Work those hips

I get physical therapy about 3x a week and they sent me over the hardest PT person they have I was told. Which is great for me because that means the sooner I can get back to regular walking minus the walker! So lets see what the worse exercise is, could it be the lying down leg lifts with leg weights? Maybe it is the calf lifts. No no I think the worse are the squats!! The down and up with the legs....ughhhh. It hurts me right now thinking about it. But the hip flexors are weak and they need to get stronger so this is the way to do it. And of course to round it all up is to get that daily walk:it pulls all the exercises together. For all of you all gym heads you know about all these exercises and more and know that I so miss doing all this stuff at the actually gym and doing real workouts but all in time. Soon enough I will be back in spinning class sweating like I'm in the shower (yeah that's gross...but its intense!)


SQUATS done right:

Back in the crib

Well its great to be back home. Now its time to get it together and make it work from the house. That means at home Physical Therapy and new treatment. So far so good and the weakness is getting stronger. We are looking forward to walking without a walker sooner rather than later...at least the PT guys think so. So its time to strap on those leg weights and get to some leg lifts (something I couldn't do just a few weeks ago!) Hopefully by the time I get my legs back I have this diabetes under control as well and figure out how to manage that blood sugar (bye bye Bryers Strawberry cheesecake ice cream!) But its all good and I am still soo sooo BLESSED! Every day I can get up and take a breath is another day where I can serve the Lord and make some impact here.

Oh and as you can see I am bald again...I had the reverse Mohawk going before (because of radiation no hair in the middle of my head!) ...trust me it was very scary looking. So now back to a clean head. Maybe it will grow back at some point!! I miss the hair!!! It would help to cover the mega chipmunk cheeks...yes I am still talking about the cheeks!! And don't let me get started about the double chin and the big gutts (stomach). These stink steriods!!!!

Life behind the bedpan

With these recent hospitalizations there are alot of things that have come to my attention that must be normal in hospitals but can be really annoying. Here are some examples: You have to hear "Ms Douglas I am here to check your blood sugar" like 6 times a day or "I am here to check your vitals" I mean seriously, did my blood pressure really change from like the 2 hours that you just checked it? And why must nurses stare at you as you take your pills...to ensure i am not hiding that oxy to sell them later? And then they have the ones that give you the fake smiles...and the ones that don't smile at all! And why does it take so long sometimes for them to answer the call light...by the time they come to help you to the bathroom the deal is done!! At least the nurses are much nicer once you hit off a conversation with them. But also be ready to discuss stories about kids and grand kids because those are the main topics of conversation. And be ready to explain your life story and all the reasons why you would leave living in the islands and end up living in the cold!

the Man Up Clinic

Let me tell you folks this Therapy Center is not like the other place where I was. This should be called the "Man Up" hospital. Example: these people took my catheter out and said heifer you are going to muscle on over to that bedside commode...even though you can't walk!! And you need to wash up, here is your basin with some water and soap have at it...well could you help me with my back at least? So lets just say they are more hands off than the other hospital lets put it that way. But I guess that is the point of therapy. To make you strong and stand up on your own so if that is the case then they are definitely doing it.

But whatever they do, the goal is to get back some strength in these muscles so I can get around again so whatever I gotta do to make that happen that is what its going to take.

They tried to make me go to rehab...

After two centers rejecting me, I am now on my way to the Barbeton rehabilitation center. The did over the paperwork and assessment one day and then I was told next day I am out of here. So I really should go get my nursing assistant friends so I can carefully raid my room and make sure I don't forget anything...hey every single thing in here has been paid for (or i will be getting billed for) so it shouldn't matter. Don't worry I am leaving their bedpan!

I haven't visited this rehab location so just hoping that its not just a souped up nursing home, where my conversations will be about hip replacements, backed up colons and great grand kids! Hey but you never know, might find a husband...heyyyyyyyyyyyyyy. LOL

Bottoms UP

This is a neighborhood advisory to everyone that is reading this blog. If you had not had a bowel movement in more than 2 days please take notice of this and work on alleviating this problem immediately. Please do not wait for it to "pass". If not, then look forward to serious stomach pain and the worse case of "bubble guts" ever!!

Just a word of advice from your friendly cancer patient friend!!

Its Pouring!!

So everyone knows I have been saying if its not one thing its another. Well of course this post is not an exception of that! I've been out of touch for a while because I was...still am, in the hospital. It seems that I couldn't just leave cancer alone, I had to through in some diabetes in there to mix up the game a little! Now I don't really recollect how I ended up in the hospital, but legend has it that my sugar was at EXTREMELY high levels hence at the house I was in an unconscious state. So to the ER and and then had to monitor me in ICU for a while to get that all under control (now this is all heresy because I don't remember any of it!!)

So now I am here in a private room in the palliative floor (pain control floor) getting all better. So of course I came in with like two infections (one was an ear infectioin and who knows what the other one was) but those are now cleaned up so next steps.

And is there anyone else that has had to be exposed to Heprin shots every day...its a blood thinner shot that feels as if they have radiated poison throughout your body. And its like the nurses come in "am sorry Ms. Douglas...blahblah balh Ms. Douglas" unless you are taking these burning shots I don't want to hear I'm sorry...and what are you sorry for? Sorry that you don't have to take them? What I'm saying is there are some very caring and competent nurses out there for sure but my golly can they be ANNOYING. But don't worry, I don't cuss them when they wake me up every 2 hours!