DisabilityAccessObserver

This past weekend I attended all three Cubs/White Sox games at the Cell. It was my first (and probably last) trip there this season. I had not been there since last year’s Crosstown Classic and I noticed a couple of troubling renovations, especially around Gate 5.

Going into the Cell at Gate 5, we were greeted by walking into what is now a brick wall. We weren’t told that the small entrance to actually get into the stadium was to our left. It’s probably because we were Cubs fans. We figured it out and took the elevator up. That was not a problem. The problem was when we were leaving.

To leave the Cell at Gate 5, you are now forced to walk down the stairs to get out of the stadium. I looked all three days and did not see an elevator. I did notice that the escalators, which could probably be reversed to go down, were blocked off. This is a huge mistake for those who have problems with stairs. There were no visible signs pointing toward elevators. Another huge mistake.

It appears to me the Cell has outdone itself in making itself less fan friendly, one of the things Sox fans used to gloat about. It’s difficult to get out of the place if you find yourself not near a ramp and unfamiliar with the territory. Also, fans can no longer walk all the way around the park. Like Wrigley Field, you must now show your ticket to gain access to the bleacher area. What a mistake. We also found that when we had to leave early on Sunday, we were forced out of the stadium near the Designated Smoker’s Area. This is a huge mistake for someone deathly allergic to cigarette smoke. Why force people who do not smoke to walk through it? They easily could have let us out the other side.

The Cell does have one advantage over Wrigley, though, the food. Food choices and quality are much better than at Wrigley. I’ll give them that. There’s even a place to sit down and eat so you don’t have to take the food back to your seat with you. That’s also a nice touch. Other than that, give me Wrigley any day.

Yesterday I wrote a tribute to my cat, Kelly, who I had to put down after more than 18 years. Today, as the phone woke me up from an unrestful slumber, other things started to sink in.

First, this emotional thing is taking a bit of a toll on my health I didn’t sleep well last night. Although I moved Kelly’s pillow off the bed, I kept reaching up for her to pat her, something I did automatically throughout the night. Last night, she wasn’t there at all. On little sleep, this morning I feel like I’m in a real fog and I’m hurting more than I know I should.

My life has suddenly changed. Routines are going to be so different. This morning Kelly wasn’t there to follow me into the bathroom and remind me to clean the litter box. The litter box is gone. There were no empty food bowls to pick up and wash. I started reading the paper and Kelly wasn’t trying to read it with me. The condo is way too quiet. I’ll have to get used to that.

On the flip side. I can now take the covers off my black chairs in the living room that Kelly used to love to sleep on. Her fur would cover the chairs, so I had covered them with afghans my mom made and would take them off when I had company. I can wash those and put them away. I will be cleaning up the last of the furballs today, and can now really clean the carpeting in my bedroom. When I go out and I’m wearing black slacks, people won’t automatically assume I have a pet because I shouldn’t have fur all over me.

Life without an animal will be different. It’s not the first time for me. I did not have any pets when I moved to Atlanta in 1984. It wasn’t until I had been there almost two years that I got Trademark. I had been saying that the place did not seem right without a pet. I do not know life in this condo without Kelly, but I’m starting to find out. Her passing is going to have an effect on every aspect of my life. When I want to do something, I no longer have to consider that I have to be responsible for Kelly’s welfare first. If I want to go out of town for a few days, I do not need to arrange for my neighbors to come in and feed her. I don’t have to feel guilty that she’ll basically be alone for a few days. I can just go. 

On the other hand, days when I’m flaring up, she won’t be there as she has to comfort me. I will have to face those days alone. The thing is, I know I’m not alone. I have my family and many, many friends who are helping me through this and will be there for me through the flares.

I’ve talked before about the healing powers of Wrigley. I’m writing a book and talk about it there. Tonight I’ll be at Wrigley, and I know just being there will help me.

As I think back to yesterday morning, I remember holding Kelly, and as I cried she stroked my hand. Even in her last hour, she tried to comfort me as I tried to comfort her. I have no regrets about my decision yesterday morning. I know I did the right thing for Kelly. I’m just thankful I was there with her as she went so she knew as she was going how loved she was.

