How To Do Your Laundry By Phone

(And Other Interesting Things I've Just Learned)

Hello, hello! 

I hope you've been enjoying this month's festive spirit and getting in the mood as we get ready to shift to a new season.

My December has been much quieter than usual, for much has happened since last I wrote to you.

The biggest news: I had my right hip replaced on December 9, and I've been at home, resting and recuperating, ever since.

It All Happened So Fast

Remember when I wrote to you October 1, wondering Will I Even Be Able To Do This?

I found out then that, yes, I was able to do all the many art openings, fairs, and expos that gave me opportunities to share my art with you...

...until I couldn't.

By the end of October, my physical situation had changed dramatically, and I could barely walk or even stand very long without a cane.

I was lucky enough to get an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon the first week of November. One look at the X rays was enough to make it clear: "You need a total hip replacement."

Things moved fast after that, with surgery happening just a few weeks later.

Up to the day before the procedure, my life became a flurry of appointments, tests, and preparations to get my body, the house, and our lives ready for me to come home and recuperate.

Surgery A Success

I'm happy to report the surgery was a great success.

It still feels like a miracle to me: I was up and walking just hours after the procedure, and I went home that afternoon.

Some Things I've Learned Since Then

This Tuesday, it will be two weeks since my medical adventure, and even in that short time I've learned many, many things:

• Laundry: I'm supposed to minimize trips up and down the stairs, so Bill has needed to take over on washing the clothes. He brought the dirty laundry downstairs to the first floor (where I spend my days at this point), and I talked him through how to sort it by color and type into loads. Then he took the loads downstairs to the basement and called me on my cell phone before starting each load so I could talk him through how to do all the washer settings, how much detergent to use, and what settings to use for the dryer.
• Getting Food On The Table: As in, literally, how do I get heated soup from the kitchen stove to the dining room table if I'm home by myself? I've been using a walker to get around the house, and that requires two hands. When Bill is at work, I figured out I could stand in the kitchen to heat soup for lunch and then put it into a thermos, put the thermos in a bag, hold the bag with one hand at the same time I was gripping the walker, and then walk over to the table and empty the thermos into a bowl. I usually had to repeat that to get all the soup to the bowl.
• Putting On Socks And Shoes By Yourself Is A Huge Accomplishment: I never realized until now what a miracle it is to be able to put on your socks and shoes by yourself. Although all the pain I used to have in my hip is gone (hooray!!!), I have different discomfort and stiffness now because I've just had surgery. I'm lucky because I can still bend over and put my hands flat on the floor, but it's hard to bend my right leg, and certain movements are off limits right now because I'm still healing. So the nurses at the surgery center had to put compression socks on me after the operation (I have to wear them for a few weeks), and then Bill took over helping me once I was home. I found out compression socks may be the hardest part of this whole experience - I finally ordered a special gizmo to help me get them on. Just this week, I've been able to get dressed completely on my own, having mastered the sock gizmo and using a shoehorn to get my right shoe on.
• Progress Looks Different Than I Ever Expected: A couple days after surgery, I started doing physical therapy exercises at home twice a day, and I use an app to check them off when I complete them. I also have online meetings with a physical therapist. She's told me, "You're doing really, really, exceptionally well," and that's been great to hear - because recuperation takes focus and hard work. You can do all the right things and still have pain and feel down...but you have to keep on keeping on to get to the ultimate goal of walking in ease and joy.
• Sometimes I Need A Little More Support: Before the surgery, I had the impression you went from using a walker, to using a cane, to walking independently. The reality is that, at any point, you might be doing any one of those things. I did find that, after about a week, I was feeling better and able to navigate in the kitchen by touching counters or other surfaces to support myself. So I started using the cane...and even took a few steps on my own. But then I had times when I was tired, or had just exercised, or just didn't feel great, and I was back using the walker to make sure I was steady on my feet. I thought I was a failure or had a big setback, but then the therapist told me, "Sometimes you just need a little more support." So I realized healing isn't a linear process - it meanders around, with ups and downs, and I've decided to just be smart about it all and use whatever I need to move around with confidence and perfect posture.

Different Holidays

So here I am, at home, resting in between the work of getting well and strong and limber again.

I'm not baking cookies or making special holiday meals...yet I can listen to festive music and get in the spirit that way.

I'm not going out on walks in nature...yet I can look out the window and marvel at the sunshine, the snow, the rain, and remember that one day soon I can be out and about again.

I'm not driving and won't be for a little while...yet I can get into and out of Bill's car pretty easily these days and am thankful he has been by my side through it all, cheering me on and working together to organize and manage daily life.

Art And Reflection

Making art is something I've had to put on a little pause for now.

I miss my paints and papers.

Yet I can go into my studio and look around at the walls to remember my art is still there, inside me, and will come back when my body is ready. The paints and brushes are on the table, just waiting, and the papers are on the sideboard, rolled up and at the ready.

Before the operation, Bill helped me redo my studio to hang up some of my framed flower paintings and horizon landscape paintings. 

What a joy to enter that room and look at beautiful art, beautifully framed! I have felt so strongly art's healing power in these past few weeks.

It's been a gift to look at my paintings and reflect on this momentous year and all the art adventures I've shared with you.

Wishing You Holiday Joy

Thanks for being with me through all this year's events, from breakthroughs and awards to slowing down, pausing, and healing.

I'm interested to know how YOUR month has been going?

What are you up to? How have you been celebrating or getting ready for the holidays? What has made you happy, and how are you making time for pausing and reflecting?

Do reply and let me know - I'd love to hear from you!

Meanwhile, I wish you holiday joy as we head into the Solstice and the end of this calendar year.

Thanks for being you....and being with me.

Wishing you Love, Joy, & The Healing Power Of Art.