A Solitary Cabin

The first day of rehab is action-packed, as days in nursing homes go.

It was mostly a day of introductions: the staff, my nurse, the nurse practitioner, the physical therapist, the occupational therapist, the admin staff, and the aides who help me out. It's quite a group, and I am profoundly grateful that they are all here. I need the help.

There are rules. I am a fall risk, and as such, I need to call for someone to make sure I get into the restroom when I have to take care of business. It's a small prick to my dignity, but they are very professional about it. It's almost not weird.

Other rules: timing of meds, calling before showering (same deal... no falls), basically call if I am going to do much other than sit or move from chair to bed. Again, I'm okay with it. It's a good opportunity to rest and recover.

One other big rule: if I refuse care or the PT work, I'm out. The insurance will stop paying, and I go home. Which... I guess is a bigger problem than I would expect. I'm here to do the work, I knew that coming in. The idea of refusing care is a mystery to me. However, I suppose some people have their reasons.

Waking in the morning is the hardest. The pain meds and muscle relaxers have usually worn off by the time I wake, and I've been lying almost completely still for hours. Everything seizes up. On the worst day, it took me 1.5 hours to work through the pain to go from lying to sitting, and another 3 hours to go from sitting to standing. Today, it only took 45 minutes. I'll take the win.

Once I am able to move a little, things begin to loosen up. I can move about 10 steps with the walker, which will get me around the room and to the restroom. My hip and thigh do begin to spasm after a couple of minutes, but the more I work with them and stretch, the longer I can go before it becomes unbearable.

Colin, my PT guy, gave me a few light exercises to start, but I can already feel them helping. Amy, the OT aide, taught me how to use a tool called a reacher for manipulating socks, shorts, etc., when I cannot bend my leg. Very helpful. I'm gonna drive my wife's cat crazy with that reacher when I get home.

In between all of the meetings today, I've mostly been reading and listening to music. That part is restful, and I appreciate it. If you have any new music you are excited about, drop me a line.

I'm working my way through Rachel E. Beck's Glitchlogs series, but I only have one book left and so am savoring it. Next up is Matthew Goodwin's Cyberpunk Saga.

Dinner has arrived, and so I'm going to go eat. Have a good night, all, and wish me luck.