Summer 2008

Hello again,


First I would like to say that summer was shorter than I expected because I got a call in June I believe that there was a cancellation and I could have surgery on August 14th. I had mixed emotions about it being in August. I was happy that the surgery was alot sooner than first thought and I would not have to wait in pain but sad because I would miss out on the last part of summer. Of course that was a small price to pay for getting surgery sooner and not having to deal with the loose rod any longer.


The summer was interesting and it is funny thinking back to summer right now during the middle of winter! Oh how I would love to have summer right now! In the spring I decided I would still try to grow some plants in the green house despite the pain and the darn brace and everything else. I am glad I did because it really gave me a reason to get outside and feel useful and feel that I had accomplished something when I was dealing with so many limitations. Also there is something amazing about nurturing seeds into plants and watching them grow into something beautiful. It became the highlight of my day to spend time in the greenhouse and truly brightened my day at a time when I seemed to have some pretty depressing days. The only drawback was the constant reminders that I still had limitations recovering from surgery like if I needed something as simple as a pot moved-I needed to wait until someone could help me. I also could only manage about 10 minutes out in the greenhouse so I would often be seen walking back and forth from the greenhouse to the house to lay down and rest my back. My family found this amusing and I sort of started to as well. But I think my parents also felt bad for me and built me a lounge chair/bed that they put by the greenhouse so I didn't have as far to walk and could lay outside in the warm sunshine when I needed to rest my back. It also gave me the ability to lay outside in the shade with a good book when I couldn't be up. This was a much better option to me than being cooped up inside feeling frustrated that I was missing summer because I was stuck inside. The hardest part I think I dealt with was not being able to help out with stuff I normally did like mowing the lawns and weeding the flower beds and helping in the garden etc. Sometimes I got so frustrated with stuff that I just did it anyways and ended up not doing myself any favors and end up worse off than before. I kept thinking I would eventually learn and know my limitations and listen to them but I guess it isn't easy because I didn't seem to learn.