well. It is hard to get comfortable with the cast. I have always rolled around a lot in my sleep, which doesn't help either. I will wake up in the middle of the night to find my leg hanging precariously on the edge of the mountain of pillows it is resting on, about to fall out of bed. Being comfortable can take a while. I look forward to the day I can sleep on my stomach again. Now that it gets colder I am actually getting under my duvet instead of sleeping on top of it with a blanket over me (hence the need to start making my bed). Last night I had the duvet and two extra blankets but I couldn't get warm for the life of me. I am not sure what to think of this; being cold was an issue with the bone infection before surgery, but I haven't had to deal with that since, so I am hoping it is weather related and nothing else.

My bed... not that anyone really cares XD I am just disproportionately proud of completing this simple task after so many weeks of being unable to. All the nice pillow cases are in the wash, so I got of the flannel ones.

Making your own bed (and even stripping it down and putting clean sheets on it like I did today) is such a simple task. Most of us probably do it real quick every morning and don't give it a second thought, or we don't make the bed at all, leaving the blankets scrunched up at the foot of the bed or something. When you become ill, simple daily household tasks like making the bed or putting dirty linen in the laundry hamper become these huge looming mountains that seem impossible to summit. Everything is so hard to do that it becomes a big deal when you can finally do something yourself. There is pleasure in doing things like making the bed. I think we run around in this crazy busy world, always working and trying to make money and a name for ourselves, trying to find the next big thing to accomplish or a spectacle to watch (or even be a part of), that we forget how beautiful ordinary life can be.

I am not sure where I am going with that thought... just something I have been thinking about the last few days. Always, back to where we started. I made my bed today and fluffed all my pillows up a bit; place big check mark beside comfort!

Now let’s get to being cozy. As I mentioned, it has been getting colder over the last few days. I think it was only ten degrees outside last night around eleven or twelve. With cold weather, dreary skies, and the inevitable rain it is time to break out the flannel pajama pants and slipper socks! Mum and I went out for a couple of hours yesterday afternoon/evening. First we went to this place called Happy Ralph's (I wore a sweater, and that's saying something because curtching around is hard work that usually results in me overheating or getting sweaty... or both), which somewhat resembles a mini farm, with goats, chickens, donkeys, alpacas, cows, bunnies, ducks, turtles, sheep, a pony and I think  a llama. There was a calf and a baby donkey. Then we went to get fries, drove to Niagara-on-the-Lake, down the Parkway, and ended up at Walmart. I had a lovely time, and it was good to simply get out of the house, to see other people and things. And I got some new pajama pants! 95% of my time is spent in pajama pants. They are by far the most comfortable thing around when you spend the majority of your time sitting down/in bed. And I dug out the slipper socks I bought a month or so ago. So, not only am I comfy with fluffy pillows and fuzzy blankets, I am now nice and cozy. Bring on the cold weather! But only the cold... we don't need any snow or worse... ice, with the whole being on crutches and missing a chunk of tibia thing.

As previously stated, it was lovely to be out with my mum for a few hours. Crutching can be quite tiring, especially if you can't put any weight on the one leg. I did it last week when I had both doctor’s appointment on the same day, and man did my arms hurt the next thing. I tell you, crutches are the perfect ab work out. Anyways. With the cast I have now (a patella tending baring cast), I am allowed to put some weight on my right leg and walk on it a little when using my trusty crutches in case things go horrible wrong and to still support most of my weight with. So that is what I did yesterday. There is a big difference between being on your feet a couple hours like I did yesterday and the little bit of moving around I do at home. The ends of the bone, connected to the bone cement, definitely hurt when I walk for a bit. Not cool. I had quite a bit if pain last night, some bone pain and some pain related to swelling I think. My shin felt like it was super swollen and pressure was building up inside. It feels a lot better today re bone pain (although the muscles are still pretty sore). As with the being cold thing, I am not sure what to attribute the pain to. Some of it felt similar to what I had before surgery, but it could just be a swelling thing or the "holy crap your putting weight on your leg which is pushing the raw end of the bone into the bone cement" thing. You don't have surgery in the same spot four times without some permanent issue coming up. It makes it hard to gauge what it normal or concerning given the circumstances, and having the cast on doesn't help anything because I can't see what is actually going on. I wish things with my leg didn't feel like they were in limbo, in between surgeries. Will there ever be a day when pain, a bit of redness, the odd twinge or spasm, etc. doesn't make me worry that the infection is back? I hope there is. I am tired, and I don't think I could do this again. I know, I have said that before. And the human body and mind have a tremendous ability to coop and adapt to "a new normal". Everything is relative. But I just want to get on with my life. Not to contradict what I said earlier about the beauty of ordinary life. I just want to graduate, pass my nursing certification exam, and lead a quiet simple life. One day...

As for the walking on my crutches - If I don't have anywhere to be/am not in a  rush, I will walk slowly on both the legs and my crutches. But if I need to be anywhere fast I won't walk on the leg. Hoping on my left leg is much faster.

That is it for now. There is not much to post about at the moment. A friend is coming over on Thursday to watch movies, and I heard talk of her brining brownies; I am really looking forward to that (both seeing my friend s and the brownies). And I think my aunt might come over on Wednesday. So there is some stuff to look forward to. And I am making a lot of progress on my huge cross stitch project. I will post on that once I get a bit more done. And I got a new book to read: "Secrete religions: A complete guide to hermetic, pagan, and esoteric beliefs" by Davis Barrett. It is on my list of things to read now, after I finish "A brief history of the druids" by Peter Berresford Ellis. Oh, on top of that I got some of my university textbooks on Vikings from the basement (another first today - first time in the basement since surgery). All good, simple, pleasurable things. =) Now I can sit on my nice clean comfy bed in my new cozy pajamas and slipper socks with a hot cup of tea reading a good book. Definitely comfy and cozy!