Grandchildren

Essential Tips for Spinal Fusion Recovery Success

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As I start to write this, I’m 11 weeks post spinal fusion surgery. (TLIF) I’ll tell ya, this arthritis, that is slowly destroying my bones/joints is unpleasant. The medical folk refer to it as a degenerative bone disease. Seems like and overly weighted description to me, but after a shoulder replacement, a reverse shoulder replacement, one knee partial replacement and, now, a spine with a wonked out vertebrae slipping forward, (spondylolisthesis), along with developing scoliosis and faucets growing on most of the vertebrae in my spine.

The condition wasn’t helped with steroid shots, physical therapy or meds, so surgery it is – if I could continue working the farm. We had multiple decompressions and the TLIF (Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion) surgery (spinal fusion where they shoved the rebellious vertebrae back in it’s proper spot, screw it in and add some kind of something that will grow around it making it one with the spine.)

This was the most painful recovery I’ve had. I also had alonger stay in the hospital than anticiapted because my drain would not comply and kept filling up. Also, I had an absolute terrible nurse, who was uncaring, and totally not willing to do her job. When it came down to it, I had to report her. The other nurse I encountered after I had a run in with the neglegent nurse (who was very unconcerned about a bout of incontinece caused by a higher does of muscle relaxer than necessary) the next nurse met a woefully sobbing me. We had to report her to the head nurse. But, anyways, always be an advocate for yourself, is what I learned

.I’m not sure if it’s because I’m older or because it was the spine or what…but that first week at home was awful…I had to assure my husband it was ok to not pay attention to the noises I was making because they were absolutely involuntary….also, don’t pay attention to the crying – also involuntary. He was sweet and prayed for me often, but was worried all the same.

The instructions after surgery are to not BLT (Bend, lift or twist) for quite awhile – my surgeon said it could take up to a year to be ‘normal’ but by 6 months I should be able to BLT again. In preparation for the recovery, my husband and I went to the nursery and bought some starts for our raised garden bed. The idea was, being 64, I pretty much know myself and understand I’m pretty lazy and prone to like comfort. So, if I had these starts that would HAVE to get planted, I’d make the walk to the garden every day after planting them. The pain was so absolutely unbearable there was no way I could get out there to water things let alone plant things. My husband still works fulltime and is a late evening/weekend rancer so we called in some help.

One grand came out for the weekend and helped my husband get the starts in the ground so the money wasn’t wasted! Garden saved!

Eventually I was able to cast aside the walker but my smart watch kept warning me that my walking was unstable and I was in danger of falling. There was little doubt I would return to the walker and I really didn’t want to use an old lady cane (yes, I know I’m an old lady, but I don’t want to garnish myself as one), so I bought a rustic walking stick to help me stay mobile and not fall. I also bought some sturdy ‘recovery flip flops’ that were solid (see below).

I’m picking this up at 19 weeks post TLIF – life has busy but I’ve been able to keep up! God has healed me very quickly. I want to encourage folks, if the option of getting spine surgery scares you, I would encourage you to reconsider.

Here’s a few things that helped me:

  1. Lots of rest.
  2. Someone who can be there 24/7 at first.
  3. There’s a special personal hygiene item that seriously help with toileting. On Amazon search for Fanwer Toilet Aids Tools,Long Reach Comfort Wipe,Extends Your Reach Over 15″ Grips Toilet Paper or Pre-Moistened Wipes.

4. These thick flip flops give stability to walking. https://a.co/d/hbkHQgJ shevalues Orthopedic Sandals for Women Arch Support Recovery Flip Flops Pillow Soft Summer Beach Shoe

5. This walking stick. Backyard Expressions 55 in Rustic Wood Walking Stick, Traditional Style Handle, for Men & Women, Trekking Pole, Hiking Pole, Walking Stick.

This stick was a neccisaty when I got rid of the walker, but I needed some support for stabilty but didn’t like the traditiaonl cane. Very affordable and helpful to regaind independence.

6. This cushion, I got it at costco for less than $50. When it came time to start sitting at my desk and working, my previous perfectly adequate office chair was not making sitting very comfortable. My hips would get stiff and achy within minutes. So, we bought this and it has made all the difference. Type S Smoothing Premium Comfort Memory Foam Seat Cushion – Ergonomic Back Pain Relief for Coccyx Tailbone Sciatica Back Pain Relief for Office Chairs

Finally, make sure to have in qeue your a book stack, maybe kindle stack, podcasts, tv shows, movies and new music playlists. It makes it easier to just dial in instead of having to research when you’re semi out of it. Also, I found some great bible studies to do…Awake by Prisciall Shrier, Adamant by Lisa Bevere, and the Devine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard, in additon to digging into my Life Application Study Bible which has a abundance of resources.

Keep praying..you’ll be up and about at no time.

Playlist suggestions : anything by Matthew West, Mercy Me and Forrest Frank.

The Holder. The Watcher.

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IMG_8587I am the Holder. The Watcher. It was always an excuse to elude addressing my fear of heights when the family rock climbed. (I’d hold the goods and watch from the picnic spot.) It was my excuse for not wanting to ride Space Mountain – I’d hold the strollers and watch the stuff in line while the rest of the family screamed in delight from their speedy perches. Truth:  for practically any family thing, I was the supreme holder and the watcher.

