" My Last Day at the Hospital ! "

Hello everyone! I am typing this between my lunch and my next physical and occupational therapy treatments. I have two treatments a day and trust me, they are killers!!

I have learned a lot though and gained quite a bit of strength. Things are getting better everyday. I just have to remember to keep taking my pain pills. Yesterday I had forgotten to ask for more and the pain got ahead of me which was just awful. Fortunately I had a great nurse last night that knew what had happened and she got it back under control for me.

Yesterday during Physical therapy I had to learn how to walk up and down the stairs so that I would be able to get into my house. I was a bit ambivalent at first as I really didn't have a clue as to what it would feel like or even if I could do it! Well after my therapist "Alice"  showed me what to do, I had no trouble. I did take it very slow and cautiously. Once I went up and down two or three times, it felt much more comfortable and had more confidence in the task.

Today I was taught how to get in and out of the car which was great as that was the first time I got a whiff of some fresh air!!!

It's all leading up to my homecoming tomorrow. Everyone at the hospital as been very helpful and accommodating but I do feel ready to go home now. I few days ago I know that I didn't feel ready but I do now. Jake has had his training in assisting me but they don't think that it will take me very long to be able to do thinks on my own. People have been amazed that I have gone through this surgery but truthfully it hasn't seemed so bad for me. Yes the physical therapy has at times been a real killer but I know that it is a means to an end. A happy ending. I am feeling so excited about my future I can't tell you! 

And here's some even better news. My surgeon and therapists all agree that I can do as much housework that is comfortable and that I can handle while using a walker!!! It's good exercise. I love cleaning so my therapy should be great!!

I'm really missing my family and pets now. I'll be very happy tomorrow when it's time to leave! I have some photos to post but will wait till I get home to do that and then I should also have more time to start visiting everyone again. This is a very busy place!!

So until next time (when I'm home!) have a great day.

Hi Everyone, I've got updates!"

It is evening five for me in the hospital since the double knee replacement surgery. They moved me down to rehab last night. Rehab is another name for the place of torture that they put you in because they all think that you are doing SOooo wonderfully!!!

Actually I am doing very well and have managed to walk 148 steps at one time. That is a lot for me even before the surgery. I've been able to bath myself on a shower bench and use the bathroom on my own.

Walking is getting much easier. I am guessing that I will get to go home on Friday but if not, I'm not too awful worried about it. I miss being home with my family but I just want the time to heal properly.

I can tell you this much I know for sure, it is a very strange and odd feeling to go from having no control over your legs to being able to walk again. It really is an amazing feeling of accomplishment.

Again I won't sugar coat this healing process. It hurts a lot. But it's the kind of hurt that you know won't last. It's a healing pain.

So I have already made a short term goal for myself. I would like to be able to have my grandson Jack overnight and playing with grandma by November, the latest!!!

Oh and my whole family has been so kind and supportive, they really are great. Just like my Blog Family !!!


Love to you all, Love Di ♥


P.S. you may or may not have noticed that I am a bit more coherent today!!! 

"I'm back For a Moment "

Hi folks I'm back for just a moment. I am still in the hospital being waited on which is still hard to get used to but very cool!!

I am still very drugged up but have managed to make it to a standing position, taken a few steps to the commode.

I wanted to send a before and after photo of my knees but I can't seem to get to them. My brain is really fried right now~~

Anywhoo I will blog again soon. Hopefully in my right mind by them. Thanks for all of the well wishes and prayers. I'll keep in touch.

Love Di ♥ 

Diana's Knee Surgery Is Complete! Hooray!

This is Ginny, Diana’s daughter. I’m on strict orders to update my mom’s blog with her status now that she’s out of surgery. So without any further adieu…

Diana made it through surgery and is doing well. In fact, she’s doing better than expected, according to her nurse. I don’t know quite what that means (did the nurse not expect she would do well?) but it sounds good to me.

Just how well is she doing? Well, she called me just two hours after having her knees replaced! She sounded upbeat on the phone (though tired and her voice was scratchy). She said she felt better than she sounded. I’m guessing that’s attributable to the adrenaline and the drugs. 

Isn’t it incredible to think that you can wake up in the morning, go to the hospital and have two of your knees replaced in roughly three hours? I mean, in the time you can pop that long movie “Avatar” into your DVD player and watch it from beginning to end you can have two new knees?! How insane is that? Thank you, modern medicine!

But now the hard part begins. Physical therapy. She has to find the strength to bring those two new knees to life. My mom is tough as nails. Truly she is. But this isn’t going to be easy. 

I know my mom will be reading this in the hospital soon. So please leave any well wishes and words of encouragement that she can reflect on as she prepares for the next step in this exciting and scary transformation.

Thank you for your support!

" Two Days Left ! "

Hi everyone ! I'm thinking that this will be my last post before my surgery Tuesday. My husband made it home Friday for his vacation. 

We've gotten the house almost completely ready for when I return home from the hospital.

If you are new here, I am going to have both of my knees replaced on Tuesday August 16th. I'm very excited about the surgery, well I should say, excited about eventually having my life back again.

