Sometimes the psychological effects are a bit much…
Posted by: firemedic1 in In the middle...As The Week Ends
The rest of the week went pretty smoothly. I rested for the most part and kept my leg elevated. I continued to use my medication cocktail of Men’s One-A-Day, Norco, Potassium, and stool softener. I’d have to reiterate that when taking some type of opioid pain killer that you also take a stool softener. Opioids can and will cause severe constipation and it’s best to get out ahead of it before it’s a problem.
I did manage to pick up a cast cover to aid with taking a shower. I’m not much for taking baths so I took showers and the cast cover did the trick.
I also didn’t bother to get a shower chair as I was able to get in and out of the shower with ease by sitting on the edge of the tub and swinging my legs inside and then standing up. It was a bit tedious but not as tedious as trying to maneuver a chair in and out of my tub on a regular basis. I was also able to stand up easily using one leg, so if you’re someone who isn’t able to do that for whatever reason then I’d suggest taking a bath or using a shower seat. Keep in mind that if you choose to shower and go without a seat then you will be doing it balancing on one leg. Again, that’s something that wasn’t tough for me because my able leg was easily up to the task. That may not be the case for everyone. Just be smart and use common sense. There’s no rewards here for bravery and the risks are very high in case of a fall. Oh, and lastly about the shower…bath mat….bath mat…bath mat. Don’t slip and fall! It hurts and it’s embarrassing to have to call 911 for the fire dept and paramedics to come hoist your wet naked injured body out of the shower. For one, it’s not easy. And two, you don’t look as good naked as you think.. haha. I don’t say that from experience as the guy in the tub….I say that as the guy who has to come get you out!
So, like I said, the week was pretty uneventful. I took a shower. That was exciting. I weaned myself off of the Norco by Thursday evening. My pain has remained at a zero or near zero so I’m very thankful for that. And then the weekend came.
You see, this whole week consisted of me getting up with the wife and kids and helping as best I could to get them out of the house for work and daycare. I spent the rest of the day “recovering”…or…doing as little as possible. The stress was low, the house was quiet, I slept when my body got tired and all was okay. And then the weekend came…
The weekend came and brought with it 103 degree F days with little to no help from our air conditioner. Yes, I realize that I’m complaining about A/C when many people of the world can’t even fathom the concept. Sorry. It was HOT. My kids, although I love them to death, were loud and needy. I was tired. All the moving around from the day was getting to me and eventually I blew my top a little bit. It was an accumulation of frustration from being injured, not being able to totally fend for myself, being hot (I hate being hot), being tired, moving around much more than I had all week, constant noise (my son hasn’t stopped talking since the day he learned how to make noise and he has no idea what an inside voice is!), being stuck inside almost all week, and every little stressful thing that makes up a normal person’s day. All these things collided at one time and I just blew up. I yelled at my infant daughter (not a proud dad moment…shame), snapped at my son and wife, had a pity party for myself and pretty much just shut down. It didn’t last long fortunately but it was a quick look at how the little things add up and how easily they can boil over. I eventually apologized and spend the rest of the evening with my wife next to our fire pit enjoying a cold (much needed) beer.
Sunday was better. The temp was down and I knew a little bit more of what to expect of the day so all was well. I was nervous about going back to work the next day as I wasn’t exactly sure what I was going to do. Going back to work was 100% my decision. I could have stayed out and I had more than enough sick time to do so but just don’t like the thought of using sick time when I don’t really need to. Well, in hindsight, I should have stayed home ONE more day but there’s more on that to come. It’s its own fun filled adventure chocked full of terror, suspense, fear, uncertainty just to name a few!
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