Just so there is no mistake, this entry is about my dear cat, Kelly, who I had to put down this morning after 18.5 years.  I got her when she was five weeks old. I had another cat at the time and Kelly was supposed to be my dearly departed ex-husband’s cat. The reason we got Kelly was we had been married just under a year and were living in a condo in Atlanta. We we wanted a dog, but could not agree on what type of dog to get. I wanted a big dog, he wanted something small. We agreed to get another cat to be his.

Well, he let me choose the cat. Maybe that was his first mistake. I brought this five-week-old runt home and put her in a basket in the bathroom so my other cat could get used to the scent of a new cat in the house. Boy was that other cat angry - - with ME! Trademark never took out his anger on Kelly, but he sure did on me. He batted at me and hissed at me for two weeks. After that, the two cats were best friends. However, there was ONE spot Kelly was not allowed - Trademark had dibs — it was on top of the printer in my office. Both cats wanted to be with me when I was working, so Trado had the top of the printer and Kelly would fall asleep at my feet. I can’t tell you how many times I rolled over her when I moved my desk chair! This really annoyed my ex, because no matter how wonderful he was to this new kitten, she preferred to be around me.

Kelly was a funny girl, very talky — she was small but had a huge personality. If I wrote down some of the things she used to do to make me laugh, you’d never believe me.  Like many animals, she had this instinct when things were wrong and when she needed to make me laugh or when she needed to comfort me. And she put up with a lot.

After we moved into our first house, we did get a dog — a rescued Greyhound. Kelly and Trademark lived in a huge closet I had in that house for six months because they were so afraid of Sebastian. Turns out Sebastian was more afraid of THEM. They finally did come out of hiding and I remember sharing the sofa with my ex, this huge dog and two cats. The cats went into hiding for a shorter time a year later when we got a second greyhound, but all was well. Kelly sort of did what she wanted to do, and didn’t let the dogs bother her. She wasn’t very happy when we brought in another cat after my mother-in-law died, but for the most part she ignored Chloe.

I remember one night Kelly was asleep on top of the TV in our bedroom. She fell off and hit the floor. I rushed to her and picked her up to make sure she was okay. She was fine. But when I walked past the TV, she swatted at it and hissed. I laughed so hard I dropped her again!

We moved to a larger house and there was more space for Kelly and Trademark to explore. Trademark found his new spot on my desk, and Kelly would be all over the place, but mostly somewhere in my office if I was in there. She slept with me at night.

There was a time when Kelly got very sick and we weren’t sure if she was going to make it. She was hospitalized for three weeks getting nutrition through a tube, and for three more weeks we had to feed her that way. We never found out what was wrong with her, but she pulled through and made sure we knew she was still with us. She had excellent lungs — you could hear her everywhere!

Those lungs probably saved her life one day. We were having work done in the upstairs attic and the workers had left the ladder down. A few hours later, I realized Kelly wasn’t around. I started looking for her. I knew she hadn’t gotten out. I called and called for her and suddenly heard her! She had climbed the ladder, gotten into the attic and was under some insulation and was afraid to come out. By answering my call when I got up there, I was able to locate her and bring her back down. She was terrified. I held her for a long time, brushing insulation off of her fur.

When I had to put Trademark down, Kelly stayed close to me, knowing I needed to pick her up and hold her. She took over Trademark’s spot on my desk. She started sleeping on my pillow at night.

We went through a lot those years we were in what I refer to as “the big house.” It was huge. Kelly stayed by my side until we got a third greyhound. That was a bit much for her. That’s when she perferred to stay in the back of the house where the master bedroom was. She slept on my pillow at night, but rarely came out from the back. I felt really sorry for her and used to visit her and try to coax her out. She would have none of it. But, I’d wake up in the middle of the night and there would be three greyhounds and Kelly sleeping with me.

Kelly saw a total of four greyhounds (twice we had three at one time) come through our house. After we put our second greyhound down, I swore I’d never have three again.  Somehow I got roped into rescuing a mini-lab/beagle mix. Virginia was Kelly’s size when we got her. This intrigued Kelly.  Unfortunately, even though Virginia only wanted to play, she was a little too rough for Kelly, who was starting to get up there in years. I used to watch Virginia go up to Kelly, put a paw on the cat’s back and stand there — the two of them would stare at each other. Eventually Virginia would give Kelly a little push and Kelly would react by hissing and running away.

