Day 57
Restless nights. Could be attributed to back discomfort or the warm weather that August can bring in the PNW. Tossing and turning. I noticed it started a few weeks after surgery, my back just got sore from laying down in one position. I can not use a pillow when I sleep. It pulls on my back too much. I have been laying down flat on my back with no pillows since I left the hospital. That's not to say I haven't tried to use a pillow, I have and it is slightly comfortable only for a moment and then very uncomfortable that I have to abandon the pillow and go back to flat on the bed. I am able to use a blanket in between my legs to sleep on my side, but have woken up with arms that have fallen asleep and in a state of panic. To which I turn back to my back and rock my spine into a position that doesn't feel like my fusion is protruding into the bed. I am thinking this will go away, but I am not sure.
I am sore today, after learning or re-learning how to walk properly, yes, there is a proper way that you should walk and no, it wasn't the way I was doing it. Apparently, I was flailing my knees around and doing more of a shuffle and/or ball of foot to heel stride that was causing some issues. I believe that your body is amazing and mine was just compensating for the broken parts that weren't up to par. In essence my body was protecting itself i.e. my spine from doing or getting more damaged by altering their function when I walked. It learned how to keep itself safe. Bodies are amazing like that. So now that the broken part is fixed, I can hopefully learn how to walk normal again and use the muscles, ligaments, joints as they were intended. Which will take time. Which is what I did for an hour yesterday, I put on some headphones and took a nice and slow walk practicing the heel to toe stride. Easier said than done when that's what your body is trained not to do. I was slightly afraid that I would be in immense pain afterwards, but in fact, I was not. It wasn't until this morning my right foot was more sore than ever! I hadn't felt that by itself in a while and it was quite noticeable. I will keep notes on that. I also had pain behind my left knee after a few rounds, but it went away. There is a fine line between pushing ourself and injuring yourself and I am slowly gauging what that is for now. I am sure it will change.
Try as I might, after yesterday's full day of activities, I was fatigued today and it was harder to get out of bed and I even had to spend a few hours in bed to recover from the walking and just daily activities around the house. Needless to say I took a nap today. I was spent. I had to. I am praying that by the time I am slated to go back to work, I can at least spend the day up and without having to lay down to rest my body. Something that I am working on. I hadn't even gotten in the car yesterday or anything major, other than the virtual PT meeting and then practicing walking. Definitely need to work on that more. I will mark that as "needs improvement," and move on.
Today was my first set of virtual exercises! They were interesting. There were some sitting, standing and some that included whole body movement. I am okay with them. I didn't offer any feedback as it is too soon to share. I will offer feedback after this week, or after my next meeting on Monday. Until then, I'll keep working on them. I like the structure. I am looking forward to my in person PT starting at the end of the month. Which will be another whole new experience.
Today I prayed The Holy Rosary twice, and was able to watch the entire Mass online which always makes my day that much brighter when I can start the day off right with the Lord.
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