2 Arms

I have 2 arms again! Ok, I always had 2 arms ... and I still have one extremely lame one ... but I DO have the ability to take that sling off when I am at home, if I want. And, trust me on this one, it is like regaining a limb!! Certainly, there are still things, many, many things that I can not do ... but I can use both hands on the keyboard, I can use the punctuation and caps easily, I can fold clothes, I can wash dishes, I can pick up the house ... hmmmm ... maybe I should put the sling back on??

I am avowed to be the miraculous recovery for this particular surgery. Currently, I am off the pain meds, except one lowly little vicodin at night (which I think I can do away with tonight) and my Mobic for the swelling during the day (that's just one mega strength ibuprofen-type pill, for those not in the know). I forget once in a while and do things that cause the most horrible language to escape my lips ... but for the most part ... I am healing wonderfully. Now, if only I could regain a little more mobility and strength!

I have felt like a slug the past week and a half. I had every intention of getting to the gym starting last Monday. However, I never counted on the fact that I could not drive for a few weeks. I considered walking the 2 miles to the gym, doing some light cardio, then walking back ... but honestly, I rather thought 4 miles of walking on ice and snow in 30 degree weather just to get to the gym to sit on the recumbent bike because it was the least likely to pain me ... seemed a bit ... ludicrous?? The walking was the most dangerous part of all for me! So I opted to walk on my treadmill at home, did some walking lunges a couple of times, some stationary ones a couple of other times ... slept a lot. Considerably less working out than I am used to doing. I regain the right to drive my car on New Year's Eve ... and on that date I am meeting up with my trainer for a New Year's Eve workout, followed by a New Year's day kick off workout the next morning. Considering my slugfest state, that should be interesting.

Luckily, I only gained about a pound and a half, in spite of the fact that I have not worked as hard, not been as strictly following my food plans as I ought. I think that is God just being kind to me, truthfully. I am back on plan today, have already restarted journaling my food intake to monitor myself.

My momentum has definitely been impacted ... I get tired just thinking about getting back into my old routine ... but I do NOT want to quit on myself ... so, once again, I will do what I am supposed to and "fake it until I make it", waiting anxiously for the energy to spike and my exercise exuberance to kick back in. Admittedly, knowing how many more people will be at the gym for the next month or two, exhausts me as well ... but until I am rich and have my own in-home, state of the art fitness facility, I have to learn to share.

I know my excitement is there, somewhere, under the layers of pain and exhaustion I have been piling on the past couple of weeks, and its only a matter of digging down to get it some air before I will be running on all cylinders again. And at some time over the next several months, I will be able to do shoulder work again with BOTH arms. That is something to look forward to!

Caterpillar to Butterfly: "How do you become a butterfly?"
Butterfly: "You have to be willing to die."
Caterpillar: "Die?"
Butterfly: "Well, it feels like you're dying. But it really turns out to be a transformation to something better."