After my divorce and the death of my ex-husband, and my declining health, I made the decision to move back to Chicago to be near my family and many friends. I had been away 20 years. My parents helped me find my dream condo, but because of my health, I could not assure anyone I would be healthy enough to walk three dogs. I found homes for all of them, and while it broke my heart to let them go, I had no choice and I knew they were going to be well taken care of. Kelly, however, was coming home to Chicago with me. For a few weeks it was just Kelly and me and she followed me everywhere in that house. It was like new territory for her. She was my constant companion.

You have to remember, I said she had really healthy lungs.  At night, when she wanted dinner, she would sit at the end of the hallway and YELL. I could hear her upstairs! So, when my two brothers offered to drive my car with Kelly as a passenger, back to Chicago, they had no idea what they were in for! Everyone got through the 12-hour drive back. My brothers said Kelly “talked” the entire time, but she wasn’t bad. I think they were being kind.

When we moved into our condo on the lake, Kelly immediately became the princess of the condo. This was her territory — just the two of us. She seemed to revel in the new surroundings and all the attention she was getting from me. She didn’t have to share me anymore and she knew it and she loved it.

Each time I got really sick, Kelly was there to comfort me. When I came home from infusions for my osteoporosis in such horrible pain and all I could do was crawl into bed, Kelly was there next to me, purring in my ear and stroking my hand with her little paw. She left my side only to eat and use her litter box. More recently, when I would have flare-ups, she would take her place on the pillow above my head and stroke my face with her paw.

Lately, she hasn’t been well. The past four years, she has had a thyroid problem and has been on medication. She was sleeping more and more deeply. She often did not hear me when I walked in the house. Other times, she was there yelling at me.  There were many times I would find her asleep on a chair and have to poke her to make sure she was alive. Thankfully, she always was.

This last week, she seemed to have a little more pep to her. She was yelling more than she had, she was eating more than she had and she was jumping from the table to the counter, something I never allowed her to do, so I was surprised when she started doing that. Something in the back of my mind was nagging at me, though. This was quite unusual behavior. But she seemed fine and happy.

I was at my boyfriend’s this past weekend. My plan was to come home Saturday for a while and be home all of Sunday. Well, we had terrible rain Friday and all day Saturday, and I wasn’t feeling well and did not come home on Saturday. Our Sunday plans changed when Hurricane Ike plowed through Houston forcing Major League Baseball to move the Cubs/Astros series to Milwaukee for two games. We decided to go to last night’s game. I came home to check on Kelly before going to Milwaukee. She was fine. I carried her around, apologizing that I wasn’t going to be with her as I had promised but I’d be back in the morning. She seemed to understand, if cats can, and happily started eating the fresh food I put down for her. Things were great. It was a GRAND night. I saw a NO HITTER, something I may never again see in person.

However, when I got home early this morning, Kelly did not greet me at the door. She did not call back when I called for her. She was not in any of her regular spots. I found her lying limp on the rug in the guest bathroom. When I yelled her name, she tried to lift her little head and barely got a meow out. I picked her up. She was limp. I tried to make her stand and she fell over. Then I realized her little body was twisted. I picked her up again and she tried to burrow her head into my neck. Tears streaming down my face, I knew I needed to get her to a vet. She wasn’t in pain, or didn’t appear to be. I was sure she’d had a stroke. She had all the symptoms.  The first thing I did was call my mom. Sure, I’m 49 and what do I do? I call my mom to tell her Kelly’d had a stroke and I needed to get her to the vet. She asked if I could drive myself and at first I said yes, I had to. Then I realized I was in no shape to drive. My dad had a doctor’s appointment and my mom said she’d pick us up when he got home. That sounded good to me. I could have some time with Kelly. We sat in one of her favorite chairs and I held her. She tried to lift her head and started to purr. Then she started stroking my hand seeming to tell me it was okay, it was time to let her go. I hugged her to me and cried like a baby. She kept stroking my hand, then stopped. She tried to meow, but nothing came out. I decided to take a shower. I put her on my bed and brought her some treats. She ate some, but could not lift her head. When I got out of the shower, she was on the floor trying to get to the bathroom where I was. She tried to walk but kept falling over. She pulled herself a little way and fell over on her side. I picked her up and checked my phone messages. My brother had called to say he was working from home and asked if I wanted HIM to get us and take us to the vet. I called him back and said yes. I didn’t want my little girl to suffer. I wrapped her in a towel and met my brother downstairs.

