I slept so well Sunday night that I overslept this morning for the first time since I moved here. By the time I heard Stella whining and seeing her standing by the bed, the sun was already up and it was close to 6:30am. I grabbed the walker like I do every morning to get all the muscles and joints lined up as I walk down the hallway to the kitchen. Things felt different today and not in a good way.
On purpose I decided to take some time off from taking long walks outside over the weekend, calling it a rest day. I was beginning to question that decision as I flipped on the lights and let the hounds outside. None of the things I was feeling was pain but soreness. My knee was sore, for the first time in a long time my lower back was really sore, the side of my hip felt like there was a huge rock inside it and my groin was sore.
It sure felt like something happened in my sleep, where the leg may have moved in a way it's not allowed. Like too far to the right??? Or did I try to drag my heel up, bending my leg at the knee to loosen a tight leg? Whatever it was, I wasn't feeling good and I was a little concerned.
It wasn't even 7am and the hounds were begging for breakfast. They are both back to their old ways of demanding breakfast kibble as soon as they walk back inside the house. Stella will howl, Heidi will start barking. Both things you don't want to hear that early in the morning.
As I walked around the kitchen my leg started to relax a little and started feeling better. Some of the soreness went away in the knee, the groin and lower back. What concerned me was the feeling I had when putting weight on the right leg. I could tell the difference when I used the walker. It hurt a little at the top of my leg when I tried walking ... is that why it felt like a rock (not misspelled) was inside my hip?
While coffee was being made I thought I'd add 600mg of Ibuprofen to the tiny pill of Bayer Low Dose Aspirin with my morning water. Soon after those muscles felt much better to the point I could walk around the house, inside, without a problem.
It's good to see there is a hiking trail this close to the fence in my back yard. I had the 200mm zoom for this photo so he is on the other side of the natural wash. I've seen him and his dog on this early morning hike before. I hope to be able to hike that trail soon.
By the way my body felt I was going to take another day off today. To keep my feet and ankles from swelling I'd spend more time laying in bed reading a book instead of sitting in a chair. I was beginning to think the amount of time I laid in bed sitting up reading on Sunday was the reason for my sore lower back this morning. I cannot even remember the last time I sat up in bed to read a book.
It was going to be another great day here in the high desert. The Aerostat was already at work. I wondered how many photos it has collected of me taking photos of it or of me walking laps around my backyard?
There are times I wonder if Heidi is looking for her grass yard she left back in Indiana. Once I am in shape where I can get on my hands and knees I am going to buy her a patch of field turf and anchor it down on the right side of the patio next to the gate. As the temps cool I am sure she would enjoy laying in the yard in the sunshine ... just not on rock.
She finally gave up trying to find grass and decided the living room rug would work just as good for a late morning nap.
Stella spent most of her time going outside and then back inside a million times looking for that perfect sleeping spot. She finally found a spot that she uses every day before noon.
As I started feeling better I thought I'd test my leg and hip and walk a lap or two around the backyard. This is the first step of getting the shoe on my right foot. Once I slide my foot into the shoe under the tongue, I use the extended shoe horn in back to slide my heel inside. The only hard part is getting the shoe tied after it is on my foot.
I walked slower than I normally do, analyzing what my muscles were telling me. I felt both legs as I walked and they were the same size, no swelling and normal muscle movement. The right side of my hip was not swollen, it was soft to touch and my incision looked perfect.
I felt so good after three laps that I walked through the house, out to the sidewalk and headed for the end of the block to the left. I continued to walk slowly feeling nothing out of the ordinary nor did I feel any kind of pain or discomfort. Did taking time off hurt me more than walking as much as possible this weekend?
Right after their lunch both of the hounds like to clean their feet and legs before they take their afternoon long siesta.
Stella was sure she had heard a food wrapper, maybe smelled something I was cooking ... she stood up from a deep sleep. I've never seen a dog so obsessed about food as she is.
Throughout the day I took short walks around the yard. I can't because it would cause me to break the 90° bending rule but I really feel if I could stretch my hamstrings I'd feel a lot better. Both legs are really tight of course without real exercises and with the trauma of surgery. It was one month ago today that I wrecked my bike. Tomorrow will be one month since I had surgery.
Towards the late afternoon I felt exhausted and had done nothing all day but read, take short walks along with walking around the house. That led to a nap almost two hours long. Once again, as soon as I woke up all the areas that were sore this morning were sore again ... at least until I walked into the kitchen.
I cannot lay on the floor to use the massage roller on my legs and back because I cannot get up off the floor like I can out of bed. I would love to be able to bend over to where I could touch my toes but that puts my hip past the 90° limit. These 4 weeks of little activity is starting to get to me I think.
As always I never wait to update all of my devices when a new Apple Operating System update comes out. Finally they had one for their desktops (iMac) and laptops (Pro and Air). Unlike things I read on the forums, I've never had problems after doing an update, for the computers, phone or watch. I guess I am lucky in that regard. I am now using the new macOS Catalina.
For those that use Blogger for your blog ... just an FYI ... unlike some others I have not had one problem with blogger working anytime day or night. I upload all of my photos at one time without a hitch. Even after the new Catalina OS update on the iMac I did not have an issue running any of my blogs.
I am finding out that I just cannot sit in a chair for too long. 30 minutes is about as long as I can sit without feeling something in my hip.
So with that ... I'm outta here for tonight. It was a good day but I admit I was a little concerned by the way I felt when I took my first steps of the day.
I can't wait to get back to blogging about day trips here in the Wild West.
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