Cordelia's Mom, Still

Old Bones

Posted on April 2, 2024 by cordeliasmom2012

The healing process has been steady, thank heavens.

It’s been just over two weeks since I fell and broke those two ribs, and at the same time wrenched my right leg/knee (the good leg, unfortunately) and right arm. I still can’t sleep lying down flat, although I’ve managed, finally, to get onto the bed so as to sit and do my crocheting while watching DVDs. Of course, I can also do that in my comfy new recliner, but being able to climb onto that mattress all by myself was the high point of my week.

Puppy Cody doesn’t seem to mind that I currently sleep sitting up in the recliner, right next to where she sleeps on the couch. She snores, I snore. She dreams, I dream. Last night, I heard thumping and looked over to discover that Cody was wagging her tail in her sleep. Hopefully, I don’t do anything like that, but at least I know the dog is having happy dreams.

Going up and down steps is still a bit of a no-no because that right knee isn’t behaving yet, so hubby (bless his heart) has taken over making sure Puppy Cody goes outside when she needs to. I don’t think any of us would be too happy if I tried to take her out after hubby left for work and then face-planted again, thereby becoming one of those old ladies in the television commercials who have “fallen and can’t get up.”

The good news is: Prior to my most recent incident, I had been having trouble with my left knee. I wrenched that leg when I fell off the porch steps a couple of winters ago (again while taking the dog out, and again having to drag myself up by clinging to the fence and the porch railing). But now that leg seems to be ok; perhaps wrenching the right leg somehow straightened out the left one? Who knows.

In any event, each day seems a little less painful and I steadily become a wee bit more mobile. I even managed to stop the [very nice] pain meds a few days ago, now relying merely on acetaminophen before bedtime. I kinda enjoyed the narcotics – and that’s exactly why I stopped taking them. Wouldn’t want Cordelia’s Mom to become a druggie, now would we?

Hopefully soon I can return to the occasional glass of wine in the evening. But only if I’m not planning to go up and down steps or to take the dog out. When Cordelia’s Mom drinks, she does so responsibly.

And I’m still not driving yet, so for now hubby (again, bless his heart) will be taking me for any upcoming medical appointments. I hate having to depend on someone else, but at least it’s a temporary situation.

Needless to say, I will be enjoying the upcoming total eclipse in the comfort of my own home, safely ensconced in my comfy recliner for those 3 minutes and 45 seconds. Anyone else who wants to stumble around in the darkness among thousands of total strangers is welcome to do so. Have at it, adventurous tourists! (I hear Niagara Falls will be packed – good luck maneuvering through those crowds.)

Hugs, all.

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I love to hear from my readers. You may comment on this post, comment on my Twitter page (@cordeliasmom), or email me at cordeliasmom2012@yahoo.com
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Image by Cordelia’s Mom/TeddyRosalieStudio

Posted in Health, That's Life | Tagged broken bones, falling down, recovering | 17 Comments

Teddy Rosalie Gets Caught

Posted on March 25, 2024 by cordeliasmom2012

We gets lots of Amazon packages.

But imagine my surprise when I opened one containing a tiny teddy bear outfit!

Yes, Teddy Rosalie had, indeed, “borrowed” my credit card and gone shopping.

Fortunately, she was very conservative in her spending. She really just wanted something (anything) new, and chose a single outfit that would be appropriate for road trips with mom.

After delivering a carefully worded lecture on the evils of “borrowing,” I decided that since Easter is just around the corner, Teddy Rosalie could keep her new outfit. This time. Because she does look adorable in it:

Like I really needed the stress of a mis-behaved teddy while recovering from my broken ribs, but she promised she would never do anything like this again. And then she obediently waited in my new recliner for our next more-or-less hourly nap.

That chair has been a life-saver for me. It’s the only way I would have been able to sleep sitting up so as to allow those ribs to heal better. Kudos to hubby for picking it out without any help from me – he even managed to choose one that complements the rest of the living room decor. Guess I’ll keep him a little longer.

Hugs, all.

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I love to hear from my readers. You may comment on this post, comment on my Twitter page (@cordeliasmom), or email me at cordeliasmom2012@yahoo.com
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Images by Cordelia’s Mom/TeddyRosalieStudio

Posted in Teddy Rosalie, That's Life | Tagged shopping, teddy bear | 13 Comments

Guess Who Spoke Too Soon?

Posted on March 21, 2024 by cordeliasmom2012

I was so sure nothing was broken. I was wrong.

After my impressive “flight and crash” on Thursday, I spent the weekend taking Aleve and Tylenol and seemed to get a little better each day. However, on Sunday my legs swelled up dramatically and I had to discontinue the Aleve.

Monday the pain was worse but fairly manageable. My mistake probably was that I never should have gone to bed. On Tuesday morning I awoke in such pain that I knew I had to go to the emergency room.

Hubby came home from work to take me. Such fun trying to get my sorry ass into the car; I finally had to opt for sitting in the back behind the driver, and it took forever to manage that.

By the time we got to the ER, I was trembling with pain – on a scale of 1 to 10, it was definitely a 9-1/2. Fortunately, we arrived mid-morning when they weren’t terribly busy, and I was taken for x-rays and then into an exam room right away. The x-rays came back as “unremarkable” – no fractures.

