I'm Hoping For a Better Year

Welcome back to my Blog!

I have been stalling about writing this post but it is time to update you about how I am doing and try to get back to the fun and informative stuff. It's time to get back to Leading a Healthy Life! I am busy thinking up projects to keep me busy until spring. Easy, low-energy projects. Any suggestions? I promise to share regularly!

What is Happening Lately?

We have been working on decluttering our house, which has really gotten away from us, especially this past year. We are trying to figure out new ways of looking at all our spaces, belongings and at our many collections. It will undoubtedly lead to a few little home repairs. 

I am also working on my general health, but I am primarily working on controlling my weight. After a lifetime of serious weight issues, I was doing pretty well last summer and I felt optimistic. Unfortunately, in the past 3 months, after breaking my second hip, my weight has started climbing up again, so it's time to really focus on weight loss again.

I usually tend to be kind of private about my weight issues and clutter issues. Still, sharing might help me on my journey and perhaps help others struggling with similar problems. 

I am making progress with my hip recovery, so I am currently sorting out my return to work plan. Exercise had been hard despite encouragement from my physiotherapist and I do have a ways to go in my recovery. Still, I love my job and I am even more passionate about Therapeutic Recreation.  I believe work accommodations will be possible. I should find out soon.

My Miserable Year and Catching Everyone Up.

I have not really coped well with this past year. I consider myself a relatively resilient person, but I think that somewhere in the past 6 months, we found out the limit of my reserve. I realize everything could have been much worse. So many people have experienced enormous tragedies over the past couple of years. We are all doing better at my house, and our family is in good or improving health. I can walk, and I am grateful for that. Life is starting to look up a bit. 

It is a year and a month since I rather dramatically dislocated my artificial hip. I thought of so many worse-case scenarios in those first hours and days after my injury until they managed to get the hip prosthesis back in place. I was given the hope that three months in a hip brace would allow me to recover and that I would be back to my everyday life by March. 

Then it partially dislocated again briefly! I thought I would have a repair surgery shortly, but it was months. Then I thought, ok, we can get through this. It was June before I finally got the surgery to fully repair my hip. Recovery was painful and challenging, but I did my exercises and tried to have a good attitude. It would really be fixed in 4 months and, finally, it would be back to everyday life.

 In the meantime, the knee replacement surgery I was booked for had been cancelled with no idea when it could be rebooked. We had believed that by the beginning of 2021 I would have the knee fixed, Covid would be under control, my savings account would have improved and we might even have a getaway trip with a few friends. That new knee and I would be hiking all over the place.

Unfortunately, in September, I fell at the cottage when my left knee collapsed and I landed on my left "Good Hip". It broke so badly that I needed an emergency replacement for that one too.

Hip Recovery has been slow, and my attitude could have been better. The Knee Replacement is on hold for now. Continuing close-downs with Covid and particularly harsh winter conditions have added to the stress, affected my recovery and resulted in nasty cabin fever for my family, but I think I see a glimmer of hope coming soon.

I will be back here next Sunday with a much happier and more positive post. Please check it out on February 6th!

Spring Gardening

 I am distracting myself with the different plants in our yard. Our daughter, Alicia, really enjoys gardening with all of its successes and a few disappointments. She plans a few extra plants most years and finds gardening to be a real stress reducer. I am hoping that our outdoor spaces will prove to be relaxing to me too during this really difficult year.

Bob and Alicia got a few plants from the store, and Alicia started a few seeds, and a few plants volunteered and came back this year.

We have barely started working on our yard. I don't think it is a week since we had nights with temperatures falling below zero. In Manitoba, it is understood that you really shouldn't be putting out your plants before Victoria Day, which will come this weekend.  Winnipeg's average first frost-free day is May 25th, and we expect the first frost of the winter around September 22nd. 

We have to start plants inside or consider using plants with very short growing periods and plan how to protect them if there is an early frost. Trees and perennial plants have to survive extremely cold winters.  I am sure its year will be different in the garden, but it will still be a retreat for us. With all the Covid issues in our city, I don't think we will be wandering around shopping for our regular annual plants, so we will try and be creative this year.

I will miss being out in nature at our cottage. I don't think I will get to our lovely island Lake Cottage for months, and when I do get there, it is going to be hard moving around and even just getting from the dock up to the cottage. I am planning on creating a few restful places to enjoy and relax in our city yard. The family is doing most of the work, but I will put real thought into how to make more of our yard more accessible for me this year and for the future. 

Let's call these "before " pictures, so hopefully, you will be much more impressed when I share more photos over the next couple of months. Bob put in a lot of work today, and it already looks a lot better than you see here.

Planters of Coleus hanging off our front porch railing.