I had called the vet’s office before I left here and told them I was bringing Kelly in, it appeared she’d had a stroke, I was pretty sure I was going to have to put her down and I didn’t want to be around strangers. They were wonderful at the vet’s. I got there and they took me in back right away and into a room. I held Kelly until the vet came in. She examined Kelly and couldn’t determine whether she’d had a stroke, thrown a clot or this was something having to do with her thyroid, but she was certainly disoriented. She didn’t have the strength to fight with the vet, like she usually did. I could have hospitalized her and put her through some tests and therapy, but the outcome was uncertain and not very hopeful for a cat her age. I looked at my beautiful 18-year-old kitty and knew she had lived the last of her nine lives. If she was younger and the outcome might have been more positive, I’d have said “do what you can.” But a long time ago, after trying to bring Trademark through his brain tumor, I promised Kelly I’d never put her through anything unnecessary. It was time to make sure she would not suffer and to let her go.  I patted her as she was given the injection and she was quickly gone. I was told a long time ago that it could take a few minutes, and if an animal dies quickly, they’re ready. Kelly was ready. My brother and I stayed in the room with her for a little while and then I needed to go. 

I’ve been home this afternoon remembering so many things about Kelly - the funny, the frustrating, all the miles she and I traveled together — literally and figurately. I’ve put all the food I bought late last week into a bag with all the treats I’d bought and will give them to my neighbor across the hall, and I’ve thrown out the litter box and cleaned up the floor where it had been. I have my moments, but I know I did the right thing.

There are some people who don’t understand or don’t believe that animals have the power to make people feel better. I’m here to tell you that they know when you’re hurting, when you’re sick, when you’re sad and when you’re happy. And in their own ways, they know what to do to help you through some horrible times. Kelly sure helped me through some impossible times. In the past there has always been another cat (it was Kelly) or a dog or two to hang onto and share my grief. This time’s different. There isn’t another furry creature around to pick up, or snuggle up to. Kelly isn’t here to stroke my hand or my face.  There’s an empty spot on my desk (the only empty spot — it was Kelly’s) and in my heart. I’m going to miss her more than I imagined I would.

It hurts like hell, but I kept my promise to my little girl. I only hope I was able to comfort her some as she comforted me so many times through the years.

It’s another rainy day here in the Windy City. Remnants of Hurricane Ike got caught up in the system going through yesterday and there’s flooding all the over place. People are being evacuated from their homes along the Chicago River of all places! The Deep Tunnel was so overwhelmed with water that Wilmette had to open the locks to release excess water into Lake Michigan.

Sounds like a great day to stay home, watch the Bears on TV (it’s hot and sunny where they are in North Carolina) and either read a book or take a nap, right? WRONG. In just a little bit I’ll be getting ready to take an unexpected road trip up to Milwaukee to see the Cubs play the Astros. In a funny twist of fate, after the series could not be played in Houston because of Hurricane Ike’s visit, last night Major League Baseball decided that two of the three games will be played at Miller Park since it’s a domed stadium and the Brewers are out of town. One game will be tonight, the other tomorrow afternoon. As soon as the announcement was made, my boyfriend got online and bought two tickets for tonight’s game.

My original plan to get home late in the morning and have a relaxing day watching the Bears, reading the paper and maybe a book got changed. I suddenly had to decide what was most important to me. I really want to go to the game. but I really want and need to relax since I’m not feeling well. So, it was trade-off time. This is an almost every day occurrence for me, though, today’s was a bit different.