The past few days I have found myself feeling more anxiety about the surgery but I suppose that's to be expected as it is a pretty major thing to go through. I feel very prepared mentally and physically for it.

So I am packed and ready to go. There is something very important that I want to say to you all. Realistically I don't know how I will feel after the surgery. I've been told by my doctor that he hopes to have me home by Friday the same week. 

I want to try and post about how things are going. And I will try to do that but I don't know if I'll be able to visit everyone for awhile and I hope that you all understand. I am also looking forward to lots of encouragement from all of you. I know how much that will help.

I know that I have a lot of work ahead of me and most likely a lot of pain but really we are all different in how we feel, hurt and heal. So I am hoping and praying for a really good outcome.

Those of you who know me well can understand how contented I feel right now as I cleaned my entire house today. Well the downstairs at least. It helped to keep my mind focused and just having my house in order calms me!!

Tomorrow my kids and grandchildren are all coming to visit before the surgery. Monday I am going to try as hard as I can to relax. I think that Monday is going to be a long day for me!!!

I have to be at the hospital at 6:00 a.m. Tuesday morning. It takes about two hours of prep so the surgery should be around 8:00a.m.

They say it should take anywhere between 3 to 4 hours and then about two hours in recovery. A long day. Most of which I probably won't remember.

My husband Jake says he won't leave the hospital that day so it's going to be a long day of waiting for him as well. I told him to bring my computer and some movies, he said he would.

So that's it I guess. I could go on and on but I'm pretty tired this evening. Oh and I went to Wal-Mart today. The last time on bum knees I hope!!

I will try to visit everyone as soon as I am able. I hate missing all that's going on with everyone. I will be visiting this weekend and just so you all know, I will be thinking of you. 

All my Love and Prayers

to You!!

Love Di ♥

" Warning ! Not Suitable Reading for Those Under Fifty ! "

Foot Fetish ? You be the Judge.

O.K. I'm going to admit it. I have a foot fetish.

Mind you now it's not exactly what you may think !!

It has to do with my own feet. You see, I absolutely cannot stand when my feet are dirty and or rough. 

Hate it, hate it, hate it!!!!

So more often than not you will find me with socks on my feet even in the summer. That is unless I have sandals on but then my feet can possibly get dirty.

I don't know when this all started to bother me but it does. So everyday I scrub my feet with a pumice stone and a gigantic emery board. I like my feet to be soft and smooth as a babies bottom!!

 

You may wonder where I am going with all of this. Well you are over fifty, haven't you learned patience yet?? 

I have recently learned a new beauty tip for feet. I'm doing this for you. I shared my Cocoa Butter Vaseline tip with you, now I am sharing more beauty tips for you over fifty crowd. 

This goes for you guys as well. My husband loves when I give him a pedicure and I am going to add this to it for him too.

After all you wouldn't want to end up with feet like this...

 

No, I didn't think so.

This has to do with our toe nails folks. When I read that I wouldn't be able to wear toenail polish or make-up during my upcoming surgery,

I cried and cried.

Well not really but when I took off my polish I noticed how yellowed my nails had become. Upon doing research on the web about this, I discovered that as we age our nails can become discolored.

Now this can be caused by nail fungus, yuck! 

But lets just say that it is from aging naturally o.k.?

It can also be caused from wearing polish year after year. Now I know you guys don't wear, well I really don't know but lets just believe that you guys don't wear polish but you are aging naturally.

Yes that sounds much better.

Alright now on to the natural way to nail whitening beauty recipe.

Sorry to take up so much of your time.

1- tablespoon hydrogen peroxide

2-1/2 Tablespoons Baking Soda

Mix well.

With a Q-tip,

Press mixture under the tip of each nail and spread over the top of nails as well.

This is a bit messy, find a good spot to sit and relax for 5 to 10 minutes. Grab a magazine or book. Meditate, pray, whatever floats your boat. 

Just RELAX !!

I did 10 minutes with a towel under my feet.

No one was home so I sang!!

Rinse with warm water.

Pour 5-Tablespoons of lemon juice in a bowl and soak nails for 2 minutes.

Rinse with warm water.

Now dry your tootsies well and be sure to slather on some lotion or cream as the peroxide can be drying. And you just know that I used my Cocoa Butter Vaseline!!

We mustn't have dry feet. Ever.

Do this twice a week for two weeks then once a week every six to eight weeks.

I am on my second week and by gosh by golly I do believe my nails are getting whiter and brighter!!

It is important for me to have smooth and pretty feet during my surgery. I could care less about the make-up!!

So now I ask you. Do I have a foot fetish?

And be nice, remember my surgery is now only 9 days away!!!

 

" The Party is Coming to an End "

Summer is coming to an end. Well at least for Katie it is. This is her last week away at camp and I must admit I've really missed her this week. She has had a total of five weeks of camp this summer. One week away and the next home.

