A long summer
It's been rather chilly in the last 2 or 3 days. The maximum temperature was only 16 ºC (60 ºF) today and a couple of evenings we even had a bit of heating on.
It's been one of the best summers for a number of years in England but of course it has sort of bypassed me completely as I couldn't get out much. Still it was much better to look at the blue sky from my armchair rather than the more common and depressing grey.
The first 2 weeks after surgery were the toughest. The weeks of reduced mobility stretching ahead of me seemed a life sentence and I was often in tears. Probably a belated reaction to the shock. If I had been on my own I wouldn't have made it through those dark days. I was going to say that I'd have overdosed on painkillers but really who knows? I am probably too sensible to do anything of that sort, even when I feel that depressed.
Adrian (london1952) has been simply wonderful. Wheeling me out in my chair, coming with me to all the appointments, preparing lovely food, giving me a good talking to when I needed it and making me laugh at other times. He could just tell when I was about to burst into tears and I can still see his sweet, concerned face while saying "Oh, don't cry Bunny!" before coming to give me a big hug (and getting his T-shirt all wet).
Later on, when acquaintances commented that I was very upbeat considering the circumstances, I often thought 'if only you knew!'
I should have probably used the 7 weeks I had off sick to do something useful. An early idea was to spend the time learning Spanish but well it didn't happen. I simply frittered away the time and now I'm in my 5th week of working from home. I just wasn't in the mood.
I have now started physiotherapy both with the NHS (only today) and privately (had 2 sessions already) and I'm moving about quite comfortably on my crutches. Bending the leg is still rather problematic but it's getting slowly better.
I'm sleeping upstairs with Adrian again but I still wake up in pain a number of times every night. I haven't slept through the night once since surgery but hopefully things will improve as the muscles get stronger.
I'm planning to go to the office on Friday to see how I cope with commuting and, especially, sitting at the desk all day long.
Hopefully on Saturday week I'll manage to fit in my seat on the plane and go away for a much needed holiday. Adrian needs it even more than I do.
It's Adrian's surprise birthday trip but this time he already knows the details, because a couple of weeks ago we had to discuss whether we could go ahead with it.
We're off to Lake Garda for 3 nights, then a couple of nights in Trentino-Alto Adige (Dolomites) before taking the car back to Venice.
Adrian adores Venice and we've been probably 6 or 7 times together but never on his birthday. We're planning to spend the day going up and down the Gran Canal on a vaporetto and seeing 'La Traviata' at La Fenice in the evening.
I really don't know if things happen for a reason or not. I tend to favour the idea that it's all rather random, but of course I could be wrong. But I believe that experiences like this can make us learn things about ourselves, know our strengths and weaknesses, and observe the world from a different perspective.
I've been really surprised and touched by how nice people have been in general. The kindness of strangers. The support and concern of many neighbours and acquaintances (I also felt a bit left down by some friends but hey no-one's perfect).
It's probably time to take down all the get-well-soon cards and get just get on with it! :-)
It's been one of the best summers for a number of years in England but of course it has sort of bypassed me completely as I couldn't get out much. Still it was much better to look at the blue sky from my armchair rather than the more common and depressing grey.
The first 2 weeks after surgery were the toughest. The weeks of reduced mobility stretching ahead of me seemed a life sentence and I was often in tears. Probably a belated reaction to the shock. If I had been on my own I wouldn't have made it through those dark days. I was going to say that I'd have overdosed on painkillers but really who knows? I am probably too sensible to do anything of that sort, even when I feel that depressed.
Adrian (london1952) has been simply wonderful. Wheeling me out in my chair, coming with me to all the appointments, preparing lovely food, giving me a good talking to when I needed it and making me laugh at other times. He could just tell when I was about to burst into tears and I can still see his sweet, concerned face while saying "Oh, don't cry Bunny!" before coming to give me a big hug (and getting his T-shirt all wet).
Later on, when acquaintances commented that I was very upbeat considering the circumstances, I often thought 'if only you knew!'
I should have probably used the 7 weeks I had off sick to do something useful. An early idea was to spend the time learning Spanish but well it didn't happen. I simply frittered away the time and now I'm in my 5th week of working from home. I just wasn't in the mood.
I have now started physiotherapy both with the NHS (only today) and privately (had 2 sessions already) and I'm moving about quite comfortably on my crutches. Bending the leg is still rather problematic but it's getting slowly better.
I'm sleeping upstairs with Adrian again but I still wake up in pain a number of times every night. I haven't slept through the night once since surgery but hopefully things will improve as the muscles get stronger.
I'm planning to go to the office on Friday to see how I cope with commuting and, especially, sitting at the desk all day long.
Hopefully on Saturday week I'll manage to fit in my seat on the plane and go away for a much needed holiday. Adrian needs it even more than I do.
It's Adrian's surprise birthday trip but this time he already knows the details, because a couple of weeks ago we had to discuss whether we could go ahead with it.
We're off to Lake Garda for 3 nights, then a couple of nights in Trentino-Alto Adige (Dolomites) before taking the car back to Venice.
Adrian adores Venice and we've been probably 6 or 7 times together but never on his birthday. We're planning to spend the day going up and down the Gran Canal on a vaporetto and seeing 'La Traviata' at La Fenice in the evening.
I really don't know if things happen for a reason or not. I tend to favour the idea that it's all rather random, but of course I could be wrong. But I believe that experiences like this can make us learn things about ourselves, know our strengths and weaknesses, and observe the world from a different perspective.
I've been really surprised and touched by how nice people have been in general. The kindness of strangers. The support and concern of many neighbours and acquaintances (I also felt a bit left down by some friends but hey no-one's perfect).
It's probably time to take down all the get-well-soon cards and get just get on with it! :-)