Instead of driving home, being there a couple of hours nad driving back, I stayed at my boyfriend’s, slept in and have been doing work from his place. Instead of driving and tiring myself out more than I need to, I’m taking it easy until we have to leave. We’ll drive to my place together so I can get my cane and camera, say hello to my cat and then we’ll start our trip to Milwaukee. We’ll come back here tonight and not play roulette with the cars like we usually do when he stays at my place. I’ll have to be up and out of here early in the morning, but that’s better than having to do the back and forth driving today.

My boyfriend also has a trade-off. His is whether to go to the game or to get some sleep. He leaves for work just after 3am every day. It’s quite possible that he will just drop me off and go straight to work in the morning. I guess we’ll see later tonight.

My life is full of trade-offs like this. While this one is rather extreme, at least it’s not a matter of work or the game. Work would have to come first. That’s why we’re not going to tomorrow’s game. I don’t have to do any of the driving, I’ll get so spend some time alone with my boyfriend, which we haven’t been able to do this weekend because his kids have been with us and I’ll get to see the Cubs play!

Sometimes it’s fun to be spontaneous. And sometimes in order to be spontaneous, trade-offs must be made. It’s a sacrifice, but I’ll take one for the team and be there cheering them on!

Today is not one of my better days. The Cubs will not be playing since Hurricane Ike hit Glaveston and Houston over night. It’s also raining here in Chicago. It rained, very hard, almost all night and especially early this morning. I was supposed to have lunch with a good friend of mine today, but when I heard today’s weather forecast, I canceled, knowing I wouldn’t feel like being very social. Luckily, she is a good friend and understands when I’m not feeling well. She said she had already considered I may not feel up to socializing today.

This brings me to how people, like me, have to deal with days like today and what we do for ourselves to make life just a little easier. My experience with lupus has taught me that I have to take one day at a time. Rarely will I know exactly how I will feel when I wake up each morning. Today I had a pretty good clue, but I did not expect the pain I’m feeling now to be as severe as it actually is. Typing is quite a challenge today. The barometer must be very low.

I have done a few things to try and take care of ME today. My routine would have been different if I was home, but I am at my boyfriend’s house. I slept in, took my time getting out of bed and did not come downstairs until after I had showered. I brought my laptop downstairs with me, had lunch, grabbed the paper and took my files, laptop and the newspaper into the front room, which we’ve designated “my” room when I’m here…… it’s a place where I can come and do my work – supposedly without interruption.

I read a number of emails, responded to some of them and took a look at my Facebook page. In an effort to look at some statistics for the ad I started running a couple of days ago, I was trying to download a new version of a Flash player. My laptop is too old to accept the newest version, so now I know when I want to check statistics, I either do them from home, or use one of the other computers in the house. There are two on this level, and at least one does have what I need to access that area.

So, I’m sitting here, I’ve read a friend’s blog entry, which I found interesting and insightful and one of Al’s kids comes in from a Bar Mitzvah. We talked for a bit and then some of his friends came over. I can hear them somewhere in another part of the house. Then Al’s daughter comes in and asks if she can sit in here with me if she mutes her phone and is very quiet. Unfortunately, I told her I really wanted to be alone. What I really wanted to say was, ” This is my room, leave me alone.” Luckily, she seemed to understand and went into the family room. I really hated to tell her no, but I really didn’t want anyone around me right then.

How do these things help me deal with my pain? Well, aside from short conversations, I don’t have to talk to anyone. When I’m in this much pain, talking wears me out. If I suddenly feel like putting the computer down and falling asleep on the sofa here, I can turn off the light and do that - I don’t have to clear it with someone else. I’m also not being bothered by anyone, which helps me to concentrate on the task at hand — writing on this blog. I find it very difficult to concentrate when the pain level is this high.

Another thing I did for myself today was decide I wasn’t going to drive home in the rain for a few hours, work there and then drive back here. It’s sort of an experiment. I hear the kids, but as long as I don’t have to be on the phone and they’re not bothering me by coming in to chat all the time or being extremely loud, I can handle the noise level. Sometimes I just want total silence. This way I save myself some time, aggravation and gas because I’d just be coming back here again tonight before dinner.

I’ve got my feet up on the sofa, I’m taking things slowly, I’m keeping my stress level down and I just remembered that there’s a Jacuzzi upstairs and it’s calling my name!