She just loves it and admitted to me that she will really miss it there. This is also her first year that she is not looking forward to going back to school. Who can blame her? They feed them like royalty, they swim, play, rest and worship. A full week of fun for her.

Yesterday I had to drive out to camp to pick Kate up. It was registration day at school. I do not like registration day at the high school. It takes forever. Lots of standing, walking and climbing stairs, painful!!

On the way to camp I noticed that the corn was as high as an elephants eye!!

It was a pretty drive.

There's the lake, we're almost there.

Just one more turn and we're on the camp road.

And there is my Katie, looking happy as can be missing her dinner to go register for school. I know the picture is horrible but I can tell you that she wasn't happy at all!!!

So we got through registration as quickly as possible, stopped home so Kate could grab a sandwich to eat on the way back to camp. She is feeling lots better by the way.

She was very happy to be going back down this road. The road to camp.

The rest of my week was pretty busy. I had a lot of loose ends I wanted to tie up at church.

I'm still not done but I'll have a few more visits to try and get things in order as much as I can. I was looking around my office and smiled as I noticed the pictures on the door that Katie made for me when she was little!

I just can't take them down! They have faded some over the years. 
Also this old picture that I just love.

I really wanted to take some photos of some of the beautiful artwork in the church that day but I needed to leave so I will save that for another post.


Next Wednesday I will see my Orthopedic surgeon for one last visit before the surgery which is now only 12 days away. 

I have been cleaning a house for a family for years now and I did that today. I will clean one more day next week and then I'll be done until I am healed and able to start again. My job will be waiting for me. I will miss them so much. But I am hoping that by next year I can clean a few houses a week instead of just one.

I can get a different job but it's nice making your own schedule and the pay is much better than working at a store. Plus I love to clean. If you've been here long enough you already know that. Which is why I expect to heal quickly, I can't sit still for long!!

So Kate will be home next week and then she will have her first day of school on the day I have my surgery the following week. Easy to remember when school starts that way!! 


Oh I finally managed to get some weeds pulled this week despite the horribly hot and humid weather. Every time I took the dogs out, I bent over and yanked some out. I don't think the dogs cared much for waiting on me but the weeds are gone and the dogs are relieved!!

Now, I am going to try and find a good movie to watch. Have a fun weekend and stay COOL!!!

" Anxiety Settling In "

Only 14 days left until my Bilateral Knee Replacement Surgery.

And anxiety started to settle in today. I am still looking forward to the surgery. Actually what I am really looking forward to is my future without constant pain and being able to walk normally again.

Yet I am starting to feel restless. I don't have anyone to talk to about it except for my husband and I don't want to keep repeating myself to him, so here I am.

I have talked to my children about it but it doesn't seem to help. I think that they are all too young to understand what this means to me and if they have any fears, they haven't expressed them to me.

 

So far things are falling into place nicely. I even got a much appreciated call from the Orthopedic Center today letting me know how much we will most likely be responsible for financially.

It was much less than we expected it to be and it may even be less than what they quoted after it's all said and done. Good news!

 

My oldest daughter purchased a raised commode, one in which can also be used bedside if need be, a shower stool for the bath tub and a book about knee replacement surgery for me. She is very thoughtful.

I will also need a walker but as I understand, the insurance company should pay for that.

 

My husband will be home on the 12th at which time we will rearrange the downstairs bedroom for me. He also wants to bring the twin bed downstairs into the living room to sleep in so that he can be on the same floor with me in case I may need him.

Katie's first day of school is the day of my surgery so I don't think that I'll be able to comprehend how her first day went! I hope that she doesn't worry about me and can just enjoy her first day back, although she say's she is not looking forward to going back this year.

 

Katie is away at camp this week. Her last week of camp for the year and she has really enjoyed being a counselor. She has even mentioned possible Missionary work some day.

 

Today I cried. I cried a lot. I was thinking of my mother and wishing she were here. It's funny how we miss our folks even when we are supposed to be all grown up and strong because of what they've taught us. Still I missed her today.

I dried my tears and went thrift shopping. Always, always a good "Pick-me-Up" for me! And I hit pay dirt today. I found lots more scrap fabric, a cute little backpack that I fell in love with and will make into a purse. Also a beautiful black velvet make-up bag with embroidered flowers on the front. I think that will go to the hospital with me. I also found two beautiful scarfs with I may give to my oldest daughter, she loves scarfs, or I may make something special with them. We shall see.

Tomorrow I will pick Katie up from camp to take her for registration. She will be a Junior this year. Where does time go? Maybe she will stay home with mom forever. Somehow I doubt it.

 

I am feeling much better now. I just got off of the phone with one of my best friends. I needed that talk. Thanks Jackie, you are a wonder!

I'm sorry if I seemed to babble too much tonight but that's what anxiety can do. Just please bare with me. This is a major, major surgery and although I am still very excited about it, there still is a certain amount of the unknown that can make one a bit nervous.

 

So I will leave you on a good note. I feel good, I am looking forward to a very physical and fun future. And I am so happy that you cared enough to read through this today!!!

Thank you and God Bless!!