It's Back to Work I Go

Seriously, I'm really bad at updating. Sorry again for the delay, but I've got some great stuff to share. So the last time I posted, I talked about the benefits of rest. Since that post I have gotten my sutures out (woohoo), working on resting and taking part in physical therapy twice a week. I'm into my second week of therapy and the improvement has been great. Most of the therapy is to help me have a more relaxed posture (I was described by my dad and surgeon as a etiquette schoolgirl since I was walking so tall and straight) and natural movement. We are also working on being able to reach above my head better and of course neck rotation. I have lots of fun exercises to work on at home to keep the improvement rolling. My movements definitely have been getting better and it's nice to be able to turn my head more without having to move my whole body. I've improved from Michael Keaton Batman to Christian Bale Batman (we'll just skip Val & George versions). Both my physical therapist (wonderful woman, if you need PT Spectra in Lubbock is a great place) and my surgeon have been happy with my improvement and agree I'm ahead of schedule with recuperation from the surgery I had. Some comes from my age and otherwise good health, but all the praise goes to God for his blessings during this time.

So onto the awesome news...I know you are waiting with such crazy anticipation. I started driving again!! I began with just a few short, supervised drives at first in areas without a lot of traffic (especially the crazy Lubbock traffic - never know when someone might backup in the middle of an intersection). Driving can still be a little bit of a challenge since there are still some problems with rotating my neck and shoulders around, but for the most part it's been fine. I also, as of yesterday, started back to work for half days!!! Yesterday was great; it was nice to be back in at least part of the routine again and see everyone at work. Sitting at home and not doing much can only last so long before I go crazy. I'm working on not pushing myself further than I can handle. I definitely don't want to have another setback. Today should be a good test for my endurance since I work half a day and then have a PT session this afternoon.

A lot of things going on in the next few weeks (all leading up to Thanksgiving!!). I'll have my first post-surgery MRI to see how everything is looking and checking to see no re-growth has occurred. I'll be doing a few of these over the next year to ensure that Oscar doesn't try to make another appearance; Dr. Smith said the chances are low, but always good to check. I'll also be finishing up physical therapy and going back to full-time at work. I'll do my best to keep you guys updated as things go along.