This is so refreshing

I was lucky to have an education in history and classical studies, and I participated in the Honours Program at UK, a Great Books programme, not quite a major, not quite a minor, it's just on my diploma as a separate course of study, which included not just great literature but the gamut of philosophy from ancient to modern times. Add library science into that, and you've got critical thinking, critical analysis of sources, and expertise in finding resources in various media, as well as cataloguing them in ways to make sure they can be found. So...this is really refreshing in a world of AI and short videos where teens challenge each other to eat laundry pods. He's really right. What the world of business needs is not automatons who can do cookie-cutter tasks that can be replaced by technology; they need people who can think outside the box and think better than a computer...and that means they need to analyse things better than artificial intelligence as only a human mind can. That you get from things like, you get it, the humanities, philosophy, all those majors that get no love. Or, for that matter, just reading wonderful books. We have all the knowledge of human history practically available at our fingertips on the internet, and we use it for the stupidest things. Any of us can educate ourselves and become well-read, and it's a shame that so many people take absolutely no advantage of it.

As CEOs predict AI will rival humans in 5 years, Shark Tank’s Daniel Lubetzky tells Gen Z to get off TikTok and study Greek philosophers to get ahead

T - 4 days and I'm stressed out

My stress level is not anywhere near where I was in July, where I literally did not sleep more than three or four hours for four days before the surgery, and then the night before got one hour of sleep. I was so worked up that I couldn't text anyone because the myoclonic tics/spasms I get from stress and lack of sleep were so bad I was double-tapping the phone, and I couldn't text for about four days. Since my roommate had called and not gotten through to people (well, once he got voicemail, and he doesn't leave voicemails--I really should put my friend Brenda in charge of updates), no one knew how I was doing for days.

However, according to my roommate, I'm stressed; he can tell. And my watch yesterday said my stress was moderate to high at times. My tics are back, too, not as severe as they were by any means, but they're there, and I have had very few in the month since the last surgery, where I've been off work and much more relaxed.

I know what to expect. I know it'll most likely be fine. They do a lot of these surgeries, and even though it's a fairly big one, it's become commonplace. But my anxiety is still rearing its big, ugly head. My roommate and I talked a little bit about it over dinner last night, and I do feel better. I promised not to go into 'try to control everyone's actions around me' mode again, because I will get booted to a rehab facility at best or the street at worst if that happens again, he has assured me. I promise nothing under the influence of medication, but I promised to be a model patient otherwise. Last time, while I didn't mean to, I wouldn't listen to people and kept trying to do things my own way, or at least that's how he took it. Actually, it's just that I'm incredibly bad at asking fo help, because in the past I've done so and been made to feel stupid, so I don't want to feel stupid, and so the consequence is I go boldly forward with my own idea and...wind up doing something stupid, because I don't have the information I need, like the aide needs to turn the alarm off the bed before I reach for something at the foot of it, for example. Anyway, my goal is to get through this one smoother in terms of interactions with my friend, who was quite wroth with me last time over that (but who still took very excellent care of me, having been a professional CNA back in the day). Hopefully, the surgery will go well, and the recovery will go just as well on the right as on the left.

I will say that Baptist and Dr. Talwalkar's office has been wonderful. Their protocols did so much for my recovery. The nerve block pump, for example, that I went home with and kept for five days, had me up and moving quicker, so I didn't care that I was on that ROMTech bike three times a day or going to PT the day after being released from the hospital and moving that knee around that much. I just wasn't in a super amount of pain. My pain never exceeded a 7 or maybe an 8 at the worst, which was where I was before the surgery, all the time, pretty much, and mostly stayed about a 5. Recently, it's been a 1-2. I did have an increase in pain when the ROMTech bike started increasing resistance by one minute, and it really made it more difficult for my knee. They videoed in yesterday and asked me how it was going, and I told them I was struggling and was just honest that I was only doing it twice a day and it was hurting. They changed the treatment plan, knocking off two minutes of resistance, saying it was better to do the exercise three times a day at a lower amount of resistance because, while they want to build up strength, moving the knee as much as possible is more important. Next week, the plan will change again; they're going to send me a new code and download a new plan for the post-surgery treatment for the right knee, but he's aware of this, and he said that it would still give me the ability to get more sessions in than I would have been otherwise.

Meanwhile, I'm practising (both in PT and at home), taking stairs on the opposite feet as normal. You know how you go up on your good foot and down on your bad? Well, all my life, my good one has been my right, my bad has been my left. That is about to switch. I have discovered that going up on my left is a matter of strength, and we've been doing strengthening exercises that have helped, and they seem to be working. Going down is another matter. I have trouble with control and making sure I don't fall, and it's harder. So I really need to practice with my quad cane more. I've got a few days here, plus one more PT appointment, before I come home from surgery.

So I'm doing all I can do to be prepared. I've got this. No need to worry, right?

So

For those not in the loop, the second surgery is also a total knee replacement. This will be the right leg. The plan was to do them six weeks apart, and be off work around 12 weeks. Turns out they were pressed to get me in; the original date they could get me in for the second surgery was October 15th, which was supposed to be the last day of my leave. Cheryl, the surgery coordinator at Baptist, said she would speak with Dr. Talwalkar to see if maybe he could do it on another day when he had administration duties instead. Then she called back, and I don't know what sort of magic they did, but they put me down for September 3rd, on his normal surgery day, so they must have added me on somewhere. That's at five weeks, but I've been doing so well with the other leg, so I think it'll work pretty well. I'm feeling pretty good about it, just a little nervous, which I guess is silly, but hey, I guess it's to be expected. Anyway, that's where I'll be on Wednesday, and then I'll come home on Thursday. Think good thoughts for me, okay? Thanks!