Say what? How could the pain be so severe if nothing was broken? Now the concern was a ruptured spleen or damage to some other internal organ, so a CT scan, with contrast, was ordered.

Bear in mind that once lying down, I was unable to move without crying out. The exam room cart was uncomfortable enough; I could only imagine how awful the CT table would be.

I was assured that I would not have to move my own self onto the CT table, that medical personnel would transfer me. I knew they could, in fact, do that because two nurses in the exam room had already managed to boost me up in bed via the sheets. I was actually amazed – I’m not a small person, and those nurses simply grabbed the sheets and up the bed I went. (Flying again, but at least this time it was a controlled landing.)

The transfer to the CT table was just as easy. But the test got delayed when no one was able to find a vein for the IV. Four people tried, and four people failed. Finally, they just gave up and did the test without contrast.

The good news is: no internal organs were injured or ruptured.

The bad new is: I have two broken ribs.

I was discharged from the ER with the “good” pain medication, but wouldn’t you know it, that made me vomit (not a good thing when you have broken ribs). I’m currently waiting for my own physician to prescribe something that won’t make me throw up.

It will take up to 6 weeks to heal, and I’m told it’s best to sleep sitting up. Hubby went out to buy me a power lift recliner, which will be here tomorrow. (What a good, loving guy – guess this makes up for all the times I’ve thought he was an uncaring jerk.) Meanwhile, my executive desk chair is pretty comfortable when used with that $30 footstool I purchased a couple of years back.

Things can only get better, right? As I’ve said many times before: It’s hell getting old[er].

Hugs, all.

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Posted in Health, That's Life | Tagged broken bones, emergency room, falling down | 14 Comments

Spring Forward, Fall Down

Posted on March 18, 2024 by cordeliasmom2012

Being fat has its advantages.

For one, fat offers padding during a face-plant.

Wouldn’t you know, I made it through the entire winter without sliding once. Come spring, when the ground is clear, all that changes.

It was a lovely Thursday, but rain was predicted for late afternoon and into the evening. Puppy Cody doesn’t particularly like rain, especially when accompanied by wind, so ‘long about 2:30 pm, I decided to take her out to do her business. Cody’s gotten into the habit of grazing in the yard (those darn bunnies leave gifts all over), and became parasite-infested, requiring a course of expensive meds, so now she’s only allowed out on leash or with a mesh muzzle.

Cody hates that mesh muzzle. Most of the time when it’s on, she just stands in the middle of the yard looking forlorn until I bring her back in. She’s ok on leash, provided hubby is the one who goes out with her – I don’t walk well enough these days to be able to trot around the yard while she completes her business.

So, I got the bright idea of using one of those long retractable leashes. She could move around fairly freely and if she started grazing, I could simply tug the leash to distract her. That worked well for a couple of weeks, so maybe I got a bit over-confident.

In any event, this particular day, I opened the door, Cody trotted down the steps on the retractable leash, and I toddled along behind her. My mistake was that I didn’t keep the leash short until we got into the yard. Instead, I let the dog take off and around the corner of the house – which worried me because I thought the leash might shred against the brick wall of the house, so I tried to speed up. As soon as I nearly got to that corner, the leash extended fully, suddenly, like a whip – and pulled me right off my feet. You wouldn’t think a medium size dog could exert that much force on an owner nearly five times her weight, but incredibly, I found myself airborne for probably about six feet. Fortunately, I landed on the muddy grassy area and not on the pavement; unfortunately, I landed face down and fully prone.

As I said, being fat has its advantages – those huge boobs acted like pillows, preventing me from actually breaking any of my ribs.

So, now I was lying prone in my own back yard and unable to get up. I didn’t have my phone with me. None of the neighbors seemed to be around, and I was too embarrassed to start screaming for help. I know a number of my neighbors have doorbell cameras, but I was lying in a spot that wouldn’t be picked up by any of those cameras.

What to do?

I crawled over to the fence and tried to pull myself up, but couldn’t.

I crawled to the edge of the pavement towards the steps, but with my bad knees the pain was prohibitive. Finally, I managed to turn over, sit up, and slide backwards on my butt to the steps, where I then managed to drag my sorry ass onto the first step.

This took probably 20 minutes, and by now, the kids were all coming home from school. I debated calling out to one of them, but again, I was too embarassed to do so.

So, there I sat, catching my breath, with my good dog right beside me, wondering what the heck mom was doing just sitting there – and why was she still dragging that dang leash around with no one holding it?

Finally, I managed to boost myself to the second step, at which point I was able to grab onto the fence and the porch railing, stand up, and climb the last step onto the porch and into the house.

Needless to say, I didn’t do much for the rest of that day. So long as I was sitting, I didn’t feel too bad, but I was unable to move at all without screaming. I may not have broken any bones, but I had apparently bruised those ribs, and wrenched my leg and my arm. When hubby got home, he wanted me to go to the emergency room, but I declined. After all, even with broken ribs, they don’t do anything other than wrap the area, give pain medications, and advise rest. I could do that on my own. (Well, except that I only have NSAIDs and Tylenol, whereas at the hospital I maybe would have gotten some of the good stuff.)

Anyway.

It’s been a few days now and while still in significant pain, at least I can move around and do whatever needs to be done – like taking Puppy Cody out to do her business in the back yard.

Carefully, gingerly – and without a retractable leash. Ain’t making that mistake again!