May 31, 2009 What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been

I haven't blogged in ages. So much has happened in the nearly 2 months I have been "gone"!

For starters, maintenance has worked out pretty well. Acutally, I am below range, at 169 now. (more on that below). I can't seem to keep weight ON these days! And this with minimal exercise. I am almost afraid to see what will happen when I step up the workouts.

When I last wrote, I was still recovering from knee surgery. I think I can safely say that I am completely recovered from that. I have full use of my knee now, I can do everything I could do pre-op, and then some. I have about 115 degrees of flexion in my knee, more than enough for riding a bike!!

Our trip to Turks and Caicos over Easter was awesome. 6 days of sun and fun was just what I needed, and a great way to celebrate reaching goal weight! We went sailing one day, and another day we rode the Aqua Trike. I had no idea I could even get ON the thing, but the 3 of us climbed on and the kids pedaled us out to sea. Then I got the idea to see what my knee would do, and lo and behold, I could pedal too!!! I do believe that was the high point of my trip! I made reservations for a return for my 50th birthday next year.

On May 8, my Mom had HER knee replacement. She is home now and doing really well, making progress every day. Daddy is taking good care of her. I have been to visit several times since she came home 10 days ago. I always enjoy their company.

On May 11, I had my 7th hernia repair. I came home the same day, as they were short on beds and I didn't relish the idea of spending the night on a stretcher in the Recovery Room. I have not bounced back from this surgery as quickly as I usually do. I had pain for a long time, and still occasionally have nausea. My appetite is still poor, hence the continued weight loss. But in the past 2-3 days I have started to feel like my old self again. The only problem is that my incision has once again opened up, and I have a huge hole in my abdomen! We are looking at Wound Care Centers to see if someone, somewhere, can help me heal. I am just praying that it WILL heal, and that treatment won't mess up my trip to Scotland, which is now just 54 days away.

Yesterday I had to take Laura over to the gym for her swim lesson. While there, I decided it was time for me to get off my butt. So I climbed up on the elliptical, and spent 30 minutes of heavenly bliss! It felt SO good to exercise again! I am hoping to go back tomorrow, and will definitely be there several times this week. Gotta get these legs strong again for all that castle climbing!