I wonder how other people deal with their day to day pain, and I don’t mean little aches and pains, I mean major pain that keeps you from doing small tasks like walking from the bedroom to the bathroom, up or down stairs or driving. I know today I was not up to lunch, I’m not up to getting in and out of a car a few times, I’m not up to grocery shopping (unless it’s online), I’m not up to doing a lot of things. But I’m lucky. I can take care of myself.  Oh, and I do not have a Jacuzzi at my place, but I do have a bathtub that I could fill with hot water and soak some of the pain away if I wanted to.

I’d love to hear how others deal with their challenges. I really think an exchange of ideas can be helpful for all of us.

It has been a while since I updated the site, but this has been an extremely busy four weeks and I have been running on more cylindars than I actually have. I will be writing in the next few days about how being so busy, and actually what I’ve done, has caused me to feel so drained right now.

However, I’d like to make a post right now about Services I attended last night at Beth Emet the Free Synagogue in Evanston, IL. Even though I have two “bionic” knees as I call them, getting up and sitting back down constantly at Jewish Services is still a real challenge for me. Last night we went to Services at Beth Emet because my brother and his fiancee were being blessed on their upcoming wedding and my dad was being blessed for this 75th birthday. It is known in my family, by friends and by at least some of the clergy at Beth Emet that at times that the congregation stands, I usually do not. That’s not a big deal and I’ve gotten past the glares from those I do not know who pass judgement on me. They don’t know about my lupus and really, it’s none of their business. I mean no disrespect and that’s all that matters.

Last night represented a new challenge. The synagogue is now using a new prayer book. I’m told our Rabbi (I refer to him as our Rabbi because this is the synagogue where I basically grew up, where my father is a past president and where my parents are both still very active), had a large part in the development of this new prayer book. I’m also told it took about 20 years to come to fruition. While I know this was an awesome undertaking and I applaud the effort to bring a prayer book into modern times, I had a real problem with it physically. The book itself is BIG. Its size is close to a regular sheet of 8-1/2 x 11 paper and it is very thick – more than 500 pages.

When I awoke yesterday morning, I already knew there would be only sitting for me during the service. However, this would have been the case for me anyway. Not only were my knees bothering me (the lupus in my connective tissues was rearing its ugly head), but my hands were in bad shape, particularly my right hand. There was no way I could have stood and read from this prayer book. The sheer size and weight of it would have been too much of a juggling act for me to stand, hold the book and turn pages.  Had I been using my cane, there would have been absolutely no way to use the cane with one hand, hold the book with the other and turn the pages with another…. oh wait…. I only have two hands.

I am pretty sure this is one area that never came under consideration as this book was being put together, but it bears mentioning now. Should anyone at Beth Emet be reading this and wonder why more people don’t rise to their feet at the appropriate times, perhaps it’s because they, too, are unable to manage such a difficult balancing act.  Yes, someone else can hold the book for them, IF they’re with someone else. There are times people attend Services alone. What are they to do? I hope those who may be faced with this particular challenge do not feel uncomfortable if they are unable to stand and participate. You can still participate sitting down. And I hope others around them refrain from passing judgement too quickly. I also hope this will not deter some people from attending Friday night Services at Beth Emet just because of this issue.

Sadly, I will not be attending a regular Friday night service at Beth Emet again unless there is something that concerns my family. It’s not because of the prayer book, it’s because of the service itself. But that’s an issue I’ll let be known directly to the Rabbi and others in charge at the synagogue.

I’ll admit it. I have not watched this pageant in years and I did not watch last night. However, last night’s pageant was particularly interesting. Miss Iowa, Abbey Nicole Curran, has Cerebral Palsy. Does she let this get in the way of what she wants to do with her life? No. She currently attends St. Ambrose University in Davenport. She is studying public relations and should graduate in 2010.

While I have not heard any interviews given by Abbey, I did see a short clip on the news prior to the pageant. The CP has affected Abbey’s walk, but not her speech or ambitions. The clip I saw on the news showed Abbey holding the elbow of another contestant as they were walking somewhere.  IMO, Abbey represents everything this website is about - she is living proof that you can do anything you want to do, despite any physical challenge you may have.

