Notes from a Quiet Weekend

Well, I'm writing this from my corner chair in the back room, computer on my lap, dog snoring away on his couch. He does not qualify as quality company. The wheelchair remains comfortably in the trunk of the car. My walker is standing next to me. I've been comfortably tottering around using it for support. Even though outside it's really incredibly cold (today's high: 0˚F), I'm comfortable under a layer or three of blankets. My leg is resting on a pillow resting on a footstool. It doesn't hurt at all. Well, at least not now.



In short, on a big picture level, I'm doing decently well.


Although it was a remarkably quiet weekend, I am not heading back to school today. I spent most of the past three days on the chair, zoning out while my brothers were watching movies, zoning out while my brothers were not watching a movie, or vaguely paying attention while my brothers were watching a movie. I survived the first Lord of the Rings yet again and…well, that was about it, with a few exceptions.


Exception number one is that over the weekend, for the first time since before Christmas, I sat in the front seat of a car. Friday night my parents decided to pick up Mediterranean food for dinner. My father asked if anybody wanted to tag along. To the surprise of just about everyone, I volunteered (in my normal non-frame wearing, weight-bearing life, I go on just about every outing possible, be it to the grocery store or the post office or to pick up dinner). To the great surprise of me, my father agreed to take me with. He also agreed to let me try out the front seat of the car. Up until then, I'd been riding pretty exclusively in the back simply because the back provides better opportunities to rest my leg. At some point, however, mixing things up takes precedence over the ability to rest the leg (with frame) on soft, comfortable objects.


Exception number two is that over the weekend, for the first time since before Christmas, I managed to make it to a movie in the theaters (the excellent Silver Linings Playbook, which had been a priority movie to watch for quite some time). This was really quite exciting—not only did I have an excuse to get out of my chair and leave the house, but popcorn would be involved. And a movie. Because of the large distances involved in getting from the car into the movie theater into the specific theater the film was screening, I went in a wheelchair. Most people didn't really seem to notice the wheelchair. I had people cutting ahead of me to get into their seats quicker. And after some time without moving (it should be noted), the wheelchair ceases to be comfortable.


Unfortunately, after getting home from the movie, I did not feel particularly energetic. I sat in my chair and felt tired. I went to bed, got lots of sleep, and spent Monday in the chair feeling tired. Even though showering is, at this point, a relatively simple activity for me to do, stairs and all, I didn't have the energy to shower last night. Just to sit in the chair and feel tired.


Today, I'm back in the chair and still tired.


In normal existence, I rarely (if ever) get sick. Or at least, rarely (if ever) get sick enough to consider missing class and needing to catch up on missed work. As far as I can remember, I haven't gotten sick before during recovery. But I think it's fairly safe to say that I'm not thriving at the moment. Maybe I'll have the energy to put myself back together for tomorrow. Maybe not.


Whatever the case, I can't say this latest development is making me any fonder of this chair (a major discovery from recovery: the more time I spend in/on a piece of furniture, the less fond I am of it).