As my two children grew I’d be the holder of hands through tumultuous times. The holder of hair while she threw up a weird ‘condition assaulting her young body. I was the holder of a broken heart when an injury put a stop to playing high school football. I was the watcher of the clock when they kept late nights. Then the watcher of emotional and spiritual temperaments. But, then I was also the holder of  prayer for them. And for me to do my mom job effectively. Lifting each family member in prayer as our spiritual and emotional temperatures waxed and waned.

Some folks don’t get it. Being the holder and the watcher means missing out on the fun or missing out on adventure. But for me, being the holder and the watcher has taken me on an adventure of spiritual highs and lows, watching causes me to see sweet things – the subtle smiles, the mischievous grin, the tiniest twinkle in their eyes, that would have otherwise been missed. Being the holder and watcher doesn’t stop when the children are grown, though, it’s alive and well with the grands, now! Although I don’t get to practice as often as I would like. In fact, as I look back now, I missed things. My watchfulness was often clouded by my human heart to see them happy. I get it that happiness is not the end all but when the kids were hurting or sick, my mom heart desperately desired for them to be happy and hear them laugh.

Now, I can’t see them. In fact even with Facetime and Skype we rarely speak face to face. Our relationship takes place via texts, some calls, emails and I catch a lot of news on Facebook.  For whatever reason, God has put them up in the PNW and us in Texas. But, even now, I can close my eyes and there they are in the memories I’ve been holding through all the years of watching.

Through the years I’ve moved beyond watching and holding. And, now, I am a doer. An adventurer. And, I cherish those years of watching and holding.

 

Gypsy feet are on the move again,but the body resists.

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Just about this time, one year ago, God moved us to Australia, again. We arrived thinking we would be here for a long time. We bought a car that we could explore this magnificent country in, some nice furniture that would last awhile, and signed a lease into the next year. Now, all that has changed.

We are heading back to America (to live in Texas this time) and find ourselves doing another international move in the span of 12 months. I truly believe God has it all handled and all the pieces will fit into the move puzzle, but my body seems to have not recieved the memo. Everything hurts. Sleep is elusive. The gut is acting up big time. Frustrating! Every night after four hours of restless sleep, I get up, achy, stiff, sore. My mind wants to start the day, tackle the chore list, start the decluttering but my body stumbles to the recliner and if not for some vigorous self talk would stay there. I feel like I am living that scripture in Matthew – “the Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” or as the Message puts it, “there is a part of you that is eager, ready for anything in God. But there’s another part that’s as lazy as an old dog sleeping by the fire.” That’s me – an old dog sleeping by the fire (but there’s no fire).  Mostly, though, this old dog wants to sleep.

In the years from 2010-2014 we were active folk. We did skydiving, scuba diving, hiking, biking, and all manner of exploring. From 2014-2016 we had our little hobby farm and had our family close. Although we didn’t see the adult kids that often, we did entertain the grands on many occasions. Then we moved back here. But the year, 2016 was stress filled, too…unemployement, a new job full of uncertainty and then the move back to Australia. Then 2017 brought new changes to the new job, and the realization that our plans to buy a house here etc, wouldn’t come to fruition. More stress. But, all along my walk with Jesus grew closer. I heard the Spirit more clearly, when I read the Word, things seems very evident, no mystery. So, why can’t my body catch up with the Spirit?

I reckon this is where intentional living comes to play. Managing all aspects of life. What we eat. What we drink. How we move our bodies. How we interact with others. When we sleep. What we nourish our brains with. What we feed our spirit with. I feel like I already do most of it, but probably lazy in some areas. Honestly, the thought of doing any more tires me. But, it’s necessary.

So, how’s your walk through this temporary world going?? How can you change things? or are you ok with the way things are? Is your subconscious reacting one way, while your spiritual life seems to be another? Why? God doesn’t give us a spirit of fear but of courage and power and a stable mind, so don’t be afraid of changing things. Don’t fear diving into why you may be having trouble sleeping, exercising, or any questions of life in general. No worries. His desire is for  you (and me) to have a rich and satisfying life! (John 10:10 NLT).

 

 

 

Baldwin Acres is a state of mind.

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pretty winter scene

For the Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life. Job 33

 

For the two + years we lived at Baldwin Acres we were blessed.

Now, we face a new journey, one that will take us back to the land down under. Last time we lived there, 2010-2013 was like a three year vacation. I had just turned 50 and really doubted God was calling us to that place. But He was and evidenced by the friendships that still remain, and the spiritual growth I experienced, He was correct. We were adventurous and discovered much about the land, people and ourselves. However, this time, we reckon things will be a little different.

We are familiar with Australia and we understand the nuances that last time sent me to weeping. (No Tide detergent?! How will I survive?) We have, what we call, fRamily, waiting for us there, so there won’t be that vast space of emptiness we experienced last time. This time we know we want a piece of land, raise animals, and we intend to treat this time as living there and not a vacation. Last time we knew we would be there for three years, this time we’re not so sure how long we will be there.

