travels, races, and other musings

Any endurance athlete who tapers before a race will tell you how awful it makes them feel. When your body is used to moving a lot, suddenly dialing it back or stopping feels AWFUL. It's Roger that equated how I was feeling with a taper. Turns out, I need to move. My doctor encouraged it and I kept thinking I needed to rest and yes, I do need to do that too, but I also need to keep things moving.  Yesterday I was feeling pretty blah but felt much better after a short walk. This morning I woke up feeling horrible again. I'm still super swollen and I woke up with my right hand swollen as well. I made myself breakfast (a protein smoothie and a bowl of corn flakes) and was so beat afterwards that I had to lie down and rest. So I thought maybe I overdid it. I spoke with my surgeon's nurse and explained everything and she said that I should be turning a corner today and to be patient. She also said it sound like I have a seroma. The body apparently doesn't like an empty place ...

I finally got to have my surgery. After being delayed by the ice storm and then Covid, my rescheduled surgery went on as planned. I wasn't able to eat anything after midnight but I could have clear liquids up until 5 AM because my surgery wasn't until the afternoon. So I woke up at 11:45 and had some cereal and then again at 4:45 and had some 7-Up. I think having that 7-UP made a big difference in my comfort level later in the day.  My first procedure was at St. David's North Austin hospital at 8:30, with an 8:15 check-in. We checked in and I went to registration first, which was in a woman's office. There was a quote on her white board about weathering the storm to find the sun. It seemed applicable to my life at the moment. As she went through everything, she asked me about my emergency contacts and confirmed Roger and then asked about Jan Bowman. I told her no, not any more, then broke down in tears. She handed a box of tissues across her desk. I apologized and said ...