Yesterday was a good day. I forgot to write about it because I was so busy with medical stuff. I did show you Griff the mastiff, and he is becoming a bit of a celebrity on facebook. He has his own fanpage by Karin-Anne (her fans demanded it), if you are interested in more pictures.

You might wonder why one would actually enjoy doing housework. I work part-time as an engineer, but my full-time job is keeping house. And since my accident I have been unable to do either one. Don't get me wrong, I can't wait to get back to my day job, but right now I can't wait to get back to getting this house clean. Four bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms and 2000 square feet is a lot to keep track of (compared to an apartment) even if it is just me and Tom. He does most of the cooking, and I do almost everything else. Since coming home from the hospital, Tom has done a great job with cooking, dishes, taking care of me, and staying on top of his demanding job. I just dread playing catch-up with the rest of the house. Unfortunately, most house chores are very back-muscle intensive.

So, yesterday I starting feeling less like a parasite and more like a contributing member of the household. I folded laundry while sitting on the couch. And I cleaned the kitchen sink. Insignificant you might say, but a huge hurtle for me in my recovery.

I am much more mobile lately with the aid of my back brace, but I constantly reminded that I cannot lift more than a few pounds, even if it is without bending. Every once in a while I accidentally twist my back ever so slightly that I get a tinge of shooting pain in my butt. And the hardest movement is picking things off the floor. I can bend with my knees with almost no back pain, but my legs are so weak from the lack of exercise that it is hard to do. This is heartbreaking to me because of all my hard work in athletics, and I am reminded of the long recovery to get back to where I was before the accident.

I am taking regular Tylenol and that is all I need know for pain management, as long as I take it easy. My mind is wonderfully clear, when I am awake I am not too sleepy, I can see without double vision, and I have returned to natural bowl movements (ok, I just had to add this, it is something that a healthy person takes for granted, and something that you have to learn to talk about freely because every medical person will ask you this while you are on narcotic pain meds). I should be able to drive soon, if I can remember how. I should be able to return to work Wednesday or Thursday, but I am dreading sitting upright in a chair for more than a few minutes at a time (I still have to sit reclined).

Another big hurtle was crossed yesterday. I slept upstairs in bed next to Tom. This is one of the things that I missed the most. Until now I have been sleeping downstairs on the recliner because lying flat on my back was agony. The bed is much more firm than the recliner with the egg crate, so I could feel that my back is still swolen. But I did not hurt too much, and I was asleep in no time. I can't sleep on on either side because that curves my lower back.

Well, I have rambled on too much about myself and yesterday, that now I do not have the energy to talk about today. So it will have to wait until tomorrow. Tom is still upstairs working, so I get to watch some TV that he doesn't like. Yeah.