Abbey did not win the crown, but in my book she should be given one as a person who can inspire others with physical challenges  Read more about Abbey: http://www.missusa.com/delegates/2008/files/IA-interview.html.

Okay, I understand that April showers bring May flowers, but not if the weather is so cold! Tonight the weather’s supposed to warm up a bit from the 43 degrees it is now and we may have heavy rain and severe thunderstorms. Then tomorrow the temperatures are supposed to drop and we may have snow showers on and off all weekend.

Why am I telling you this? Because those of us with chronic pain from such things as lupus and arthritis can be particularly affected by the barometric and temperature changes. I know I am.

Today, I put off going to Target to get a few things because of the weather and because I wasn’t feeling well, also due to the weather. My hips are really bothering me, but the right hip is responding to my physical therapy and the massages I get during my sessions. Still….. I hurt.

Yesterday my physical therapist and I compared WHERE in our bodies we hurt when it’s going to rain. She has pain in her elbows and hands. She does not have arthritis that I’m aware of. With me, I just hurt all over, but now my hips and fingers seem to be the worst places of pain now that both knees have been replaced.

I was on a cruise five years ago just before my first knee replacement. My roommates and I were sitting on our balcony late one night having some wine when I winced and told them my left knee was telling me we were sailing into rain. We were looking at the stars, mind you. Twenty minutes later the stars were gone and we could hear the rain. When I had the left knee replaced a couple of months after that cruise, those same friends were afraid I had lost my ability to predict the weather. Not so! I still had my right knee, elbows, fingers, toes….. you name it.

If someone tells you their bones ache when it rains or is about to rain, believe them. They are probably right. Same thing goes for snow! With me, the pains are a bit different, but there. Guess I’ll be experiencing everything this weekend. I sure am looking forward to spring!

I know I need to finish writing about my hospital stay, but I want to move forward a bit and try to get back on track. I am currently in Arizona at Cubs Spring Training. Guess that tells you my accelerated rehab went well and I made my goal of being on the plane to Phoenix March 12.

We’ve been here more than a week now and it has been wonderful. All my hard work at therapy has paid off. I’m walking on uneven ground and sitting on the lawn, so I have to get up and down from the ground. That’s a little tricky, but we sit up against a fence that I use to help as support and that has made a huge difference.

Considering I got out here seven weeks after major surgery, I’m pushing myself to do way more than I should and I’m in the sun a lot longer than I know I should be, I’ve done really well. I am very tired at night, especially the nights we come back from games and I have to check emails and then make dinner, but those things are being worked out — and I don’t cook every night and THAT makes a big difference.

We had a house guest for a few days. That added some stress I didn’t need, but eventually that all got worked out, as well.

When I stop and think about it, I’m doing far better here than I would be at home right now. The weather here is much better for me and I’m feeling so much better. I hear it’s still snowing in Chicago. I’m not sure I want to go back yet. Thank goodness I have a few more days here!

After a sleepless night due to pain, I was awakened when the parade of doctors, etc., started visiting me at 5:30am. First were a couple of people from the surgeon’s office. After determining that my right leg was way too swollen, they told me to stay in bed and they were going to send me down for a Doppler to make sure I did not have any blood clots. Oh joy. Just what I needed. I was planning on going home the next day.  I called my parents to advise them that I might not be in the room when they arrived and why.

Just after 9 I was taken down for the test. Luckily NO clots! I had to wait a bit, in the cold, to be taken back upstairs. Because there had been a little scare, there was no PT today. Of course, as what would be customary, someone from the hospital staff came in as company arrived.

Today my parents, brother and his fiancee left when my b/f arrived. Soon after he arrived a good friend and my favorite cousin also arrived. Of course, at that point I was told to try to walk a little in the hallway. I did with no problems, but it really wore me out.

I had a problem with the same nurse again today and I was in so much pain because she was so late with my pain killers I was in tears. It’s really difficult to be a bitch when you’re crying. Somehow I did manage to make my point as when the night nurse came in with my pain killers, on time, the day nurse was right behind her making sure she had the meds and apologizing to me for her screw up.