One of 3 hanging Begonias from Costco

Two new Clematis vines for our backyard

Chives divided and shared by the neighbour.

A new little plum tree going to the cottage.

Tulips at the front of our house are just opening up.

A single red tulip among the yellow.

What happens to tulips when rabbits visit your yard.

Wave Petunias from Costco

Looking up under my 50-year-old apple tree.

A planter for a picnic table

Lilies planted last year & a couple of Dust Millers that self-seeded.

A sad Ivy that doesn't look like it will survive.

The little tree we brought home from the lake last fall to use at Xmas 

Some garlic cloves from the kitchen.

The change from storm and winter to serene and mild weather, from dark and sluggish hours to bright and elastic ones, is a memorable crisis which all things proclaim. 

                                                        ~Henry David Thoreau

Too Much Stress, Updates and some Whining

 Hello Friends! 

I have been busy lying low for the past couple of months. I must admit that I kind of went into a tailspin and just reached a point where my emotional and physical reserves reached a breaking point. The name of this blog, Leading A Healthy Life, has felt more than a little ironic lately.

 The injury to my hip on December 22 was very traumatic, but it was only the last straw. 

 I thought I could keep busy at home post hip dislocation, and I was going to try and use that time at home in some constructive way and hoped to share my projects here. I really found it difficult to do anything. I couldn't even sit in a regular chair or at a table. I was either lying flat on my back in bed or in a raised recliner. I wasn't in a ton of pain, but I was really uncomfortable all the time, and because of wearing that hip brace 24 hours a day, even at night, I was pretty sleep-deprived. It seems that I want to roll over a lot, and you can't in a contraption like that brace. I didn't like being dependent on my husband and daughters for many basic things, such as washing my hair and dressing. One of the most irritating things is that I seem to always be dropping stuff, and I need a lot of help picking all those things up. 

I watched a lot of TV and YouTube. Bob got us a new  TV while I was in the hospital, It is a new smart one for my side of the bed, and I watched for hours. There was nowhere to walk to, no exercises I was allowed to do, no meaningful work I could do, and no friends to visit due to covid restrictions. I haven't even seen my son and grandkids in almost 8 months, and they live only a half-hour away from me. My eldest daughter is a province away, and there are many quarantine restrictions about crossing the provincial borders, so I have not seen her in almost a year.

 There have been a lot of health issues and other stresses going on for our family in the past year and it has really been getting to me. I know that so many people have it worse than us, and we do keep those who are suffering and have lost loved ones and their homes and jobs in our prayers and thoughts. I am indeed very grateful for a loving family and good care, and lots of available resources. 

 I had 2 minor surgeries this past year - one for a large painful cyst, a lipoma, in my back and another procedure to remove a very large bleeding precancerous growth in my colon and I had to deal with anemia related to that condition. The followups are all looking great. 

One daughter was supposed to have her gallbladder out and was frequently in a lot of pain. Still, the surgery was put on hold from November due to hospital closures until a few weeks ago. She had surgery 2 weeks ago and is still uncomfortable but recovering slowly.

The other daughter had a severe shoulder injury due to a workplace injury. After a lot of difficulties, she was finally diagnosed correctly, but her surgery was also delayed. She eventually had the surgery but will be left with permanent limitations in her range of motion. She went back to university (zoom classes) because she will need to find a new occupation.

 I was supposed to have a knee replacement in January, but that will be on hold for a while until I am doing better with my hip recovery. I don't have a tentative date yet, but it will happen. They need to catch up with covid related delays in elective surgeries and any further covid shutdowns with the hospitals.  

Work has been horrifically difficult this past year. Covid 19 has hit nursing homes especially hard. When you are a recreation person, you are the substitute for friends and family while still being part of the health care team. We try to bring some comfort during these heartbreaking times that are filled with so much fear and loss, and loneliness. Many of our people suffer from dementia and can't understand all that is happening but most certainly are aware of the changes and anxiety around them. We heard about staff dying from covid in other facilities just a few miles from us, and we worried about what is in store for us.  In many ways it is good to not be at work during Covid but I really do miss it. I miss planning activities that are helpful for people and I miss the residents and  my many wonderful co-workers. I know everyone is well cared for but it is hard to shake the feeling that I ought to be there doing my part. It is very hard to putting my own recovery first even though there is no way I physically would be a help at work. I keep telling myself it is like the airplanes. Grab that' oxygen mask first or you can't help other people.  Self care is complicated sometimes. 

