Day 4 back at home. Sorry for the late post. Very busy now that we are back home. Mostly spending time getting the house more organized and less cluttered. Want as few obstacles as possible that could cause Jan to trip given her limited stability. She is improving daily. In the house I do let her walk some without my hand on her but I am still right there just in case. I still have high anxiety about her reinjuring herself. Today she successfully completed a high level difficulty Sudoku and a jumbles puzzle. Mentally this confirms objectively she is improving. She can see the physical and mental improvement as well (TIGT). She still has a fair amount of back pain when she tries to sit up or sit for an extended period. She and I discussed kyphoplasty today. This is the injection of glue into the vertebrae. It is primarily done on older women with osteoporotic compression fractures and gives significant relief of back pain in the majority of women who have it done and has low risk. There is still nothing safer than natural healing and the pain should improve over time so have opted to wait. Got to go to sleep now. Can hardly keep my eyes open. BTW tomorrow morning our local running club is doing a little extra for a welcome back Jan celebration. We have a great running club and most bring something to eat so it is a couple of hours of eating and visiting after the run every saturday morning for all level of runners and walkers. Jan was very pleased because she made the brownies she is taking tomorrow with minimal assistance.
To address a couple of comments made on yesterdays post. I do not disagree about taking a risk by riding on the road with the number of truly stupid, arrogant and or oblivious people driving automobiles. The only way to decrease your risk from harm is to cocoon at home and that is what my little darlin has been saying is what she wants to do since this happened to her. Add another thing the person that did this took from her, her sense of adventure. I also much prefer to be on the trails riding my mountain bike but few of us have them out our back door. I also like to do triathlons and this requires training on a road bike at high speeds that you can only do on a road. Riding the road bike is also good training for the mountain bike. I have not riden my road bike since this happened and I am not sure I can for a while for two maybe three reasons. One psychologically it will be difficult because I still have a mental image of what Jan went through at impact and shudder every time I think about it. Two I think Jan likely would have severe anxiety if she knew I were riding on the road. Three my wife is very vulnerable now given her still weakened condition physically and mentally and I can not risk something happening to me that would keep me from taking care of her. On the otherhand sitting on the couch like the majority of americans do now a days is a sure ticket to early death from many preventable diseases. We could all give in and never ride on the road again or we can encourage more to do something good for themselves like ride and maybe someday this would become the norm(yea right! what BS) I know the risks are there but I will be back on the road at some point in the future. I won't be able to help myself.
SHARE THE ROAD, IT'S A LIFE
PUT THE !%@$# CELL PHONE DOWN BEFORE YOU KILL SOMEBODY
GET OFF THE COUCH, LIFE IS FOR DOING STUFF
SUPPORT BIKE WALK MISSISSIPPI, THEY WILL HELP MAKE CHANGES HAPPEN
BE BRIGHT AND BE SEEN
I Love My Little Darlin,
David
Emotional healing is often more difficult than physical healing, but you both are very strong. I wouldn't be surprised to see you two riding bikes together within a year or two.
ReplyDeleteHer sense of adventure isn't gone, it is just dormant while her body heals. It would be torture for her if she still wanted to engage in the activities she did before and was trapped in a body that wouldn't allow her to do so. When she has healed, learning to ride a bike again will be as nerve wracking and exhilarating as it was when she was a kid, and you'll be there, sharing the journey with her.