Milestones - POD 37

It's amazing how much you come to appreciate the little things in life when you can't do them for a while. I had a few moments like that this past weekend. Things that were everyday trivialities, that I would do without thinking suddenly became very big deals.

The first such trivial item was wearing a t-shirt. Yeah, I know it sounds stupid but t-shirts are about the right comfort level for me to hang out in. I'm always warm and wear short sleeves all winter with the exception of the brutally cold days, when I'll wear a sweater or a long sleeve shirt. Even in those cases I usually have a short sleeve shirt under the sweater in case I get too warm. Conversely, wearing tank tops during the coldest weeks of winter was a little too chilly for my liking. I was able to put a tee on over the bad arm but it was no replacement for wearing it the right way. I was thrilled when I decided to try putting on a t-shirt Saturday night and was successful. I put it on in a way that favored my left arm but I was able to do it which was more that I could say a few weeks ago.

Milestone 2 was also clothing related. I've been walking around wearing either slippers or a cheap pair of moccasins I bought to specifically get me through the post op period. They did the job but they were a little rough on my feet once I went back to work and was walking more than a few blocks to the store. It's no fun to come home after work and have your dogs barkin' when you get there. I'd also ordered a pair of boots that arrived a day or two after my surgery and I hadn't even tried them on. I was happy to give them a test walk on Saturday and I'm happy to report they were comfy.

Lastly, I got my Jeep back. I was a little nervous about getting behind the wheel and as long as I don't have to perform any stunt maneuvers I think I'm okay driving. Doing things like u-turns are a little tricky since I instinctively try to turn the wheel with my left hand. Luckily, my body is very quick to remind me that I'm not quite ready for that. The other thing that was interesting and a little amusing was me trying to adjust my mirrors and roll down the window. Since I've very little strength in my left shoulder and am currently without the range of motion that would be needed to reach out and grab my mirror I had to reach across my self and do all of that with my right arm. Right about then I was wishing I had power mirror and windows. I can still push a button.