One significant stressor has been a rental property we own. We have a 2-bedroom house I inherited from my dad that I rent out as an important part of my income. That went very bad to this past year when the Government made it impossible to kick tenants out during Covid or charge any overdue fees. The tenants just stopped paying rent. They did a tremendous amount of damage to the house, such as breaking doors and door frames, dog feces everywhere, gouged walls, cement poured down drains ruining the plumbing.. you get the idea. It has taken us almost all of the past 3 months to get it fit to rent out again. I couldn't help with repairs and cleaning because of my hip, and I was frustrated and angry beyond belief. There we were trying to deal with the financial fallout happening to our family. I can't track her down to collect any of the money she owes me. I was notified just yesterday by the government-run water utility company that they also can't track down the tenant. Therefore they are legally allowed to tack her water utility bill of over $1500 onto my property taxes. It will be payable in full with my billing next month. I sat there stunned and yelled at the letter, "That is just not fair! I am not a big corporation... just someone with their dad's house!"

Okay, My Whining is Over, for the moment anyway.

The update is:

• I am now 2 weeks out of the hated brace, and I started physiotherapy 3 days ago. I like my new physiotherapist and think she is just right for my recovery needs. 
• The rental house has new tenants as of 2 weeks ago, so that chapter is over.  
• Our daughters are both recovering well. 
•  I have lost some weight and feel pretty happy about that, and I really enjoy wearing some different-sized clothing.
• I got the first dose of the Covid 19 vaccine- AstraZeneca, and the second will be in June. Bob will get his vaccination in a week.
• The city pools finally opened up 14 days ago. I got into an arthritis aquatic group class with a max of 10 people located in a very big pool with a lot of room to distance. I can't do many of the exercises, and Di, our fearless leader, keeps her eye on me. It feels wonderful to walk and move in the water,
• I hope to be back at work on modified duty in a few weeks, so hopefully, that goes well. My supervisor is sounding supportive and happy about my return.

And People .. it is Spring! The time for new beginnings! 

Trying to Keep Busy

 I have been recovering at home for over a month now with little to do but watch TV and play on the computer. I need to find a way to keep myself distracted and busier. I still have 2 to 3 more months with me out of commission, and it is looming through the whole long winter!.

I was really looking forward to planning and carrying out a variety of programs at work for 2021. I have been looking up new ideas for a long time now and hoping that the isolation protocols would soon be over so we can do group programs once again. I was also preparing ideas that could be done in the residents' individual rooms with very few resources and possibly even done independently.

I was thinking that an excellent basic program idea would be all things lemon. Tea with lemon would be a perfect way to spend time with individuals or groups. I found some colouring sheets, easy baking plans and I even have aan appropriate story. I had lots of other lemony ideas floating around in my head for my seniors. 

I am really lonely and bored and focusing way too much about what I can't do, and --- yes --- I was thinking I really need a recreation therapist just for me!! Too bad with quarantines, I can't even have friends over to distract me! I need to find things I can actually do. I need to stop pouting and start figuring this out. Sometimes, it is more challenging to look at yourself and your abilities objectively than it is to sort out other people's needs.

Bob and our daughters have been pretty supportive of my different hobbies and interests. They have had many years of getting pulled into my adventures. They occasionally join me in the fun and frequently are good "enablers" of my various ideas. Still, I really don't want to tempt them away from the things they are supposed to be doing either. Helping me with daily living issues is a pretty full-time job right now anyway.

The idea of lemon programs is currently stuck in my head. I keep thinking about the saying, "If life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade," and I'm feeling an urge to take that quite literally. I'm feeling like I am dealing with a whole lot of sour lemons right now.

Christmas 2020 had a citrus element at our house. Emily and Alicia dried and strung up citrus slices to be used in our beautiful Christmas tree. Emily and I rolled out cinnamon applesauce dough. We then used cookie cutters to form cinnamon-shaped animals to hang on our tree too. We had a few extra dried orange slices and cinnamon shapes that we put in a bowl with pine cones to act as a tabletop centrepiece. For the centrepiece, we also added some whole oranges that we studded with cloves. It was so fragrant and pretty.

The lemon ideas I planned for work would be good for my seniors living in a Personal Care Home; however, they are not really great distractions for crafty little ol' me stuck at my home with mobility issues. Recreation Therapists make care plans for all of our residents. We look at their interests and likes and at their histories. We assess their abilities and any possible limitations we need to consider. Next, we try to develop plans that are therapeutic, holistic and at the very least will make them feel engaged in what they are doing.

Right now, I have issues with how I am moving, and with my stamina levels. We will need to find supplies already at our home or available to us during the pandemic lockdown. This all impacts what is realistic for me to try doing. I might add that my patience is kind of limited right now, and my frustration level is kind of high, back to why I need to make some changes to my days.

