Tuesday Triumph & Trauma

First of all in response to Miss Amy ... 22 pounds in a month is far simpler, and less impressive, when one's starting point is over 400 pounds. :) But ... it is what it is and that is a victory and I am glad those 22 little suckers have hit the road!

I wish my life allowed me to stay home and chill in the recliner with my ice quilt until my knee is mended. I came back to work yesterday and by the end of the day I was absolutely miserable! I left work at 4:00 and ran by the pharmacy on my way home. By the time I pulled in my driveway I was near tears and getting out of the truck sent me over the edge! It is very difficult to bend my left leg into the position that it has to be in to get out of the truck. And then I have to put pretty much my full weight on that leg while pulling the rest of me out. I got my left leg out and then laid on the seat and cried until I felt able to finish the "job." Pathetic aren't I? Bert saw me arrive home and came out to carry my purse, etc. in for me. I headed straight for my recliner and asked for ice and water. He delivered both. I am blessed. I avoided moving from that spot as much as possible for the rest of the evening because every new movement was accompanied by fresh waves of pain.  (I have noted that when I stay in one position for a long time it is more painful to get moving than it is to keep moving once I'm in motion but then it feels so good to sit back down!) I did have to go do some work at my (home) desk last night and my printer chose that time to decide not to cooperate. I was beyond frustrated! Josiah came and fixed it for me even though he hates printers in general! LOL! We sent him out for fried chicken for dinner so I had fried chicken and biscuits. Not the best possible choice but I kept it within reason and one of the reasons I am calorie counting instead of low carbing is so I can make those choices without throwing myself totally off track!

Anyway ... spent the evening watching TV with Bert even though there was absolutely nothing on. Watched 48 Hours on ID (I refer to it as the murder and mayhem network) and went to bed about 9:00. Realized by 11:00 that I was not going to be able to get comfortable enough to sleep in spite of pain meds, muscle relaxants, melatonin, benadryl, and ambien so I got up, grabbed some sheets and a quilt and made a nest in my recliner. Spent the remainder of the night there. I woke up in pain a few times so I'm tired today but I slept better there than I thought I would!

Had to get up early this morning to go in for my MRI. Weight limit on a standard MRI (tube) is 350. Only circumstance that makes me glad I'm fat! I am far too claustrophobic for that thing and my insurance doesn't balk at okaying the open one for me! Yay! I asked the lady why they ask my weight on the open one and she told me it was to calibrate the table. Asked if there was a weight limit and she said it was 450 so I told the truth on the form even though I hate admitting that number! Went to the back for my MRI and the tech told me to just take off my jacket and glasses, everything else should be fine. I also took off my Body Bugg which intrigued him as he hadn't seen one before so I explained that to him. MRI took about 45 minutes and was the most pleasant one I have experienced yet as, since they were viewing my knee, I was out from under the machine from chest up! Only bad thing was that KXOJ has staticky reception there so my headphones played loud staticky music through the whole procedure. Not such a bad thing! They said results should be available tomorrow. If I don't hear from Dr. Movva tomorrow I will be calling him first thing Thursday!

After my MRI I went for allergy shots. A guy I worked for at Heatwave (job before TU) was there getting his shots too so we had a nice chat. Then I dropped by the bank and came to work even though I was sorely tempted to just drive home and call in! Thinking I need to reserve as much sick time and vacation time as possible until I find out what the future holds.

I had to go by the ID/Parking Center at TU to show them proof of my "disability" and get an ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act?) parking sticker that allows me to park in any handicapped space on campus. I thought my state issued placard was enough but I guess not. Glad I got it taken care of before I got towed or ticketed!

Missed monthly staff meeting since I came in late. (Awwwww ... NOT!) One funny little thing that we do as an office is give people beanie babies to convey appreciation or a message of support, etc. (There's also one called the dingbat that nobody wants because you get it for being dumb! LOL!) Anyway ... I got to work and there was an adorable little turtle with a red shell spotted with white daisies sitting on my door handle. I asked Charlotte about it and she said she gave it to me because recovery may be slow but I will get there! I told her I will try to match the turtle's sunny disposition too! (I'll have to bring my camera in an take a picture of it for my 365 Blog.)

The other thing that I sort of missed at the meeting was bagels and cream cheese but there were still a few left, along with some deli rolls and girl scout cookies (Samoas), in the workroom when I got here. I hadn't eaten breakfast so I grabbed a bun with a bit of cream cheese and 2 Samoas. Had another bun a bit later but then I stopped because enough is enough! Realized it was time for lunch a little while ago (actually time for PM snack but my meal schedule is hopelessly screwed up) so I went to get my apple out of my little fridge. I was delighted to discover that it was actually a pear! (I love pears!) So I ate that with a cheese stick rather than the apple and peanut butter that I was going for.

Down to one Coke Zero a day now and I have run completely out at home and not restocked (on purpose) so I seem to have pretty much kicked my caffeine habit to the curb ... except for Green Tea capsules which are supposed to be good for me!

I was feeling quite impressed with myself about 1:00 when I noticed that I had made it through the whole morning without taking any pain meds. Then I realized that the reason I noticed that is that I now needed some immediately if not sooner! They take longer to kick in when you wait til you really need them. I know this and really should act accordingly!

Life is good even when it's not perfect! Some times I need little reminders of that ... like Bert meeting me to carry my purse, Joe fixing my printer, Charlotte giving me a turtle, finding a pear where I thought there would be an apple, etc. I am blessed and I will keep on keeping on until I get 'er done! :)

Later ....