Getting Better

Each day has been better than the last. I haven't needed to take a Vicodin since Friday at 1:00 in the afternoon. There are times when it would have been helpful to relieve some of the discomfort, but I don't like the side effects. I didn't sleep much Tuesday, Wednesday and especially Thursday, so I was ready for a good night of sleep on Friday.

After I talked to the nurse Friday morning, Jane purchased Advil PM. I took two right before bed and actually slept. I still woke up every 2 or 3 hours, but the sleep was deeper and much longer than the 15-30 minute naps from the night before.

Each day, I try to sit in our recliner or otherwise figure out a way to lay on my back to watch TV. The angles established by being partially upright with my back and having my legs extended cause numbness in my left leg and discomfort in my lower back. So far, I have not been able to sit in this more relaxed fashion. Instead, I either lay on my side on the couch or sit upright in a chair with a pillow behind my back. It is tiring and I get sore with either of those positions.

I took my first shower on Saturday morning and it felt really good. I could smell the betadine in the air as it was washed away. Getting rid of the stinky hospital smells was a big relief.

Later in the morning, we went to Dick's Sporting Goods to look for "slip-on" style shoes. There was nothing that worked that provided slip on convenience with any amount of support for solid walking.

My lower back and hips were really tired after walking through the store, so I asked Jane to drive me back home. I spent the rest of the day laying around.

Saturday night was much better than the previous nights. I slept over 4 hours without waking up. I felt quite refreshed on Sunday morning. We went to Wendy's for lunch and then Target to look for more shoes. No luck there either.

When I got back home, I worked on tying some of my own shoes such that they would slip on with some effort, but not slip off when walking. This has worked out well and probably what I would do if I had to go through the surgery again.

Today is Monday, and I've been having a little numbness in my left leg. I'm only on the 4th day of recovery, so I'm not too worried about it.

Someone asked how the blog got its name of "Dag A Doo". When Holly was about 2 or 3, she started saying "Shaggily Shaggily". Jane and I never knew what it meant, but it was kind of a funny word. So I would call Holly, "Shaggily", as a cute name. As in "Shaggily, where are you?". Anyway, that name morphed into "Shag" which went well with "Dag" as in "Shag-Dag". Over time, I combined it with the Scooby-Dooby-Doo exclamation to come up with "Shagga Dagga Doo". That has since been shortened to "Dag A Doo" and carried to this blog.

I'm a freak.