One of the few things I'd done the previous weekend besides crocheting was make a list of things I needed to get done. First on that list was schedule my knee replacement, which I'd discussed timing of with my sister, who would be coming to help out afterwards. I called the doctor's office and left a message then spent lunch submitting flexible spending account receipts for 2020 as well as prepping a present to ship. Well, I didn't hear back from Nebraska Ortho on Monday, finally getting the call late on Tuesday. It did not go well.
I had seen the doctor back in November and he not only remarked that I'd gained weigh since he did my first knee but even looked it up while I was getting my x-rays in an attempt to shame me. He said I should lose some weight to help my knees and call when I wanted to schedule. Very casual. Well, when the nurse called on Tuesday, the first words out of her mouth were, "Have you lost any weight?" When I said no, she said that the doctor had a firm BMI rule and if I didn't lose some weight, they wouldn't do the surgery. WHAT? This was a complete blind side and I told the nurse as much to which she responded that the doctor didn't like having this difficult conversation with patients. OMG! So he just left me hanging? I explained that having the surgery in late May was the only thing that worked for my schedule and that I was not happy hearing this. She tried to do a quick calculation of how much I'd have to lose in 6 weeks and came up with 30 pounds. Not really possible but I looked up the BMI after I hung up and by my calculation, I only had to lose 16 pounds, which is totally doable. Still… I spent that evening ranting to Connie, which was a lovely end to a rotten day.
I wrote up an email to the doctor, pleading my case for surgery and assuring him I could lose the 16 pounds to get to his target BMI but then couldn't log into the new patient portal. I spent 2 days going back and forth with the office trying to get that resolved but gave up and sent the email to the office so they could forward it. Now the waiting begins. The nurse had said she wouldn't see the doctor until Monday so I'd done all I could do at this point.
My second vaccine was scheduled for 3:15 on Thursday so I had made plans for dinner at Anne's afterwards. My plan was to get the shot, go grocery shopping to stock up on produce and then dinner at Anne's would be my last supper before starting my diet. Andrea has given me some of my fave – her mom's potato salad – and I had made 3 bean salad so would be picking up chicken fingers for dinner. But first my shot.
Ben had called to warn me that there were lines at the vaccine location and they were outside so I went prepared to wait only to find no lines outside at all. There were some inside, which I waited in with Nancy from Engineering. Even with the internal lines, I was done in 30 minutes, including the 15 minute wait post shot. I then hit Aldi and Russ', where I was getting the chicken fingers and a few things Aldi doesn't carry. I had a nice time at Anne's and left at 8:00 when the first Backyard Farmer show of the season was over. Not a bad day and I was happy to be 2 weeks from fully safe.
OMG! I woke up Friday with side effects galore. It wasn't just my arm that was sore but my back too and there were some body aches going on. I hate calling in sick but did anyway, saying I'd see if I could work some in the afternoon. I went back to bed after I finished my coffee and that's when the chills started. With the mattress pad on high, full winter blankets, 3 cats and direct sun from the open window, I was still chilled to the bone. When I got up to pee, my teeth were chattering. I finally got out of bed after 1:00, took a scalding hot shower and got dressed. The worst of the chills were over and I sat in the sun in my back room but had mind numbing fatigue. I cannot imagine feeling like this long term if I'd gotten covid. Holy crap! I was so tired I couldn't knit! I sat like a zombie all day and went to bed early in hopes that I'd feel better on Saturday.
I woke up Saturday feeling 100%. Yay! I had big plans to get outside and start on what felt like long overdue yard work. I was outside pruning roses by late morning and drove them to the city burn pile along with the clematis brush. With that done, I started raking. First priority is always the front bed, which is the most visible, and after that was done I headed up the driveway to clear that bed then went into the backyard to start there. By the time I petered out around tea time, I had done all but the 2 furthest back beds and my compost bin for this year's debris was full. Nice. The only thing left on my weekend list of garden chores was to prep my early veg bed, which I'd do Sunday.
What a week! I did start a rotation (my diet of choice from the 90's) on Friday and was down 6 pounds after 3 600 calorie days, which puts me with less than 10 to lose for surgery. And I had my shot so was within 2 weeks of being fully safe from Covid. My first desire is still to have lunch with Layton on Friday, April 15th but I'll have to play that by ear based on how the diet's going. That's if the doctor will schedule it before I've lost the weight. All I can do is hope and see what he says. Wish me luck.
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