People thinks it’s strange that we are moving back there, so far from family and all that is comfortable for us. We do have 13 grandchildren who will be in America  without us. But, in the three years we were here, we spent little time with them, in fact, I believe we spent more quality time with everyone when we came home from Australia  for a three week summer vacation. Do you know, with a family with six kids and a family of seven kids, those families are very busy?!?! In my head I understand the busy timetables but in my heart I want all their time with me and why can’t it be?( I have expressed this thought to a few other grandmas and they feel the same way, too. But, we refuse to be ‘that’ grandma who forces company via guilt. How awkward is that going to be? )

All lives change and move forward. Familiar relationships are very fluid and I love it that way. I certainly don’t want that to change that. Fluid is much better than stagnant. At certain times of their adult lives, we’ve been closer to our daughter than our son, or our son than our daughter. Yet, we always are  immensely proud of both of them and their spouses  and we completely get their schedules. So we encourage when needed, we attend sports events when able, we even bought the dreaded iPhone so we can have FaceTime with the grand’s. Not an easy purchase when you work for Microsoft.

Today, when chatting with my sister, she expressed how much she would miss me, and I agreed. But to put it in perspective I am moving not dying. And, yes, I am moving very far away, but they have the wold wide web there, too.

Living on Baldwin Acres enriched my life and the grandkids lives, too. We were exposed to situations that both challenged and refreshed us. I reckon that will continue in Oz.

We follow where Jesus leads us, (you can read previous blog posts to see how that works), and yes, it’s been a struggle. 2016 brought with it unexpected unemployment, surgeries, estrangements, illness, and a whole lot of other ailments. But, when I practice spiritual breathing: Breathe in Jesus, and breath out (name a thing here: anger) breath in Jesus, breath out – fear. Breathe in Jesus, breath out discord, breath in Jesus, breath out anxiety, breath in Jesus, breath out envy…well you get the picture. As long as it takes to breath it all out is what you should be prepared for. Sometimes, it’s a little as five minutes, sometimes longer. You might think, who has time to do that? The thing is,  as long as we are alive  we are always breathing so it adds nothing to your schedule. Keeping our heart and spirit focused on God makes all the difference.

Until then, thanks for reading and commenting and get prepared for some more adventures from the folks, who for now live not physically, but mentally, on Baldwin Acres.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Productive day = exhaustion, achy bodies and satisfaction.

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Unlike real farmers/ranchers we didn’t get up at the crack of dawn and we retired before the sunset (but to be fair, our sunset was at 8:15pm) but we did manage to get so much squeezed in those hours we were out there. Between everyday chores, gardening, too many trips to Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Wilcox stores, it was a very fulfilling day. Thought I would share some of it with you.

We were happy to see the sheep, Lucy and Edmund, were awake and making small talk with our boxer, Remus, as they waited for us to take them to the pasture paddock. We had breakfast and took some of the Grands out to meet the sheep. Lucy and Edmund are a little shy and give us crazy eyes from time to time, but they are not aggressive or sketchy with the kids. Lance had to hold Edmund, the smaller of the two, so the kids could touch them, but the sheep are so foreign to the kids the petting was a fleeting action. After they got out to their paddock, E & L proceeded to do some yard maintenance. and we moved on with our very full day.

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Lance tilled the garden beds. I planted a ‘salad’ bed with tomatoes, three different kinds of lettuces, and radishes. Yellow onions and Walla Walla sweet onions went in next. Cauliflower was next and then cucumbers into little dirt hills. Squashes – zucchini, acorn and delicate were next. One of the beds is now a dedicated strawberry bed, another will be for corn, and then pumpkins for October. One of the smaller bed will be for the herbs. The challenge of all this gardening is to not get down on my arthritic knees and at the same time, not wrench my back. Challenging, yes, but, ta-da, doable.

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Today was also chicken coop cleaning day. Since last I posted we have lost one chick. She never seemed to grow, didn’t get any feathers and one day she was listless, the next day, dead. It was very sad, but it is the way God has made the creature world to work. in the picture below you can see how big her sibling is, the big white one in the forefront. Little one never got half as big.

ImageWhile I want to make a nice soft warm bed of pine shavings for the girls, they continually kick it out until it’s almost just bare board. See the shavings in their water?  This water had just been changed 10 minutes before I took this picture. They’ve also taken to sitting on their feed. Not sure why. There are two who often roost on the stick, but the others? Maybe there is not enough room? Or they’re only brave enough to be as high as the feeder. Maybe there is something to calling someone a ‘chicken’ when they’re fearful?

Setting up Baldwin Acres has been a costly venture. We have spent more money on the animals, their ‘stuff’ and their shelters then we have on previous sun drenched vacations. So far, it has been worth every cent. As I sit here typing (using nine fingers because I got one caught in the door while rushing to the sheep and it’s painfully swollen), my knees ache from kneeling only once, I’m exhausted, and my body protests when I get up off the couch,  I can honestly say, love every aspect of it.

Before we led Lucy and Edmund to their bedroom (a nice roomy fenced dog run with a shelter) for the evening, I got one photo of them which I sign off with for you tonight, too. Peace.

 

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