Advantages of a Cane

Fiorella is still tapping her way along with a cane.  She thought she was doing just fine without it, but the physical therapist told her to pick it up again because she is a fall risk--poor balance.  Fio didn't have the heart to admit she'd never had good balance, and that, in fact, some people consider her totally unbalanced.

Anyway, Fio's using the cane again, which means that her ever-fertile brain is coming up with any number of scenarios in which her cane could save the day. Like, what if a bad guy was running from the cops?  All it would take would be a cane tripping him up to send him sprawling to the pavement.  How about a thug attacking a shopper outside of HEB?  A quick swipe of the cane across the man's neck would take care of the situation.  And if someone came after Fio, a series of body jabs with the cane would discourage him.

Come to think of it, maybe everybody should carry a cane.  

Up, Up, Up!

Fiorella was bored yesterday, which is a good sign.  It means she isn't falling asleep during the day as much, that she has more stamina, and that her body is urging her to be more active.  Accordingly, she's been using a cane to amble around the house, even going upstairs and finding more clothes for the week.   Today she's planning to drive around a little in prep for a journey to Austin on Wednesday.  She'll also be setting up outpatient treatment for the next two weeks.  This weekend she may be able to move back upstairs to the master bedroom.

Wish her luck.  Fio makes a lousy invalid.

Ever Onward

Fresh on the heels of Fio's paean of praise regarding hydrocodone and Lyrica, her meds failed her. She only got about three hours sleep last night, plus an hour of hallucination when she started double dosing.

It was just that too much was going on yesterday for her synapses to handle. After making a quick stop at Kinko's and buying some short bread cookies for the mailwoman at HEB, she drove into Austin on several errands, including searching for a dress for the wedding shindig, picking up Son's birthday cake, and dropping Husband's slacks off for lengthening. In the evening, after she wrapped presents, Fio, Husband, and Daughter, took Son and Girlfriend out to dinner.

Searching for the dress was an Odyssey in itself that included spending several minutes listening to a children's choir at Wolf Ranch shopping center. They were charming and made Fiorella cry, which meant, since she couldn't find a Kleenex, she had to leave abruptly. Luckily the clerk in Dress Barn had a spare tissue. Four stores later, in Lakeline shopping center, she found the right dress--purple to complement Daughter's mauve.

And all the time she was stumping away on her cane. The driving back and forth from Austin didn't bother her, but the "walking" did.

Not that people weren't kind, which also brought tears to Fio's eyes. She's never had so many doors opened for her in her life, and when she thought she'd lost her beribboned cane in the HEB parking lot, a woman two rows away hallooed her and waved it aloft.

Yeah, The day was good. Fio got a lot of Christmas stuff done and arranged a nice birthday for Son. Some things are was worth losing a few hours sleep over.

Medical Snippets

Latest news from the Indy 500, also known as HEB--Fiorella's motorized cart rocked a wine display at the store yesterday. The bottles clinked, but didn't fall; however, three minutes later Fio did manage to take out a couple of rolls of wrapping paper on an end display. Husband wants to affix a sign reading "Hot Wheels" to her cart, but Fio prefers "Greased Lightning."
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When Fio takes hydrocodone, she still feels the pain, but doesn't care. When she takes Lyrica, she feels no pain at all, which raises an existential question: where does the pain go?
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Fio is considering buying a second cane which will better coordinate with her wardrobe. Ah, vanity--thy name is Fiorella.