Continuing Recovery & Weakness
Lying around recovering from the gum graft surgery today. Played with my new Prismacolor pencils a lot, enjoying how soft and blendable they are. Love them madly.
Crystal & Suzen came to visit in the afternoon & we sat out in the front/side of the house in the Adirondack-style chairs Shannon kindly carried down from the deck. We couldn't hang out inside because Crystal needs Suzen with her & we didn't want Suzen traumatizing the cats.
I'd really enjoyed sitting out in the fresh air & sunshine with Crystal, so I suggested to Shannon that we go for a very slow, gentle walk out to Ben & Jerry's in the evening, because I was excited to get out and move around a bit. So we went out after dinner.
Mistake.
We walked downtown, about 3/4 mile away, and I was tired when we got there, but not too bad. On the way home, though, I became absolutely exhausted. So weak that I could barely walk & ended up holding onto Shannon's arm for the last few blocks to help keep me steady. By the time we got home, I was a dizzy, trembling wreck, good for nothing but falling into bed.
I sent some quick emails to Debbie & Julia, both of whom I'd been hoping to see briefly tomorrow, to let them know that I'd pushed myself too hard this evening & preferred to just rest rest rest all of tomorrow. I actually have a therapy appointment, so I'll need to walk to the bus stop, then from the bus stop to Melissa's office, then back to the bus stop near Melissa's, then home from the bus stop near our house. I think that'll really be my limit, based on my experience this evening.
I went to bed & lay down listening to a podfic (I was quite certain that I wouldn't be able to pay proper attention to the audiobook I've been enjoying lately), but my headache wouldn't let me sleep. So I got up a few minutes ago & decided to write this journal entry. I plan to go lie on the couch & do something distracing (color or play a game on the iPad) until I feel able to doze. Maybe watch some silly tv ("Big Brother") with Shannon if he likes.
I hated feeling so weak when we were out walking. I felt like an old lady & cursed my body for reacting so violently to such a tiny medical procedure. But Shannon pointed out that my body is putting a lot of its energy into healing those wounds right now, and I remembered that they're not entirely minor wounds, since I had no real gum tissue to which the periodontist could attach the gum grafts & so they're attached to tissue that isn't really hardy enough to support them easily. So the wounds may be requiring a lot more energy to heal than such small physical areas might lead me to expect.
In any case, whether it seemed reasonable to me or not, I was beyond exhausted & plan to get as much rest tomorrow as possible. And I'll hope that my headache gets better & lets me sleep soon tonight. It's ridiculously early, but I'm still worn out.
Crystal & Suzen came to visit in the afternoon & we sat out in the front/side of the house in the Adirondack-style chairs Shannon kindly carried down from the deck. We couldn't hang out inside because Crystal needs Suzen with her & we didn't want Suzen traumatizing the cats.
I'd really enjoyed sitting out in the fresh air & sunshine with Crystal, so I suggested to Shannon that we go for a very slow, gentle walk out to Ben & Jerry's in the evening, because I was excited to get out and move around a bit. So we went out after dinner.
Mistake.
We walked downtown, about 3/4 mile away, and I was tired when we got there, but not too bad. On the way home, though, I became absolutely exhausted. So weak that I could barely walk & ended up holding onto Shannon's arm for the last few blocks to help keep me steady. By the time we got home, I was a dizzy, trembling wreck, good for nothing but falling into bed.
I sent some quick emails to Debbie & Julia, both of whom I'd been hoping to see briefly tomorrow, to let them know that I'd pushed myself too hard this evening & preferred to just rest rest rest all of tomorrow. I actually have a therapy appointment, so I'll need to walk to the bus stop, then from the bus stop to Melissa's office, then back to the bus stop near Melissa's, then home from the bus stop near our house. I think that'll really be my limit, based on my experience this evening.
I went to bed & lay down listening to a podfic (I was quite certain that I wouldn't be able to pay proper attention to the audiobook I've been enjoying lately), but my headache wouldn't let me sleep. So I got up a few minutes ago & decided to write this journal entry. I plan to go lie on the couch & do something distracing (color or play a game on the iPad) until I feel able to doze. Maybe watch some silly tv ("Big Brother") with Shannon if he likes.
I hated feeling so weak when we were out walking. I felt like an old lady & cursed my body for reacting so violently to such a tiny medical procedure. But Shannon pointed out that my body is putting a lot of its energy into healing those wounds right now, and I remembered that they're not entirely minor wounds, since I had no real gum tissue to which the periodontist could attach the gum grafts & so they're attached to tissue that isn't really hardy enough to support them easily. So the wounds may be requiring a lot more energy to heal than such small physical areas might lead me to expect.
In any case, whether it seemed reasonable to me or not, I was beyond exhausted & plan to get as much rest tomorrow as possible. And I'll hope that my headache gets better & lets me sleep soon tonight. It's ridiculously early, but I'm still worn out.