Oh Sunny Day!

I can't remember a whole lot about the day as it has been a week, but tuesday October 23rd was one of my best days since the surgery. Not too bad for a month post surgery. I don't recall having any bad effects from the medicine or from pain. I just remember it being an incredibly beautiful day which was a very welcome treat in a month of rain. The dogs and I went for a lovely autumn walk on our trail past the Remlinger farm in the late afternoon sun. The temperature read 68 degrees which is the warmest it has been since prior to my surgery in September. I walked in just a light polyester athletic shirt and even unzipped the legs of my convertible hiking pants.If I recall correctly I had a few other satisfying recovery moments for the day.- I was able to get through the day without a nap or head pain.- I was able to shower standing up and do so quite confidentally.- It was my second attempt at driving as far as Carnation (6 miles one way) which worked out well.There is something about Tuesdays where things seem to go well. Tuesday was the day in the hospital after the surgery when I was moved out of ICU to my own room which was incredibly relieving to me. It made my whole week in fact and setup a positive mindframe for my recovery.Today again was a Tuesday and was just as wonderful as the others. I didn't nap today, the sun was out, the dogs and I enjoyed our afternoon stroll at their favorite place (the dog park), I drove for the second time to Redmond (10 miles one way), I made it to the gym for the second time this week (3rd since surgery), and I accomplished standing on the BOSU balance device (http://bosufitness.com/BOSU-Balance-Trainer.php) for over a minute when I thought right after surgery it would take many months to work back into doing. I am getting stronger.There is still lots of progress to be made but my hard work prior to the surgery is kicking in and making the recovery faster and better than it may typically be. The doctors were right to go in strong. It was a tough choice deciding when to do the surgery which I would have been tempted to prolong. At the start I thought I could perhaps wait until January or February 2008. Then the first surgeon we consulted with in Seattle told us that it would be too risky to wait that long. Another surgeon agreed that November or October would be a good time as well as a third surgeon. I planned out a good date in October but God had other plans for me to get it done sooner.In any case, I am glad I was not in the hospital last tuesday as originally planned and was able to enjoy the unusually warm fall sunny day on a walk with my dogs. :o)