From Frustrations to Gratitude …
For those who have been asking about my recent progress, I am in my 10th week since my surgery and my wheelchair has finally been replaced with a combination of electric scooter and crutches! Being in Florida, it is convenient for me to scooter over to my aqua exercises and this has certainly aided my healing. Last week however I had my first set back. My right foot became quite painful and did not agree with any of my walking efforts. Thus I was forced to return to a few sedentary days and was back to the RICE routine of rest, ice, compression and elevation.
Needless to say my patience ran thin as I could not believe I was once again having pain and inflammation. I was ready to “get moving” and how dare my body not cooperate!
As my mind drifted away from gratitude, I quickly grew my list of complaints and frustrations. With the help of my wonderful and creative husband, we started to look at this list not as frustrations but rather as problems to be solved. In this light, we combined local errands with a few Amazon orders, and were able to create numerous solutions. Suddenly my frustrations vanished, and my days were filled with many joyful activities that were unthinkable just a few weeks ago. To date, my favorite discovery was learning to modify my crutches so that I can walk on the beach! Needless to say I was beyond joy to finally get my feet on the sand! My other excitement this week was getting a handy little gadget that allows me to get in and out of my own car.
This is huge, because for weeks we had to use a handicapped rental van.
In summary, I am back to having an abundant gratitude list. A list that now includes the simple pleasures of digging my feet into the sand and riding in a normal car. But what I am mostly grateful for is having such a supportive husband and friends who have helped me turn so many of my frustrations into a wonderful journey of creative solutions.