Scott Douglas’ Terse Bloviation

I’m still not up for the long back story to how I got to this point. So here are some random first-week-after-surgery observations that might help others who will go through this.

Assuming you don’t have complications, try to get back as soon as possible to your normal non-exercise routine. I did only token work the two days after surgery, but was back at it Thursday (three days after) and even more so Friday. With the Boston Marathon tomorrow, I’ve been busy with work this weekend, which has been welcome. I’m fortunate to be able to work from home as my default, so doing so with my legs elevated while lying on the sofa isn’t terribly different than usual.

I downloaded a chime app for my iPhone and have it set to go off every hour between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. This reminds me to put my foot on the ground for a few minutes (as gently as possible, natch, given the orders against bearing weight).

My friends have been great about visiting. I hope I’ve convinced them I’ll be that much more in need two weeks from now. I’ve basically never been idle this long and anticipate being quite emotionally miserable by the end of the month.

That said, so far I’ve had surprisingly few wallowing moments. And those have stemmed more out of frustration of living life on crutches (as in, “Ugh, I left my pillow on the sofa, now I have to go through the laborious process of getting it because I’ve already asked Stacey for too many favors today”) than existential angst about whether this injury and surgery are life changers. (As Bane said in The Dark Knight Rises, “Calm down, doctor. Now’s not the time for fear. That comes later.”)

I had a prescription for 40 oxycondone, but put the bottle away yesterday with maybe 15 left. I don’t have a lot of pain, and figure I’d like to save them for if something happens and I have more use for them. Yesterday also marked the end of the Naproxen and Tylenol, which I hope also means the end of not needing toilet paper. It’s been odd to go from someone who can make two pit stops during a run to someone for whom that’s a week tally.

I haven’t really done anything in terms of activity, and am not yet miserable. Yet. I checked out a friend’s rowing machine yesterday and decided that wasn’t going to work while I have the splint on. So far I’ve done just daily crunches/ab stuff with my legs on the sofa, stretching for my shoulders and neck, and today I crutched around the block (maybe a quarter-mile). A few leg exercises of the Myrtl sort are possible, but not ideal, and I’m still in the period where I’m supposed to keep the leg elevated as much as possible.

I rented a knee scooter for a month. This has been helpful to move around the house when I have fragile or liquid things to transport. I haven’t taken it outside yet, because that would mean exiting the house on crutches, then having it waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs. Maybe next weekend I’ll have Stacey drive me somewhere so that I can scoot around on a quiet road and feel the breeze on my face.

I finally found a use for all those mini-backpacks races and shoe companies hoist on you these days. They’re perfect for toting small items like books and napkins when you’re on crutches.

Sleeping has been a challenge. I slept on the sofa the first four nights. I started in bed Friday and Saturday nights, but eventually made my way to the sofa because I couldn’t get comfortable and didn’t want to wake Stacey doing my ailing-landed-fish routine. Last night was the first time I woke up and found myself sleeping on my right side, which is a no-no, and led to being up for awhile with some significant discomfort.

I’m not yet bored with consciously restricting how much I eat, but I imagine I will be well before I’m active enough to justify eating my normal amount.