Finally got it all together

Had my first day of showering with chlorhexidine disinfectant soap. I have to do that every day and then use the chlorhexidine wipes the night before and morning of. I can't shave for the last 3 days till surgery, either. So we're in that prep window now. I also finally have drivers set up for the pre-op PT, surgery day, release from the hospital the next day after a 23-hour observation, and the post-op PT the day after that next week. Thank you to Glen, Brenda, and Stephanie for helping with that. It really has put my mind at rest. My stress levels were starting to go up. I know what to expect with the surgery, etc., of course, but that was the one thing I still hadn't gotten taken care of. I think we're in good shape now.

Feeling good

Week four, and my incision is finally to the point where I can wear pants that aren't super wide. These are a little big on me now, but they used to be so form-fitting that the only way I could get them off was to peel them off wrong side out. 😅 I think they're 22s and I wear an 18/20 now. Mostly. You know how women's sizes go. They may even be a 24. I didn't look. I can still wear them as long as I don't overload the pockets. But I was a 30/32, so that is a big change. But I'm trying to wear pants instead of shorts now just in case a dog forgets him/herself and gets up on me. They don't want any open wounds for surgery in case of infection, especially near the surgical site. The dogs have been really good, the closest was yesterday one got onto the bed with me when my roommate left my barrier down (my door has reached that time of the year when it won't stay closed on its own, so we use a dog gate, and he pushed his way in, because he loves me and my bed). Actually, the cat has been the closest to getting me, as when he's hungry he does these little bites, and he almost got my ankle the other day. Still, I'm just being careful, keeping an eye out, and wearing pants till surgery, even the skinny ones, except on PT days, which I only have one more before surgery.

Go me!

So I was at my new PCP's office (my old one is retiring after 51 years in practice, and about 25 years as my doctor 🙁), and the resident [the doctor, who I've seen as my weight management doctor for three years but is also an internist was running late because another patient came in late (I saw her come in, and that's fine, she was in a wheelchair and looked like she needed a lot of help, and the resident was really thorough)] upon doing my history, went over my recent labs that were done at my pre-op appointment. I asked about my hA1c because, you know, that's always a concern for diabetics and it had been much lower than in the past before the last surgery, 6.4%, which was amazing, and this time it was 5.96%!!!!!!! And if you look below it is in the 'high, but in the 'increased risk for diabetes' range if I didn't already have diabetes. Go me! And go Mounjaro. It's been doing so well with my blood glucose that I've been taking insulin of either type about two or three times a week at most, if that--basically if my blood sugar goes over 200, and my endocrinologist is fine with that. She said I could probably go off the insulin if this keeps up.

Unfortunately, I did go off the Mounjaro a little early for the next surgery since I'd last taken it a week before I found out about the next one, so I didn't take it at the two-week mark, and if you go three weeks, they start you back at all over to prevent side effects. I didn't know that. I think I only missed two weeks last time. Anyway, she's put in a lower Rx, but that won't control as well, so I may need to go back to using more insulin for a while. And it's possible I can get the same control on a lower dose of the Mounjaro, too, so I'm not taking the highest dose like I was. I'm down to 217 lbs. I'm not sure how much weight I need to go down to. 200? 180? Certainly not to 145, my supposed 'target' weight. I don't know. That's something I need to start thinking about. With all the adjustments, I may not lose any more for a while anyway. I'm eating very healthfully and not very much right now, and not losing, mainly, I suspect, due to all the swelling I've been having due to my surgery. It's finally coming down to pre-surgery levels. Anyway, I'm thrilled about the hA1c. At my highest, in October 2018, I was at 9.1%, which was awful, out-of-control, and damaging.

I so

Overdid it this weekend, and I'm paying for it tonight. I've only been able to do the ROMTech bike once yesterday and today due to all I did yesterday, the resulting soreness, and the additional resistance that they added to my treatment plan. Both knees and hips are hurting. I've taken Tylenol but I think something stronger is going to be needed at bedtime. I've only taken 8 of those pills in the 25 days since my surgery, so I feel pretty good about that. I am not driving since my car is down for now, so that's not an issue. But I've tried to rest most of the day and have done very little and I'm still so wiped out I'm too tired to do a jigsaw puzzle online. It's the only thing left to do on my to-do list except my night meds. Whew. 

Some good news

Aspen Trees In Yellowstone Are Flourishing For the First Time In 80 Years — Thanks To Gray Wolves

So scary

DOGE Targeted Him on Social Media. Then the Taliban Took His Family

It sickens me that our government is putting people in such danger.

Sigh

So apparently I overdid it yesterday, which I guess isn't surprising. I was bored, so I did all that housework, and that was a mistake. It's not my knee that is really hurting (although it is a bit), but rather my back. I am really tight above my knees, as if my quads are telling me, Really, again? Anyway, I'm going to try to take it easy today. I'm up taking my meds and drinking some fluids, but after that, I may lie back in bed. I got up and made coffee, and got my friend up (and he's moving slow). He's studying via Zoom with friends now and probably will for a couple of hours at least, so I'm just going to rest, and he agrees I should. Afterwards, when he can be attentive, I need to practice going up the step with the left leg. My right leg has been my 'good' leg since high school, and of course, you go up on the 'good' leg, down on the 'bad' one, but once the next surgery happens, the left will be the 'good'. The thing is, it just had surgery, so it needs strengthening, and the right still needs strengthening before surgery as well, so I have new exercises to do as well. But I think going up and down the stairs will help, though I found out in PT it's hard, especially at first.