It has been a GREAT DAY!
First, let's talk about my new earrings!
They arrived and they're better in person than they were online.
Here are the cute dual circle dangle earrings:
And these are dangle hoops with a leaf at the top.
Then we can talk about the cute cats
who have been keeping me company and making me smile.
Claude bit me and growled very soon after this photo was taken.
She doesn't like being the object of my camera.
Stephen has a beautiful pink tongue, and it's always
a special thing when he forgets to tuck it in!
Look how cute he is!
Allistair has been extra snuggly.
He had to go to the doctor because he ripped off his right thumbnail.
It was bleeding and yucky-looking.
The doctor cleaned it up, put surgical glue over it to protect it,
and gave Allistair a shot of antibiotic.
It was easier than I expected!
We've never had a cat rip off a toenail before.
We keep them trimmed so they're not crazy long
(mostly for our own protection!).
He must've gotten it caught on something during the night,
but we're not sure what.
I've been to two physical therapy sessions now.
During the first one I felt vulnerable and scared,
and I didn't like that he suspects it will be 8-10 more weeks
before I can run.
He said it was a BAD sprain, and immobilizing the fracture
for 4 weeks means that I have lost muscle strength
and range of motion.
Turns out the calf muscle on the back of my leg
and my front thigh muscle (quadraceps) are both tight, weak,
and surprisingly sore now that we're using them.
I'm doing exercises to loosen up those muscles and strengthen them.
I've been approved to ride my (indoor) exercise bike starting
with ten minutes at a time.
I have to remind myself to actually use my left leg.
Because the thigh muscle and the calf muscle are both
weak, if I don't think about it, I find myself pedaling mostly
with my right leg without even noticing.
I'm astounded how much my physical therapist knows.
He pushes on my ankle and can tell what's going on beneath the skin.
He asks lots of questions about where I'm feeling the exercises
and tells me what's going on with that particular movement
on my particular ankle. It's fascinating.
By the second session of physical therapy, I felt like my brave self again.
I like doing the exercises because I can tell I'm getting stronger
and I feel as if I can trust my ankle more and more.
I have stopped wearing the small brace, hoping that
my strength will build up quicker if my ankle and lower leg
need to support themselves.
It's aching a bit, but not too bad.
BUT
The best part of today was my long-overdue appointment
with my gastroenterologist.
I haven't seen him for 5 years, even though he diagnosed me with
Crohn's Disease.
I arrived later than I expected/wanted to due to an accident on the freeway
and terrible overall traffic.
But Dr R was as friendly as always, and he remembered me and my situation.
I am definitely an involved and curious patient,
and has always been willing and interested to learn from me.
I introduced him to a number of complementary treatments for Crohn's
that he hadn't known about before, and he mentioned one of them at
the appointment today. I have taken in scientific studies to my appointments
to explain why I have made certain treatment decisions, and he always asks to keep
copies of them because he said he learns from them.
My blood work numbers look good; only one inflammatory marker is slightly elevated.
Because of my good blood work and because I'm not having symptoms,
Dr R said that I can pretend I'm a normal person and get screened at normal times
(after 50) unless symptoms get worse or change in some way.
He said he doesn't think I'm at special risk for dysplasia (pre-cancerous changes)
so I don't need special monitoring.
HOORAY!
I feel as if I've been healed.
It feels like a miracle.
My health still requires a LOT of work and a LOT
of maintenance, but it's working!
On the way home, I saw this David Bowie mural.
After the gastroenterology appointment, I went to my new favorite grocery store:
Natural Grocers.
They have all organic produce.
I found this creamy vegan spreadable "cheese"
that is REALLY good on crackers.
It's not the cheapest, but it's a lovely treat!
They have a great skin and body care department.
I bought two lipsticks and foundation,
all of which were 20% off normal price (normal
price is the same as the price on Amazon, so 20% off
is excellent!)
There was a little tester table where they had cookie
bites that were VEGAN AND GLUTEN-FREE both!
The chocolate chip one was delicious.
It was an excellent day!
I hope you have a wonderful day, too.
Happy weekend!
