Icy, Snowy Birthday

We had freezing rain overnight. This morning we woke to an icy glaze on the streets and driveway. Mid-morning we saw some snow. It may snow a bit this afternoon. No sun expected.

I had an office visit with my spine surgeon at 10:15 this morning in Warsaw. He comes to Warsaw twice a month; it was good that I did not have to drive to Fort Wayne. Actually Highway 30 had been salted and cleared and was not in too bad a shape. Grace Village was out salting my street and driveway around 9 a.m. To be even more careful, my husband drove me to my appointment in his all-wheel-drive pickup truck.

The x-ray of my cervical spine showed the new titanium plate securely in place and the fusions (cages with bone bits) showing some early "maturation", meaning there is some bone growth starting. All lifting/bending restrictions have been lifted. I thought I would have to wait until week 6 per the discharge instructions, but I guess things look fine so restrictions have been lifted at week 5. My next appointment is in 6 weeks. I do still have some trouble swallowing, especially large med/supplement capsules and tablets. The swallowing is expected to resolve in the coming weeks.

At breakfast there was a big gift bag that had snowflakes and said "Let it snow". 

Inside was a panda toy from my husband. He is very soft and huggable (the panda, but I guess that pertains to my hubby, too).

I have received some birthday cash from two people. This weekend I will look at Zappos and read the reviews for walking shoes. My old Nike pair badly need to be replaced. The nice thing about Zappos is the free returns. I may order 2 or 3 pairs of shoes, then return all but the one I choose to keep. 

While washing some of my placemats, I noticed that several stains are not coming out anymore even with treatment. I love the Lenox on Blue ones. I see they sometimes come up for sale on ebay. Replacements company has them but so expensive. Anyway, I decided to order 4 Pioneer Woman mats. My Walmart only had 1 in stock; I was pleasantly surprised to find them on sale at Amazon with free shipping (even though less than $25 order). They supposedly would arrive between January 28th and February 2nd, but they showed up via FedEx today! They are washable and reversible. They are kind of big from top to bottom, but I like them and will keep them. Bright and cheery.

I had originally planned to have my husband pick up carryout dinners from Texas Roadhouse for tonight. Instead I pulled out of the freezer this morning one of the large Costco steaks. He surprised me by going to the grocery store while I was at the doctor's office and buying a small chocolate cake for my birthday dessert. We will have to make up for the missed restaurant food meals by doing it another time. This is not my first birthday in Indiana where the weather caused us to change plans. 

I get my first Moderna vaccination next Tuesday (Feb. 2nd). My husband already had his first one since he fit in the 80+ cohort. His second one will be February 8th. 

I think I will go put away the last of my Christmas stuff; I was waiting until I had permission to bend over to get into my lower cupboards. I may still need help putting things on the shelf above my husband's clothes in his closet since that will require a step stool or step ladder. Not a good idea to fall.

Surgery December 22nd

 I am scheduled for surgery on Tuesday December 22nd. This will be at Parkview Orthopedic Hospital in Fort Wayne. I need to stay well until then so the surgery won't have to be postponed. I don't think there will be any occupancy level problems at that hospital; not sure about staffing. The surgery is considered day surgery; I will come home that day unless there are complications. I had an ACDF (anterior cervical discectomy and fusion) 17 years ago. The doctor will remove the old titanium plate and screws and install a plate that spans 3 levels (C4-C6). I will start physical therapy 4 weeks later as long as everything goes as expected.

COVID is rampant in our state and county. Fort Wayne also has a very high number of cases. My husband will not be allowed in the hospital except for a few minutes before I go into surgery. The doctor will phone him to update my status; the hospital will call when I am ready to go home (after 4-5 hours in recovery). It will be a long day for him. I had hoped he could spend time in a warm library nearby, but that won't be happening as people will no longer be allowed inside.

In some counties, libraries are open for curb-pickup only, banks have drive-up service only except when an appointment is needed and made ahead, and restaurants have gone from full capacity to 50-75% depending on the risk level in the county. It is going to get ugly the next few weeks as people travel and celebrate in large groups. The college students in my town (Grace College) started earlier than normal so that the instruction period would end at Thanksgiving. They won't start again until January, but that could be online.

My last activity I attended regularly in person (every 2 weeks) was Winona Literary Club. It has canceled its Dec. 2nd meeting. We always have a winter break; hopefully, by March we can start up again as usual.

I bought a few Christmas presents for my husband last week. I have a few things to buy yet online. I will be mostly doing online grocery shopping as well. I do plan to put up my Christmas decorations the weekend after Thanksgiving, and buy a poinsettia at Menards. I have 4 medical appointments between now and December 22nd all related to the surgery. I need to see if I can reschedule my dental cleaning; it was to be December 30th. A month seems like a long time, but I know it will go by quickly as I stock my pantry and freezer for my recuperation time. 

Have a safe and blessed Thanksgiving.