Saturday, 15 March 2025

Thank you!

 

Thank you!

                    Thank you all for your lovely messages of support.

The fog is lifting now, and I am able to think beyond the next round of tablets. I have learnt the hard way that it is not sensible to reduce painkillers too soon! My appetite is returning, too, but one small meal a day is quite sufficient.

Following the cortisone injections in December, which had only a marginal effect on my back pain, I had a lumbar decompression in February. It was either that or remain more or less housebound. Clearly, that was not something I wished for. I enjoy walking with Barry and the dogs and intend to resume it as soon as I can.

Meanwhile, Barry is doing a splendid job of keeping the house running. The laundry is accomplished at lightning speed, much more efficiently than I do it, but there is an ongoing problem. What he regards as dry feels damp to me and I know that if it is put away in that condition, it will begin to smell musty. I cannot tell if I am super sensitive to the dryness or otherwise of the washing. Hence, the fireguard is festooned with garments ‘airing.’ It’s a good thing we don’t have any visitors! Any we are likely to have will be family and entirely familiar with our slovenly ways.

I can clean sinks and loos and work surfaces, and Barry insists that he enjoys vacuuming and sweeping, cleaning the cat litter, organising the rubbish, preparing meals, walking the dogs. He has learnt to inject Jellicoe with insulin – that was the main thing worrying me when I went into hospital, although I was only in for one night. Hospitals like to discharge patients as quickly as possible, to reduce the risk of hospital-acquired infection, and in the belief that people recover more quickly in their own homes.

My son is due to have an operation on his hip in April, an injury caused by karate when he was a teenager. He is going in as a day patient – in at 7:00 a.m. and out in the late afternoon.

It seems to have been my family’s call to engage surgeons in different disciplines in the past few months. I may have forgotten one or two but they include appendicitis, (youngest daughter) torn ligaments, (youngest daughter and plumber son-in-law) testicular torsion, (oldest great grandson, 10 years old) shoulder (writer son-in- law) prostatectomy, colonoscopy, basal cell carcinoma (all Barry)

We normally manage to steer clear of sawbones, so I suppose it was our turn. We are grateful that we are usually fit, and by no means do we take our good health for granted, but thank the good genes our parents gave us.

70 comments:

  1. While I knew you would return, it was nice to see this pop up in my list. I hope all of your family thrive after treatments.

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  2. Glad to see you back and doing better

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    1. Thank you, Liz. Glad to see you're getting prepared.

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  3. Surgeons may not be the most sensitive professionals when it comes to working with anxious patients, but your family obviously needed their expertise. Thank heavens those surgeons did a good job!

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  4. That’s quite a list of family achievements (🤭)……hopefully there’ll be nothing more added this year

    Good to see you have survived and are accepting help. Two of your three pain relievers reside in my bedside drawer. How lucky you are to be able to have Codeine, was it over the counter or on prescription. And those cortisone jabs didn’t work for me either.
    I think the dry v damp is a man thing…..The Golfer is known to say ‘ they aren’t damp, they just feel cold’

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    1. The codeine is prescription only. I must say, the Golfer's comment sounds familiar.

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  5. congratulations for staying alive- well done!! Sorry there is pain, never a good time with that in the way. You are a good sport! Heal well.

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    1. I forgot to thank the anaesthetist - he did the major part of keeping me alive. He was funny, too.

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  6. I had to look it up , WOW, major big deal , that! Be careful with yourself- it seems a fragile sort of surgery -so many variables.
    https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/lumbar-decompression-surgery/

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    1. That's what my physiotherapist keeps telling me! 😎

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  7. In years to come you can all sit around reminiscing, "remember that year when all of us needed surgery?" I hope you are soon back to walking the dogs and doing the laundry so it is properly dry. Musty is the very beginning of mould, (must, mildew, mould) and no one wants that.

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    1. We can become those boring people who relish detailing their ailments and treatments - endlessly fascinating to the participants, but otherwise to be avoided. 🤣😂

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  8. Codeine is not exactly a strong enough opioid with excessive psychotropic side effects. Glad that you recovered from this ordeal.

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  9. Gosh, those are such a lot of health issues. Well, I wish you and all your family nothing but good health from now on. I hope you are soon fully recovered and free from pain. Sending you lots and lots of healing thoughts!

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    1. Thank you so much, Denise. I wish the same for you.

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  10. Glad you are 'improving '. I never like saying 'better' until I'm actually 'well' ! And well done your husband for taing up the slack, especially injecting the cat. Festina lente, as they say...

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  11. Hi Janice - so good to see you back here ... it wasn't I'd forgotten you and Barry et al ... just one less post to comment - passed me by. So great to hear things have gone well ... and are continuing on. Fun to see the division of the workload ... and great Barry's doing a great deal for you house-looking after style. Damp v dry - I'm glad he's accommodating you with hanging it around. All the very best to you both - and looking forward to your walks out again soon - cheers Hilary

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    1. Thank you, Hilary. Barry deserves a medal.

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  12. Welcome back. We missed you.
    I am so pleased to hear that you have recovered well and are improving. Barry is definitely a keeper!

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  13. Good to hear you are mending well and brain fog clearing, you'll be up and running right ready for decent spring weather

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    1. We've had a couple of glimpses of spring - false hope thus far, but it's only March.

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  14. So glad to hear you are on the mend, I understood your comment to reduce pills as quickly as you can, I have in the past been the same.

