Patrick's Saturday Six, Episode 216

It’s time to think positive…about being negative. Are you cynical? Are you practically Oscar the Grouch? Or are you that happy type that most of the rest of us would like to shove down a storm drain be much more like?

Being negative is this week’s topic!

Here are this week’s “Saturday Six” questions. Either answer the questions in a comment here, or put the answers in an entry on your journal…but either way, leave a link to your journal so that everyone else can visit!  Enjoy!

1. Is the glass half-empty or half-full?  half full

2. Are you more of your own worst critic, or do you tend to be everyone else’s worst critic instead? a little of both

3. How do you feel about technological advances: are you generally optimistic that a new system will make life better or worse? I love new technology and yes, I think it will make life better. I wish I could afford it!

4. Take the quiz: Are you too negative? Nope, I am positive.

5. A friend asks your opinion about something, and you know that being honest might hurt his or her feelings. How honest are you likely to be? I will diplomatically try to be honest but stop if I think it might be too hurtful. You can usually tell if someone wants the real truth.

6. You see a panhandler on the street: which tends to be closer to your immediate impression: that he’s a good person who’s down on his luck or a bad person who doesn’t want to work? I'm more likely to think it is a person who does not choose to work.

 

Finally

I went to the doctor today and learned that the x-rays show my ankle is making progress.  Everything is where it should be and I can start therapy. There is still a considerable amount of swelling but with screws holding the outside ankle bone in place and smaller anchors holding the tendons where they belong the joint has stiffened up and formed some scar tissue as well.  The therapy should/will relieve that.

The doctor said I am now able to start weaning myself from the toe-to-knee brace to a lace-up support that will allow me to wear an athletic shoe. I immediately switched out to the lightweight version and found the foot and ankle strong enough to be able to drive with the right foot. Yeah, rah!!!

I don't want to overdo it but I am very excited that I should soon be able to wear normal shoes. The fashion statements I have been making leave much to be desired,

Playing Patrick's Sunday Seven

I am so excited to find Patrick's Place once again. Click here to get the full effect.

The 2007-2008 television season has come to a close, and here is a list of the Top 20 shows of the season. You’ll note that in some cases, some shows may be listed more than once: one day’s regularly-scheduled episode may do better than another day’s, and rather than average them together, Nielsen lists the show twice.

You don’t necessarily need that list for this week’s question, because it’s entirely up to you which shows you list, but I thought I’d supply it at least as an idea starter.

THIS WEEK’S QUESTION:
Name your favorite shows of the 2007-2008 TV season.

Here is mine:

1.  The Office

2.  Two and A Half Men

3.  The Big Bang Theory

4.  Boston Legal

5.  The Paper (MTV)

6.  60 Minutes

Tags: TV, Patrick, Lists

Patience is required

I waited for four months and just when I thought I was going to be released from knee therapy, I learned that I had to have more surgery.  My knee was finally healing but the broken ankle still did not look right.  I soon learned that it was far from healed.

I had been told originally that there was really nothing to be done. The two broken bones would heal while I wore my little ankle boot. Oh, contraire.  Major bones had to be rebroken. Tendons had to moved and the joints had become something of a trash heap of bone debris.  I sure wish someone had paid enough attention when they were working on the knee to take care of the ankle. Oh, that's right.  I then learned I was being treated by a "knee specialist" but now I needed an "ankle specialist." Silly me, I thought an orthopedic surgeon could handle them both.  Guess they both have bills to pay and tanks to fill. So I was shuffled off to another partner in this maze of specialists and medical bills.

Now here I am, almost seven months later, limping along with a swollen foot, strapped into a walking boot in the hot Texas summer.  I did not get released today to begin therapy or even start wearing even tennis shoes. No, I am still hobbled and I have learned that, in spite of my best efforts, I am unable to float in the deep end of my pity pool.

Someone hand me a margarita.

Countdown

Tomorrow should be a red letter day for me.  After two surgeries and six months of braces, walkers, casts, crutches, wheelchair and riding the short bus, I hope to be able to leave them all behind and walk and drive normally.  I am sooooo excited.  I know I am going to have to go through some therapy but that will be nothing compared to what I have already been through.  

