1. Today I drove Christy to CdA where she had her next follow up appointment after having had her right hip replaced. The P. A. Christy talked with examined today's x-ray and summed up her assessment in one word: "Beautiful".
This is great news and I was also happy when Christy told me that she and P. A. also talked about the chief complication to her overall recovery: the aftermath of having been in sepsis. The dizziness, lightheadedness, nausea, lack of appetite, and general malaise Christy experienced over the last three days had kept her mostly confined to bed.
The P.A. talked with her about three things. Because Christy had been on antibiotics to knock out an infection elsewhere in her system, the P.A. recommended that she care for her gut by taking probiotics and continuing to eat probiotic foods. She recommended that Christy focus her diet, as much as possible, on anti-inflammatory foods. Lastly, she gave Christy advice about how to pace herself as she alternates between activity and rest.
2. I helped Christy with a few things in her house when we returned from CdA. I gathered up her trash, disposed of it, and took her garbage can to the curb. She had had a handful of packages delivered to her that she hadn't opened and I opened them and put the contents where Christy wanted them. I cleared out her empty cardboard boxes, either putting them broken down with the trash or taking them to our house. Debbie and I clearing things we don't need out of the basement. The boxes will help us with that job.
3. So how should Christy pace herself? The P.A. recommended that when Christy takes on a household task, she ought to put twenty minutes on a timer and then rest when those twenty minutes are up. Working in short segments of time will keep her active. Resting and not overdoing it will help her conserve energy and not wear herself out.
Christy tried this approach on Tuesday and was happy with the results.
Indeed, those twenty minutes of activity got her moving around in a healthy way, but resting afterward helped keep her need for activity and need for rest in balance.
An example of one good outcome: Christy cleaned out her fridge, emptied another cardboard box, and had another couple of things for me to dispose of before the garbage collector's Wednesday morning arrival!
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