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  15. Welcome back even if you are not back full time, I am glad to hear you are better and at least able to help out with the house work. I am ashamed I did not think to check on you while this was going on, but I do have an excuse you will understand. every thing you mentioned that hubby is doing and what you do and all the outside too is now my job.
    keeping up with it all includes a dog, hubby and myself PILLS, we all have prescriptions that need to be given by the clock... my brain is not on full function and just doing that is a lot... I am hoping the surgery for all of you will help and not linger long. we do the same here, almost everything is done as day patients now, no overnight if at all possible.
    Wishing all you to get better each day until back to the norm

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    1. We use Alexa to time/remind us of pills and procedures. The trouble is that every time she/it sounds, the animals get over-excited, thinking it's feeding time again! 😺🐶

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  16. Janice, I am so glad to see your post. I've been wondering how you're making out. Follow doctor's orders and don't do anything to strenuous. Spring is coming and you definitely want to get outside.

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    1. Thank you, Lynn. Walking in the sunshine is something I'm looking forward to. 😺😸

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  17. Nice to ‘hear’ from you on this early morn having awakened at 5 for some strange reason. Glad you are ‘coming along’ in some fashion.

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    1. Thank you, AC. Perhaps you can have a snooze later on? 😊

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  18. Glad to hear you are doing better. Nice that you had help with the housework you weren't able to do.

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  19. Great to see you posting again, yep painkillers need to be weaned, and continuing paracetamol for a while will keep the pain at bay.. your hubby sounds as lovely as mine. Take care Jan xx

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  20. Good news then; keep up the recovery!

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  21. Hurray, you're back! May you continue your good healing. And hurray for Barry, too for being a great helper.

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    1. Thank you, Stephanie. Barry is my champion.

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  22. So good to see this post from you, I have been checking quite regularly to see if you'd managed an update.

    Take your time to recuperate ... we all want things to progress more quickly but sometimes our bodies need a little bit longer.

    I definitely think the dry v damp is a man thing… Eddie (bless him) was exactly the same!

    Keep up the recovery and my good wishes to you and Barry, it sounds like he is doing a good job looking after you.

    All the best Jan

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  23. Thank you, Jan. It seems the damp versus dry thing is definitely a man thing - how interesting.
    Barry is doing a grand job, bless his cotton socks.

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  24. Very glad to see that you are back in the magical land of blogging Janice. I kept checking to see if you had emerged from hibernation and now you have. Applause to Barry for holding the fort.

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  25. It's a good thing that your roles in everyday asks can be changed. I hope that's the last of any medical needs for you and your family.

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  26. You're definitely getting your money's worth from the NHS at the moment, you and your family!
    Welcome back to blogland and I hope the improvement continues and accelerates. Take care. xx

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  27. Glad to hear you're on the mend and Barry is taking good care of you.

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  28. You are keeping those Surgeons busy, and good Genes is always something to be Thankful for! Hopefully all will be on the mend and back to normal. I had Cortisone Injections once, I thought the shot itself was pretty painful and didn't think it did too much for me, but some people get good results. It's great when Family step up and help with the maintenance that can get deferred when we're out of commission for a while. I'm enjoying The Daughter doing the Housekeeping and Cooking while I'm recovering from the stupid Stroke. She's been helpful with her Dad's Caregiving too, so we take turns now watching and caring for him, she's a lot more patient than myself with him. *LOL*

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    1. You've had such a lot to put up with. It's good that you have support.

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  29. Glad you are managing with the help of Barry. Thanks for the update and speedy recovery.

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  30. Glad to hear that you're improving, but don't try to do too much too soon.

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    1. I think I'll soon be pulled up sharp! 😉

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  31. Good to see you "back on blog".

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  32. My goodness, you were so sick! Luckily, you have a husband like mine. When I was sick, he took over the entire housework. Yes, the hospitals will throw you out straight away, even though before COVID, you couldn't be discharged before 2 p.m. because then they could charge you an extra day. I'm feeling much better; maybe I'll get back to normal someday!

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    1. Keep on keeping on, Ingrid. Someone with your temperament will not be down for long. 😁

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  33. Good to hear you are on the mend. May it continue to go well and give you full mobility. With all those recent family health issues, I'm sure it must feel like you have a giant Red Cross on the roof of your family house.

    As for damp vs dry laundry--definitely a man thing. I always ask my OH if he would like to put on his so-called dry (but actually damp) object right then and there. Or climb in between those damp sheets. That usually changes the tune. :)

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    1. I'm sure my husband would probably put on the damp clothes anyway and not notice - or say he didn't, anyway.

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  34. So lovely to see a post from you, Janice. I'm glad that the fog is starting to clear for you. Looks like Barry has been a star while you have had to take a rest. Best wishes to you for a speedy recovery from your back operation.

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  35. I am pleased the read you are on the mend & feeling much improved Janice - it is wonderful that your husband is helpful as this all helps with our recovery too. It was great to see you pop up on my reading list today, (threadbear life Julie) xx

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  36. I'm glad you're back and on the mend! I usually put clothes in the dryer for 60 minutes, which leaves them noticeably damp, and then I hang them from a laundry rack to dry completely over the next day or two. I find if I try to dry clothes fully in the machine they come out looking like wadded-up paper bags.

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  37. I'm sorry you're sick. I understand about someone else thinking something is dry but it feels damp.

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