Settling into a routine... kinda!

I am getting back into a routine.  I have been trying to figure out what I can and cannot do here in the house.  I cannot do more than I expected but I can also do more than I thought I could.  I know that sounds odd, but the house is giving me limitations because of it's size.  The 100 year old design is not always wide enough for the furniture and the walker I am now using to keep from falling.  But, by the same token, there are places where I can go without the walker because I have enough stuff to grab onto that I can move without the walker.  I just have to take careful, thoughtful steps to prevent becoming unbalanced and stumbling so what used to take a few seconds now takes a few minutes.  But I am in no hurry, so it works for me.

Of course, with the holidays and Brian coming to visit on the 21st, I am still not quite sure what my normal is actually going to be like.  He has been such a comfort to me.  He has cooked some wonderful meals... turkey dinner then made turkey broth from the carcass and then soup.  Then we had pork roast, sauerkraut and pierogi for Christmas Eve.  He stops back by tomorrow for a prime rib dinner.  I am going to be so spoiled by his cooking that it will be hard to start cooking myself.  But I should have a good week of leftovers when he leaves.... if not more.

He has also been a trooper about moving things around so I can have an easier walk around the house.  He cleared the dining table from all of my sewing stuff and reloaded it when the company had gone.  He has great fears about having to clear out the house when I die, but hopefully I will have plenty of time to get rid of the excess that I have from the consolidation of my summer weekend home and the main home here.  I feel I am making progress, but I am sure it is slower than he would like to see.

I started this several days ago.  Brian has come back, prime rib cooked perfectly and shared with friends and he has returned to Minneapolis.

The routine is getting settled and preparing to change at the same time.  I have a lovely Physical Therapist whose name is Gerry.  He pops in three days a week.  He works my poor leg with exercises and massages and yet, we only seem to be able to get a consistent 75 degree bend.  I feel like I have reached a plateau, just as one does with a diet.  I am a bit more flexible in the morning and then by the time I get breakfast fixed and getting dressed, etc. I can already feel the knee itself getting tight.  It is some minor swelling, but it prevents it from bending.  I am sure that it is a matter of time before the swelling stops, but for now it is frustrating.

Gerry seems to think that I will be better served by getting to a Physical Therapy facility where they have machines and therapists with alternative techniques.  I agree with him.  I have sent in my paperwork to become a registered member of Rover Transportation.  It is a small bus/van service that will take seniors to doctors/therapy/hospitals/grocery etc for $.75 one way within Chester County.  This will allow me to schedule therapy at the new facility about 5 miles from here and pay under $5.00 per week for the trips.  Now I need to get in touch with the medical center to set up the appointments and then the doctor to have the script sent for the change from home therapy to outpatient.  I am gearing myself to have that ready for next week.

So, routine and yet always changing.  These are the days when I wonder why I did this surgery.  But even the worst pain today and fighting to get the bending better is better than the pain I was having before I had the surgery.  I am guessing I am just wanting things to go faster.  Patience is the key.  I just need to keep plugging along.  It will happen and this will all be part of a fuzzy haze of discomfort when I look back.