Category: Uncategorized

I went 5 full days and nights without pain meds, and was feeling quite successful, until 3:00 am Friday. Thursday was not one of my best days. Starting to feel a little anxious and a little restless, and just having a hard time getting comfortable, awake or asleep! So at 3:00 am I had TWO pain pills and drifted off to Never Never Land until 9:00 am. It felt great to finally get some solid sleep, but the pain prior to the meds was awful. Mike says my shoulder is probably going through some healing and I am feeling it……and I may have “Overdone” the last couple of days. True. I had decided that two-weeks post-op, I would start walking and taking pictures of my food again. I weighed one day last week at home and about fell apart! But it must have been water weight or something, because this […]

With each day that comes along, I try to do something new with only the use of my left hand. I must say, I have surprised myself. It was a great feeling of independence just to figure out how to take my brace/sling off without any help. A mirror is a must for this one. Then I decided I had to be able to shower and dry off without assistance. The only thing I can’t wash at all is my left arm, so for a few seconds I get the water as hot as I can stand it and stick my left arm under the shower head. I’m certain it kills all the germs. 🙂 Drying off at all is a challenge, and my front side is a bit of a balancing act while my right arm dangles at my side, and left arm does all the work, and my […]

Un styled hair, no make up, but clean and dressed! Well, although I have only left the house one time, I feel like I have kept fairly busy and I see progress already! The little, simple things take much longer, and due to the sleepless nights, I do get tired easily. I was feeling pretty victorious about taking no prescription pain pills all day on Friday, until the effects of my first physical therapy exercises set in. Egads! I guess the ice packs and Advil just didn’t quite do it. Thursday was a super restless night in the guest room bed that I have been sleeping in. Yes, I sacrificed my bed to the dogs for the fear that Tucker would want to cuddle on top of my head or shoulder, which he tends to do. After six nights in the guest bedroom, I started to get really uncomfortable, and […]

1. Pee, all by myself. (I was worried about this one.)2. Brush my teeth. (Although they don’t feel AS clean)3. Get dressed. (From the waist down.)4. Shower. (Only 95% of the way. I can’t raise my right arm to wash my right armpit, and I can’t seem to figure out a way to wash my left armpit with my left hand. I’m just not very flexible that way.)5. Wash my left hands fingers. (I just can’t figure out how to wash my whole hand!)6. Crack AND cook eggs! (Without any shell! Impressed?)7. Make coffee. (I guess I’ve just never tried.)8. Apply mascara. (I only poked my eyeball twice!)9. Sort, wash and dry a load of clothes. (No folding though. I guess I could, but it would take forever, and it just seemed easier for Mike to do that.)10. Pet the dogs. (But I’d really like to hug them with both […]

My morning began with (absolutely NO sleep!) a Super sweet card and these………yip, there’s 12. I always count, just to be sure. 🙂 This truly traditional guy really loves me. What can I say? We then went on a date to the Dr. office for my first post-op! To really make the date special, I put on a bra! WHOO WHOO! (Actually, Mike had to put it on for me. Did I say “Happy Valentines Day!”? Stitches out, got the okay to have an adult beverage (as long as I’m done with the pain pills), got the okay to treadmill (as long as I promise to hold on and take it easy), and instructions for at home physical therapy (Four exercises) for the next three weeks. Then the REAL physical therapy will start. Eeeekkkkk. Mike brought me home from our romantic trip to the Dr. and I called a friend […]

I would say that mostly, things are going as expected. When the Doc said that one week after surgery, I would regret having it, I am wondering if he was referring mostly to this darn arm/brace slingy thingamabob! There is no way to put on a shirt that you “pull over”, and attempting a bra at this point would be ridiculous! None of the shirts that I own that are button up would be comfortable at all under this brace, so I had a friend (THANK YOU, BECKY!) shop for a thin, zip up hoodie that I could just cut the arms off of! I figured after shower number two (which was WAY more successful than shower number one), I could actually put on some clothes, although Mike said he didn’t really mind the new, topless Julie. Whatcha think? So far, sleeping has been terrible. (The brace can only be […]

So far, things are exactly as expected. I can’t wear anything up top, and it’s a struggle to pee. Surgery went well. Thank you for your prayers and well wishes. Very sweet and very much appreciated! 🙂 My rotator cuff is stitched up and the Doc removed a bone spur! All done laparoscopically, so that was a nice surprise. No big scar! I’ve had a couple of break downs, but that has basically been late at night just trying to get comfortable with this crazy sling. Oh, and one time I bumped my arm, and it felt like it fell off, so I might have over reacted just a bit. Mike has been an awesome nurse! We had to ice me for 15 minutes EVERY HOUR for the first 72 hours! We hope to get caught up on some sleep tonight. I got to remove all the bandages on Sunday […]

I have really weird dreams. I have often thought about keeping a dream journal, then having it analyzed, but I’m afraid I might learn something about myself that it’s just better that I maybe not know. A lot of dreams, I just keep to myself. 🙂 Here is my day dream that I have had for the last two weeks that is really more of a Nightmare. “I go under the knife, and the anesthetic has not completely put me under. I can hear “Scalpel” and then I FEEL them cutting on me and I can’t scream!!” Too much? People, this really does happen, and the bad luck around here lately is……well……common! I see myself being interviewed by Diane Sawyer on 20/20 telling the tragic story of the family with the worst luck ever! So I have decided before ANYTHING can happen in the morning, I have GOT to meet […]

Okay, so Tess goes to get a rental car. Wait. This really needs to be told in some sort of a story format. “The Adventures of Tess” “Once upon a time, there was a beautiful young girl named Tess (she really was beautiful you guys), who liked adventures (shit just kinda happens to her, like it or not). She was adored by many (she really did have a lot of friends). Tess moved to a place, far far away. (Dallas) In just a few short weeks, beautiful young Tess was busy visiting other far away places (a weekend in New Orleans and Nashville and a couple of day trips to Phoenix and Austin). On a return trip home from one of her adventures, she had an unfortunate mishap (she got broadsided by a big ass SUV!) and Gertrude was sent to the junkyard. Tess apparently was surrounded by angels, because […]

Breakfast Fresh Strawberries, that actually tasted really sweet!Light English Muffin with Egg Beaters, 1 T. Bacon Pieces, Reduced Fat Cheddar Slice and a small smear of fresh avocado! Then I was ecstatic to find a Keurig Gingerbread flavor cup and a small amount of Sugar Free Pumpkin Coffee Syrup! Add a little steamed skim milk, and ahhhhhh, back in the days of Fall of 2012. It seems so long ago…… My overly dramatic breakfast was…9 PPV Lunch Left over roasted veggies and tortellini. 3 PPV Grilled Bacon and Cheese!2 slices 1 PPV bread1 T. Light Country Crock Spread2 slices Reduced Fat Cheddar1 T. Bacon Pieces 1 Happy Lady! 6 PPV Dinner I thought about more Bacon and cheese, but I was craving tilapia tacos instead. Tilapia taco7 PPV Salad with mixed greens, olives, tomatoes, kidney beans, and bell peppers all dressed with salsa and a little sour cream3 PPV Dessert? […]