Personal Update

Jan Vermeer, Woman Holding a Balance
Dutch, c. 1664
Washington, National Gallery of Art

Earlier today I noticed that someone had read the last article I added regarding my physical condition.  At the time I was making a slow recovery from spinal fusion surgery.  I thought it might be about time to submit another one.

Happily, recovery has progressed a good deal from the point at which I left off.  It is not quite where I had hoped that it would be, but it is acceptable. 

I can walk and had resumed most of my normal activities before the end of 2019.  Standing is still a problem, as are long walks.  For those I still need to use a rolling walker.  But, I can do intermediate walks with a cane and even do short walks with no support. 

I had hoped to be able to extend the amount of time and length of walk without support by the beginning of this summer.  But the coronavirus and an exceptionally cold New York spring have postponed that dream.  Since early March I have been self-isolating in my apartment, venturing out only once every week, if that.  It could be far worse, since there is no place to go, the tug of the exterior is diminished.  Also, my recent experience of being unable to freely go out and sashay around while I was unable to even stand up, as well as during the early stages of recovery, have actually been good preparation for this experience. 

There is plenty for me to do at home.  I can't say I have been bored at all.  However, I do miss being able to access the wonderful research libraries the city has to offer and, of course, I miss the interactions with people, both friends and strangers, that have always been part of my life through my many activities.  FaceTime, Skype and the other similar services help a bit for the friends, but right now strangers are off limits.  All my regular volunteer haunts closed down in the second week of March and will not be reopening in the near future.  New York seems a very strange place right now.  It looks like itself, but it's upside down.  What's usually crowded (like Times Square) is empty and what is usually empty (like Central Park on a weekday afternoon) is crowded.

So far I am not aware of having lost any friends.  We all check in from time to time and everyone seems to be OK so far.  However, friends of mine have lost friends of theirs to this virus.  It is not a joking matter or a trivial illness.  I'm near the route taken by ambulances to reach two nearby hospitals.  During the first and second week of April they were passing by very often, sometimes as many as three an hour.  For the last two weeks, we have gone back to the more normal once or twice a day.  Praise God for that!  But at the nearest hospital, which is three blocks from my apartment, the two refrigerated trucks it rented to serve as a morgue are still standing guard.   Although things are considerably better, the fear is that relaxing too soon will start to fill up the hospitals and the morgues again. 

We may have reached a pause, but we have not overcome this infection yet.  I hope and pray that all my readers where ever they are, will remain safe and healthy until it has been overcome.    God bless you all!

Still Out of Commission, But Improving

Nicolaes Maes, Old Woman Dozing
Dutch, 1656
Brussels, Musees Royaux des Beaux-Arts

Almost another month has moved on since my last update on progress and things are getting better, though slowly.  My pain has lessened considerably.  I have now been off all the opioid pain killers for over two weeks, which means I am having to deal with the side effects of coming off them.  It's much worse than following my breast cancer surgery, mostly because that time, in spite of the complications, I was only taking them for about a month.  I've been taking some form of opioid since the beginning of July, so that's a much longer exposure or time to get acclimated to them.  The adjustment will take awhile, according to my pain doctor.  But the main thing is that I am off them now.  What was pain has been reduced to ache.  It aches a lot still, but not sufficiently to make me go back to the oxycodone. 

Among the side effects of dropping the oxycodone has been difficulty sleeping at night.  I can fall asleep quickly, but not stay asleep, awakening frequently, sometimes as much as several times an hour, and then have difficulty getting back to sleep.  Consequently, I sometimes fall asleep suddenly while sitting down.  It's been getting better the last few days, so maybe a corner has been turned.

My surgeon says that all looks good with the new architecture of my back on the inside and I don't need to see him till the end of March.  However, the restrictions still apply (no bending, lifting, twisting).  I still can't manage to do many things I was once able to do as I'm not strong enough right now.

Stamina is another issue.  I must walk, but can't really do a lot of walking.  I'm working on it, little by little.  When I saw the doctor last week I was able to tell him that I could walk half a mile.  This week I began working up to three quarters of a mile.  Maybe within the next couple of weeks I will be able to get as far as one mile.  I would be very happy with that, since it would offer more variety in where I can go on these walks.  And, best of all, the weather will be moving into spring soon!

This past week I have managed to resume blogging with two short posts.  Things will probably continue to be short for some time (unless considerable work was done on the subject before the disc ruptured) as I cannot sit for long.  Everything needs to be broken into small sessions in order to be accomplished.  Look for an upcoming longer work that was partially prepared before last July.

^{© M. Duffy, 2019}

Still Out of Commission

Gabriel Metsu, Visit of the Physician
Dutch, c. 1660-1667
St. Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum

My back surgery has finally happened!  And I am doing well.  However, the recovery process will take a long time.  Indeed, it will be longer than I ever imagined.  For one thing I expected to be home just before Christmas.  Well, I wasn't.  And I wasn't home for New Year's either.  

After one week in the hospital, I spent three more weeks in rehab at the wonderful Mary Manning Walsh Nursing Home.  I can't thank them enough for the effort the people in the rehabilitation section of the home put in to get people back up and functioning again.  They really are a valuable asset to Manhattan.  Once they were simply a residential nursing home for well-to-do Catholics.  Now they have only six floors of residential patients (of all faiths or none), plus six floors of sub-acute patients for rehabilitation, plus a one floor hospice, which they operate in conjunction with Calvary Hospital (the incredibly caring all hospice hospital, whose Bronx location is very difficult for the typical carless Manhattanite to visit).  They also have a fabulous full floor rehabilitation gym, which has every possible assistance to help people recover their mobility and strength and a large staff of physical and occupational therapists to help you.  Between the hospital and the rehab center an entire month just flew past, carrying Christmas and New Year's with them.  

I've now been home for over two weeks and slowly making some progress.  However, I am still in some pain almost all the time.  Improvement is very slow, as is movement, or even sitting.  I can't sit for too long and this precludes doing research for any new topics.  Therefore, for a while longer I am still forced to rely on what has already been written. I will try to continue to call attention to various previously posted ideas and images in the "Featured Posts" section on the right hand column and by occasionally repositioning some especially noteworthy topics as the top article below this notice. Please check frequently to catch things you may have missed or would appreciate seeing once again.

Thank you for your patience during this time.  And thank you to all you who have sent me their prayers and good wishes in response to my earlier postings about this problem.  I would ask you to continue your prayers on my behalf, but also to remember the many patients who have even more serious pain and for those who are suffering from dementia.  There were several such people in the hospital as well as in rehab, primarily seniors with broken hips, a situation made even worse by their inability to understand what has happened to them.  Pray also for the nurses and health care aides who do a very tough job with patience and good cheer, often in heroic circumstances.  Those that I saw in action  really deserve our grateful thanks. 

May God reward you a thousandfold for you kindness in remembering me and them in your prayers.