You just do not appreciate things when you have them; only when they are taken away.  When this whole experience is over, I hope I will appreciate driving while I sit facing the front.  I won't mind where I park. I will shop both sides of the store in the same visit. I will step off the curb without holding on to someone or something. I will shop for fun. I'll probably spend more money. I will swim. I'll have more energy. I will buy new shoes. I will not think about the number of steps involved when going out with friends. I won't look like a wobbling weeble - most of the time.

Yep, it's going to be a new day!  Yeah!!

I'm old but not that old!!

A lot has happened since I stopped journaling in early 2006.  I became a grandmother for the first time and that sweet baby girl brings me such joy. She is the primary focus of another place where I blog so I will limit my effusive Nana epistles to that location. For now this space is all about me - me - me.

For the last six months I have been recovering from a car accident. Not sure what the other driver was thinking but she turned left in front of me as I drove through an intersection with the green light.  I t-boned her car, flipping it on its side and I believe both of us are lucky to be alive. She told the police officer she did not remember what happened but I suspect she thought she had enough time to beat me through the light and she was not likely to tell the officer that.

My car was a total loss and it breaks my heart since I only had two payments left.  I had bought the car new with all the bells and whistles I had wanted and it was still in excellent condition. With the low mileage, I was looking forward to driving her a few more years. To add insult to injury, I had just filled the tank with gas moments before the accident so I was left with a heap of metal with two deployed airbags and a full tank sitting in the salvage lot. Wahhh!

As for me, I thank God I am not in worse condition. My most extensive injuries were a broken right ankle and a shattered kneecap. I think the goose egg on my forehead was from the gate remote on the visor and the airbag left me with two black eyes. It is scary when those things go off!! I saw the passenger one explode and the panel hit the front windshield, breaking it. No wonder they talk about not having children in the front seat. Beware!  There are other assorted bumps, bruises and indignities but I'm still here to tell the story. 

I had surgery on my knee last November and while the prognosis was less than encouraging, I am still hoping for a full recovery. My friends and family took great care of me and I was grateful they kept my spirits up.

I am so use to being on the go all the time, the sudden inactivity was tough. Thank heaven for internet, cell phones, and my dad's state-of-the-art recliner.  I spent the first two months essentially living in that recliner. I was not allowed to put any weight on the right leg and it was braced to keep me from bending it. The hope was to give the bone graph every opportunity to take and for a little extra insurance it is all tied together with wire and screws.

During the first two months of recovery I was very limited in my ability to care for myself so I stayed with my parents. It was too much of an effort to get up and down so I was basically parked in the middle of their den with my pain pills in one hand and the remote in the other. 

I learned to move from recliner to bathroom and back by hopping on my left foot and keeping my balance with the aid of a walker. For longer "trips" I used a wheelchair.  There were 28 hops from recliner to throne. Unfortunately, much like Pavlov's dog, my bladder was soon conditioned to get excited as I round the last bend and headed down the home stretch.  My mantra became "It's mind over matter ... it's mind over matter." Sometimes it actually worked.

My next entry "Depends Were My Friends."

Dusting off the ol' Dust Bunny

It has been over two years since I was here last.  I see that things are the same and yet they are different.  I was so torqued by AOL in 2006 that I packed my wee little bag and marched into the sunset.  Big whoop!  I see that AOL has appeared to have backed off from the heavy handed advertising they dropped on our journals back then.  But that is not the reason I'm here once again. I missed my journal. I missed the connection I had with so many of you.  I am certain it will never be the same but I'm going to make the effort.

So, I am sending this entry out into the vast blog space in the hope I can once again connect ... with Judith and Tilly and Suzy, Jodi, Robin, Nikki, Jimmy, Alice, Jon, Vivian, Julie, Joe, Mark, Emily, Steve and so many more.  Hellloooo ...... are you there?  I'm back and have so much to share. Anyone listening?

Tags: Dust Bunny Protector