Post Surgery And Beyond

by Winding Pathways | May 22, 2025 | Ruminations

Post Three – Three to Eight Weeks and Beyond
(Think Buzz Lightyear – All is Possible)

Mummy was Right!

Here I am!  Starting to feel better. Thinking I can do things. And I can. However, as friends near and far remind me, “Take things easily.”

As kids, when we’d get up in the morning feeling kind of crummy, Mum always said, “Wash up, get dressed, have breakfast, make your bed. Then, we will decide if you need to stay home.”  Most of the time we were good to go.

I found the same with this period of post-surgery. This link has fabulous insights on post surgery care.

Below is a rhythm I found helpful.

Usually, some movement, healthy food, and getting dressed did the trick.  My body is stiff, I feel sweaty from hours in bed, I’m hungry and sometimes ‘hangry’. I started off doing the “baby” leg exercises important following back surgery. Then, I’d get the other tasks done. Doing these few routine tasks settled me in. Adding any needed OTC medication helped.  Then, rest. Yep. Back to lying down but not in bed. That is too easy.  And, I want bed to be for sleep not slumming.  So, I kept items near the couch and would lie down for about 20 minutes.  Alternating ice and heat on various complaining body parts helped. Then, up to do a few simple activities.

After a time, I incorporated light house work like dishes, tidying up spaces, computer work to keep in touch and pay bills, walking the driveway horseshoe loop for exercise. Always mindful to avoid bending, twisting, over-reaching. The vertebrae and hardware need to fuse.

Remember to send TY notes to folks. I would do a few each day.  I kept a list and postcards pre-addressed and stamped to send. And, found the Jacquie Lawson ecards helpful to send to people who unexpectedly helped.

Connect with people a few times a week to lessen feelings of isolation. I’d ask people close by to help arrange visits.  From a distance, I simply sent periodic, and sometimes idiotic, emails to people.  Usually, I got idiotic replies back that made me smile and laugh.

Here is one from another childhood friend: “Thanks for the update–keep ’em coming. I was going to ask how things were going and I’m glad you seem to be hanging in. HMMM perhaps coming up with strategies to complete every day activities will be good for your brain! When my yoga teacher introduces a new pose that sounds really wonky, I call it “Yoga for Alzheimers prevention.””

Moving

Walk on safe surfaces several times a day. On warm days, I could walk the horseshoe drive a few times each day.  Then, I’d increase the distances. Some days, I simply did less.  The upward trajectory of movement and health is the goal. Physical therapy may not start for several more weeks. I did the simple but important leg exercises as per the medical booklet.

My walking mantra is:  Heel-toe. Low belly up. Shoulders back. Chin parallel to the walking surface. Use your peripheral vision. Cane as a guide and as per an Occupational Therapy friend, Increase your Stride.

The six-week checkup was positive, and the reminder to limit bending/twisting was good. Lifting about 15 pounds is OK. One and a half gallons of milk is about 15 pounds. I still do morning preparation and chores, then rest. After about 6.5 weeks, I successfully put on compression socks by myself. So, Rich’s morning task is about done.

The cane for going out and about is helpful. Around the house, I manage all right. And, reachers!  Keep them!  So, I bought several.

None Of Us Is As Smart As All Of Us

Years ago, when trying to figure out something, a Kansas colleague, Lila King, stated, “None of us is as smart as all of us.” By golly, we figured out a sticky problem.  That mantra has proved helpful many times since. How do I get things done? Ask! People want to help.

Continuing to have and accept help is important in these weeks and beyond.  I found that I tired easily, so I rested.  The prioritized list of “things to do that are helpful” made it easy for friends and family to visit and pitch in, which they all did graciously.  And my saying, “Yes, thank you!” helped all around. What are some of these tasks?

Having family come help healed more than just the tasks.  Great company and was reassuring.

Friends and family measured the space for new shower curtains, researched the best sites to order from, and helped install.  Hotel-quality and style make freshening shower curtains easier without awkwardly removing the rod.

The family helped wash the insides of windows where the painter had inadvertently left smudges and install screens for the season.

Our daughter pulled the paint cans from storage so the painter could finish one small project. Our son and son-in-law hung pictures and screens, split wood, and were attentive od my getting into and out of the car.  They all did many small deeds of kindness. Rich was close by and helpful over the many weeks.

After six weeks, the toenails were long, so our daughter suggested a pedicure so that a professional could trim them. How lovely to have someone nurture the feet. I didn’t think about that as an option.  None of us is as smart as all of us.

An East Coast friend mentioned ways to care for the surgical scars to loosen up tissue and avoid binding problems in the future. None of us is as smart as all of us.

When I mentioned that the doctor visit showed high blood pressure, a friend said, “Wait five minutes and do again.” Yes, of course.  When we first come to a visit we have been walking, are nervous and breathing shallowly.  Deep breaths and resting a few minutes reveals normal blood pressure. Why didn’t the nurse do this? Hmmmm. None of us is as smart as all of us.

Soup Cubes to the rescue!  Again, from our daughter, I learned about these handy ways to freeze food, pop out the back, place in labeled freezer zip-locks, label, and pull out when we needed a quick meal. This is helpful now that the MealTrain is done. None of us is as smart as all of us.

So many more acts of kindness, generously shared.

Time for Pleasure

Not everything was work. A puzzle kept us entertained and our daughter is so strategic on putting it together.  While I rested, family took walks on the many trails that now link the area. They met with long-time friends and met new people. Coffee shops rock and are new to them, so Cedar Rapids has changed positively in that regard. Nice meals out. Chats in the living room and on the back deck in nice weather.

Giving Back

What Can We Do When We Feel We Can Do So Little? Healing completely takes time. Many people have helped over the weeks. And continue to do so.  At first I thought I could not do much to help. What could I do with such limitations? Well, it turns out to be quite a bit.

I asked our daughter if she would share her music. She brought her accordion along and played songs for a friend who had recently been injured. We sang – sort of – and laughed. A hospice nurse colleague asked me to work with a patient and family with healing energy.  An honor, indeed.  A labyrinth colleague and friend accidentally double-scheduled a time. She asked if I could do the one-hour Veriditas Friday ZOOM hand-held finger labyrinth walk.  Veriditas has offered this activity EVERY Friday since the Pandemic began in the US in earnest in March 2020. My theme was easy: “What Can We Do When We Feel We Can Do So Little?” Four continents were represented as over 50 people worldwide zoomed in and shared their perspectives. Another honor to give back. And, so it goes as we receive so we share – The Ketchuan philosophy. From you I receive to you I give. Together we share and from this we live. A Unitarian Universalist hymn. Inclusivity.

Well, moving on here. As I wrote in the beginning, take whatever is useful and leave the rest behind. These were simply my observations of recovery which will take about a year to be fully realized.