Week in Review

Last week flew! I had my staples removed on Tuesday in Grand Forks. It went very well. My stitches look very good, I think most of the area will not show much scarring. I massage with olive oil and a lavender extract lotion hoping that will help eliminate scarring.

I also had to go shopping, I've lost an additional 15 pounds and some of my clothes are just hanging on me. "Oh, happy day!" Found some cute carpi's at Penney's and felt so great when I went to zip them up and it just slide up, wow! I wore them the next day to PT and even was able to tuck a shirt into them.

Today is the fourth week since my knee replacement. I wish I could say it was without pain or swelling, or numbness, but I can't. I do sleep fairly well at night though so that helps. Last week at PT, my range of motion was up to 105 but after all I have done this past weekend, I was only able to reach 99 today. Anyone who thinks that knee replacement will be a piece of cake needs to think again. It is work and pain and attitude adjustments daily.

After PT, I went to Pam for a massage then returned to work to finish the deposit I had started before PT. I have a hair cut tomorrow afternoon so will go into work at about 12. I went for a walk again this evening for about a half mile. My knee does give me some pain though.

My brother and wife arrived last night at about 9. They have about a 5 hour drive from Hoyt Lakes and like to stop for dinner along the way so never arrive very early. We visited until about 11 over a fresh blueberry pie I had made to help him celebrate his b-day on August 1. He is now the ripe old age of 59, one more year and he will be 60. We had breakfast together this am and then they headed up to Winnipeg to the horse races and for some time together. They will be back tomorrow and spend another night before heading home. He didn't think they had been up for about a year. I thought they were here at Thanksgiving last winter.

I picked up an Oprah Magazine the other day and read a wonderful article by Martha Beck in the Advice, etc pg, 46, called One Stroke at a Time in the August 2008 issue.

"6. Do discover the power of calm
"People consistently offer me large sums of money just to say. "You'll be fine." They do this even though I tell them it works almost as well to say it to themselves. Kind self-talk is an incredibly effective way to calm fear and motivate action.
...Try it right now, so you can use it the next time you're scared. Silently tell yourself simple things like "Its okay." "You're all right." "There's no rush." "You can do this." You'll be amazed at the power of this humble mental-management technique to help you turn knowledge into action."

I found this to be very useful and remember doing a smilar thing many times in the past. Thanks Oprah for helping us women learn to be kinder to ourselves and yet be strong and vibrant too! Your magazine helps us become better people and understand who we are and what we can become.