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One step at a time, but too many stairs!

My alarm clock went off at 5:45 a.m. today – that is, at least a good couple of hours before I normally get up these days (I am NOT a morning person, and I don’t start work until 11:00 a.m.!) – because my husband and I were scheduled to attend a three-hour Joint Care Clinic in preparation for his upcoming surgeries.

So I’m a little tired.

The clinic was a rather overwhelming experience, despite the fact that we sat through something similar the first time he had hip replacement surgery. Part of the problem was that our questions about this month’s surgery (that is, the insertion of an antibiotic spacer in preparation for the hip replacement revision weeks or months down the road) were looming in our minds, yet no one seemed able to address many of our queries with anything definitive. We don’t in any way fault the staff at the clinic – they were very, very informed and helpful in terms of their knowledge of total hip replacement, which was the whole focus of the clinic. I suspect that any questions about the first surgery (which is far less common) will have to be presented to and answered by my husband’s surgeon.

One of our major concerns – which hasn’t yet been answered to any degree of certainty – is whether or not the temporary spacer will be weight-bearing. The answer could make a big difference in terms of our preparation. Thing is, last time he went through this surgery we lived in a small condo with no stairs and everything within reach. Now, worries about the geography of our house – many, many steep stairs and no bathroom facilities on the main floor – are at the front of our minds.

On a lighter note, I’ve decided that we need to move to Downton Abbey for a few months. Sure, they have a lot of stairs… but life over the next while would be a whole lot easier with masses of money, the assistance of a well-trained staff of maids, footmen, and cooks, and a lovely nurse like Lady Sybil!

To quote something a friend said the other day, “Why wasn’t I born with a staff?!”

Onward and upward…

Laurel Storey, CZT – Certified Zentangle Teacher. Writer, reader, tangler, iPhoneographer, cat herder, learner of French and Italian, crocheter, needle felter, on-and-off politics junkie, 80s music trivia freak, ongoing work in progress.