fabrisse

Not the song.

I have gravel (the doctor's term) in my inner ear. I'm having a hard time reading and writing. Lying down is preferable to anything else. And, as I found out the hard way, the twisting chairs in offices are not my friend. Thank heavens for the colleague who switched my customer chair with my desk chair.

I picked up the cane for balance. It helps a bit, but wow, am I dizzy.

Article from NPR: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103463398

I had a podiatrist's appointment after my final Grand Jury Day (Yea!!!). I have had a steroid injected to help with what appears to be a bone spur which is inflaming my fascia. The injection had to go into the foot directly, and the doctor kept moving the needle to spread the injection.

It hurts. I've been told it will hurt worse tomorrow. *sniff*

Ultimately, it may let me finally get off the cane and back to walking regularly -- though I have to wait at least a week to start again and I've been told I should take it slowly to ramp back up.

This seems like a good time to try this.

For those of you who don't know, I'm currently recovering from abdominal surgery for endometrial cancer. The good news is that it was caught early. The best news is that it was caught so early I will need neither chemotherapy nor radiation.

The downside is that I am on Family and Medical Leave until the first Monday in October. That's right, the Supreme Court and I start back on the same day.

My sister looked after me for a few days before the operation and for a week afterward. Sis advocated for me with the doctors and nurses when I was too weak to do so for myself. While she was here, she walked with me up and down the hall of my building (the building takes a whole city block, so that's not as short as it sounds) and toward the end we walked to the Metro stop and back (about three blocks each way) with a sit down pause in the middle.

For the past two weeks the Canterburys have been looking after me. Their kindness and generosity cannot be overstated, and they helped me go places and make outings. We've been to several museums and farmer's markets and other neato cool places. They also let me sleep as much as I needed to, which for the first week they were here was close to 16 hours a day.

Thanks to them, three weeks after the operation I'm walking two miles a day -- usually in two walks. I'm sleeping a lot, craving protein, and having moments of crankiness, but, generally, I'm doing really well for someone who had major surgery on August 12.

My posts will include a daily update about walking and eating, just to make certain that I'm doing as well as I should be.

One of my colleagues looked at my feet (one booted, one braced) and said the universe is trying to tell me to take one step at a time.

Could less pain be involved in the next message?

Can anyone give me a recommendation about a clear book or website on how to do self-massage?

Also, does anyone know where I can information on colonoscopy without anaesthetic or with conscious sedation? I am terrified of being put under. Those of you who know my appendectomy story know that I fight and flail when I'm under. The doctor keeps trying to insist on full anaesthesia, but it's an outpatient procedure. I have a hugely high pain threshold.