Yesterday I commented on Facebook about my plans to do some citrus-based projects at home and shared that I wondered what I should do. Several friends came up with great ideas that had not occurred to me. Now, for sure, I want to do see how far I can take these ideas. I am indeed going to do lemon and orange things! I can take it as a challenge, like a scavenger hunt, to interpret some of my ideas and my friends' ideas in some sort of doable ways.

 I wasn't originally thinking of this as something to share on this blog, but a few friends really want to see pictures of what I am actually up to! Lol. Look out for future posts about my take on making lemonade when you have way too many lemons.

My Cute Rock Garden

I want to introduce my little plant friends. Curly, Larry and Moe. They don't care if I water them or not, how good the light is or if the temperature drops below freezing!  We have had very inconsistent weather around here, and last night, we had a couple little, late-planted sprouts freeze to death. It can get kind of discouraging. I thought it would be fun to share this little project today.  That real Aloe plant was safely in my bedroom window last night and just went outside to photobomb the little guys.

The pots I used were just cheap plastic mini pots that we had kicking around in my garage, but it would have been really nice with those tiny terracotta pots that are available at the dollar store. 

•  3 pots
• 3 rocks that can fit in each pot snugly
• 3 shades of green acrylic paint 
• white acrylic paint
• average size paintbrush
• fine tip paintbrush 
• filler for the bottom. I used white play clay from a dollar store.
• sand or small stones or aquarium gravel 
• Googly eyes
• craft glue
•  mod podge (optional)
  

I washed and dried the rocks carefully. Next, I set them up on some newspapers and gave them a coat pf green paint with the bigger brush. It was good with just one coat. I went over the rocks once they base coat dried with the white acrylic paint to create different styles of marks with the small brush. My intention was to suggest they were assorted types of cactus.  When they were fully dry. I attached their eyes and promptly started laughing at them because I thought they were so cute. In a while, I decided that they really did need a glossy finish. I was a bit sloppy and wished later that I had been more careful beside the eyes because I required some very gentle clean up on the plastic eyes.  

I tried to just balance them in the pots initially and decided they needed a little more secure of a resting spot. I added a bit of play clay in the bottom to stabilize them and raise them up a little higher in their pots. The plastic pots have a drainage hole on the bottom so I didn't try sand.  Since I have put stones around my aloe plants I thought these little guys needed a finishing topping of stones as well. I had a small bag of leftover aquarium gravel for that little finishing touch. 

This project would be appropriate for all ages and skills. You can get a lot more detailed painting each cactus if you are up for a challenge or just leave them a  solid colour for an extra easy craft.  Bigger rocks in bigger pots would be a fun accent to an outdoor garden, but you would want to seal them with something more weather resistant than craft strength mod podge.

 

I might use these as a craft program at the personal care home some time. Wouldn't they make cute centrepieces for a Western event or a Cinco De Mayo party?

Cute as can be Curly

Meet Moe

Lovely Larry

The Whole Gang.

Take Good Care of Yourselves

This is a time in our world where so many of us are feeling lost, helpless, and unsure about what we can or should do. We, as individuals, need to find a way to meet our own basic needs before we truly are able to give our best to help heal our society.
People need to take better care of themselves. The question is, how do we do that?

" I don't have time, I am not feeling great right now, I am too busy taking care of everyone else. I don't have the right supplies, I need to work, I need to just spend all my time on my computer or phone". 

The list of reasons used to put your own real needs last is enormous. Have you heard about the procedure of putting your oxygen mask on yourself first during an emergency so that you can help others? We need to do that in our daily life so that we can keep going ourselves and be there to help others be well. I'll be the first to admit that I have in the past and still continue to struggle with taking the time and focusing on what I need at the moment and then to follow through and meet those needs. 

Through my various health struggles, I have learned that you start with ONE step at a time and build on what you learn and accomplish. I want to try concentrating on one topic or idea a week and try and incorporate it into my life. I know that it can take a long time to truly master some goals. Still, I am sure that even small efforts with thinking, learning and implementing will lead to positive changes. Maybe something that I share will inspire you!

I'm hoping others will join me in this journey so watch for "Take Good Care of Yourself Sundays." See what changes I am making to hopefully increase my ability to cope in such a challenging time and to continue trying to lead a healthy life.

Recreation therapy and other disciples break up our activities and our therapeutic goals into several categories of health that are intended to create a holistic approach to health and wellness. I sometimes use these as labels for my blog posts, and I also want to use them as ways to organize the topics and ideas I plan to investigate and work on.

Physical 

Social

Emotional/ Mental Health

Cognitive/ Intellectual Health

Spiritual Health 

Sometimes also considered are  

Environmental Health 

Occupational Health

Financial Wellness

Do you have any particular challenges you are facing? Do you have favourite ideas for self-care? 

See you this Sunday for the first 

"Take Good Care of Yourself Sunday."