Chocolate, boxing and bending . .

Happy Sunday

I don't have a lot to say today but that could change by the end of this post. But I woke up feeling pretty good today. I'm still not sleeping all that well but I'm going for several hours at a time so I feel like I'm getting some decent rest. I also really ramped up my exercising during the day. That feels good. Because I can sort of measure my accomplishments that way. Aside from all the stuff I'm doing for my knee, I'm also doing some very light weight lifting and even some boxing (consisting of punching a little bag, so technically it's not really boxing but it makes me feel macha to say boxing.) I'm realizing that part of the soreness in my leg when I wake up is the muscle that I'm rebuilding. So that's good. How far am I bending, the crowds want to know. Well I can't give you a number in degrees. But I can tell you that I'm easily getting to 90°. And I know I bending a lot further than that. It's still swollen but it's coming along. I guess the most challenging thing in all this is that your instincts say hey -- rest. Take a break. Give yourself a chance to heal. But actually, if I did that, I probably wouldn't walk. I think I may have an adhesion but I'm not going to worry about it right now. As I said earlier, last week my physical therapist actually said my knee looked "beautiful" in only the way a physical therapist could've said it (a few days later when Rachel came to visit, she said it looked rather like Frankenstein. So beauty is in the eye of the beholder :-)) by the way, as an aside, my scars now make a Z or an N, depending on your viewpoint. So I'm going to have to think of something clever to do with that little piece of information. Now that was a big aside.

So exercising is going fairly well. I'm using the CPM machine some but not a lot. Mostly I use it when I'm just relaxing in bed. It I might move it into the living room. I'm just going to have to figure out the logistics. I'm doing a full routine three times a day. And when I include the non-me exercises, it usually takes about 40 to 50 minutes. So maybe I will come out of this in better shape. One of the fringe benefits of being on opiates is that my appetite has diminished and I am losing weight. Also, the fact that I'm not drinking and I'll probably helps. It's not like I was downing a time of alcohol, but even the glass of wine and it adds up. That was one of my goals after the surgery anyhow. Mostly, I'm just eating less. Funny though -- I'm still eating more than my share of chocolate. But as most of us know, chocolate is an essential vitamin. I haven't wanted to write about this because I didn't want to jinx it. But I suppose it's all part of the healing process. When I asked my doctor before I went in whether I should try to lose weight before the surgery, he said it wasn't necessary; but that after the surgery it would make a big difference. Now that I've invested in this whole thing -- the surgery, etc. I feel like I'm protecting my investment. Anyhow, I guess I'm putting this out there so encouragement welcomed. I would like to lose 20 more pounds or so. (If I were living in LA I would make that 30 to 40 pounds but sorry folks, I'm just going for healthy -- not fashionable. Of course, if I were living in the Midwest, I would probably be underweight :-)

What else? I guess I'm trying to maintain a good attitude. I had one day when I will gut feeling really negative -- downright pessimistic. And I'm really trying to not go there. It doesn't help. It actually hinders. But I guess things are slowly but surely getting better. That's what I choose to believe. And I think the evidence is pointing in that direction. Tomorrow morning I have an appointment with a pain specialist. I know that some of you are concerned that I'm still taking opiates. Frankly, I'm a little concerned too. But I think it's okay; it's certainly helping me to exercise. But maybe this pain specialist can help me work out a plan. I'm sure he can. That's the whole point. So that's all for now. Happy Oscars. -- Janet PS I'm using my voice recognition so sorry about to speakos if there are any. PPS I still would love to get more feedback on this blog -- whether it's here or in a personal e-mail. So stay in touch.

PHOTO CREDIT: FROM HERE