She is getting around very well, and using the walker less. She still uses it for outside walks due to feeling a little nervous that she might trip or stumble. We also use the gait belt for going up and down the stairs. She is pretty much walking freely upstairs, and downstairs...it is just doing the actual climbing up and down the stairs where she still needs assistance.
I can hardly believe how well she is doing! Thank you Lord!
Yet, she is still having pain...Especially in her shoulder blades. Which is to be expected after such a major surgery.
Last week we had to increase her pain meds to 2 pills every 6 hrs, instead of 1. The 1 pill wasn't cutting the pain. So, after increasing to the 2, she was able to relax better. I think this has helped her heal better too. That, and taking frequent short walks, and sitting up 30-45 mins at a time. I was having her sit up a little too long before, and I think that was putting too much strain on her back. So, we cut back the sitting up time by about 15-20 mins, and added more short walks instead.
She does sit up at the dining table with us for at least two meals of the day, and to do creative things such as color or write notes. Since she is sitting up for 30 mins at a time, we are going to try some school next week and see how it goes. The up and down for lessons will be good for her too...will have her moving more. I'll keep lessons short...15-30 mins at a time, and some breaks in between for her to rest. I think this should work.
I'm still not comfortable leaving her for any amount of time. She still needs my assistance for using the bathroom, and we are still using the chairside commode (it also goes over a regular commode but has handles to help her lower herself, and it is a little higher sitting area too)
Yesterday it seems she was going longer before needing her meds. Therefore I cut her back to 1 pill every 6 to 8 hrs as needed. She is still complaining of pain and I pray that one day she will wake up and her pain will be so minimal or completely GONE! That would be such a blessing because I hate seeing her in pain. She never complains much unless it is getting really unbearable.
We've been watching movies together during her recovery and having a lot of mother/daughter time. Yesterday we watched the movie Fireproof. It was really good, and hope that David and I will be able to watch it together tomorrow afternoon. :) If you haven't already seen it, I recommend it!
Bubb and Woog before her surgery...love seeing these smiles!
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