Progress

Last night I had originally intended to write about DH's progress minus one finger. I got diverted, however, by the presence of the grey cat on the keyboard. Ah, a new dawn rises, said cat is hidden in a closet or under a bed, and the keyboard awaits.

First of all, his sense of humor is alive and well. He roared at our neighbor's suggestion that he is now qualified to teach shop class at the local high school.

He seems to be comfortable at all times. Although he is still taking two to three pain pills a day, (not together,) he takes them when he begins to feel some discomfort and the pills manage that discomfort for him. So far, he spends most of the day stretched out with his hand elevated, watching TV.

He is a great sport at having one hand bound up. Our first day back home, I bathed him in the tub, washed his hair, and shaved him. The second day, I helped him prepare for his own shower -- helped him undress, wrapped his hand in a plastic bag. The third day, I returned home from driving Little One to school, to find him clean, shaven, and bright-eyed with the prospect of surprising me.

We went to the Dr. on Monday and physical therapy yesterday. At the Dr. he was curious and optimistic. When they told us they expect near-100% recovery on the finger with the plate, he was ecstatic.

Our physical therapist is quite the character. Broad Queens accent -- and a bluntness that is quite a shock down here in the South. At one point she stepped away, and DH began to assert that he will drive himself to PT next week. I solicited her help in convincing him this is NOT a good idea. "What the hell are you thinking?" she bellowed. "Thank you," I replied. She is matter-of-fact and seems to have seen it all. Although she wasn't quite as gentle with his hand as I would have wished, I believe she will be very good for him.

So far, the only challenge I see is his restlessness with being stuck at home with nothing to do. In the past, home has been a place for him to continually create -- whether it was remodeling the kitchen or making music. All that is on hold for now -- not forever -- but for now -- and being idle is just not his cup of tea.

Yesterday he finally felt good enough to go with me to walk the dog, and we plan to go down the street this week to sit with an elderly neighbor whose wife is in a near-coma state. The neighbor sits on his porch and welcomes any company who might come by. Visiting with him will be a good opp for us to do some good with the idle time.

Meanwhile, my neighborhood work is on hold for a week or two. It can wait.

I have received permission from my editor to proceed with an article I have eagerly sought: riding the garbage truck!! I called the manager of sanitation yesterday and he is optimistic. He will clear it with the Director of Public Works and I am to call back on Tuesday, 20th, to set it up. His exact words were, "In my opinion, you can write it best if we let you actually work as if you were a City employee for the day." He will also set up a meeting for me with the workers inside, around a table, to get their personal stories. More about that later.