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October 28, 2009

Larry Penkava - Not so bad being a shut in

Anonymous The Randolph Guide Wed Oct 28, 2009, 06:48 AM EDT

How do I love being a shut-in? Let me count the ways.

Since undergoing hip surgery on Sept. 29, I’ve found myself sitting at home at the mercy of others. Being waited on hand and foot isn’t all bad, but it goes against my proclivity to do things for myself.

I can convey myself about the house with the help of a walker or crutches, but my movements are limited by the 90-degree rule. That means I can’t bend from the waist beyond 90 degrees without threatening to pull my newly-mended hip out of joint.

So, when I see something on the floor and am motivated to reach down for it – as I did the very first morning after I got home from the hospital – I have to stop myself and consider my options. Either leave it there, ask someone else to pick it up or reach instead for my “best friend.”

My best friend these days (and I say this with the fear of offending any number of people who may have felt the honored title belonged to them) is a long-armed claw with a gun-like handle. I can use it to pick up stuff, to pull up articles of clothing that normally require a tug with the hands or to threaten little kids who think an old man wearing white tights is funny.

OK, I guess the tights deserve an explanation. Besides the little-known fact that I enjoy cross dressing, I have to wear the support hose to help keep blood clots from forming. I’m also taking daily injections of blood thinner for the same purpose – and, yes, I give myself the shots.

So, if by chance the nearly impossible occurs and I drop the needle on the floor, my best friend will pick it up, dust it off and hand it to me. No harm, no foul.

One of my greatest fears is dropping my best friend on the floor with nobody around to pick him up.

Even though I’ve learned to be pretty much independent – for an invalid – there are some things I just can’t do for myself. One of those tasks is to put on and take off those dastardly hose.

It’s something too difficult for my best friend. Even my cousin Tom Allen, a strapping 6-footer who has been helping me when wife Ginny is at work, has to tug and grunt and strain to get the confounded stockings up. MBF doesn’t have a prayer of getting that job done.

Another chore for human hands other than my own is changing my wound dressing. Were it on my anterior flank, I could easily do it myself. But the surgery required posterial entry, thus leaving the foot-long gash just beyond my sight and reach.

I guess by the time I don’t need the hose or the dressing, I’ll be back on my feet, bending and stretching and doing everything I’m used to doing. In the meantime, I have to thank those who have had to wait on me hand and foot.

Larry Penkava, who has written Now and Then since 1994, appreciates all the cards, messages and “care packages” during his time off.

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Speaking of running...
It's been a while since Larry Penkava could job. But last Saturday, during the human race, he rejoined the world of the running, completing one mile during The Human Race.

April 2, 2010
I can see the light! It’s been 16 weeks and three days since my hip surgery and I’m beginning to feel almost normal. I'm counting down to the end of March when I will (hopefully) go on The Run.
January 23, 2010
Larry: Brothers joined at the hip The Asheboro attorney and now city councilman-to-be had hip surgery just 10 days after I did. He had total hip replacement while I had hip resurfacing.
November 5, 2009
Larry Penkava - Not so bad being a shut in Since undergoing hip surgery on Sept. 29, I’ve found myself sitting at home at the mercy of others. Being waited on hand and foot isn’t all bad, but it goes against my proclivity to do things for myself.
October 28, 2009
Larry: Three weeks after surgery My recovery has entered the "doldrums" period. For the first couple of weeks after hip resurfacing surgery, I was pretty upbeat while becoming acclimated to life as a semi-invalid.
October 28, 2009
Larry: Whew. It's done. My surgery went really well. At least that’s what one of the team of doctors told me the day after I had hip resurfacing. He also said my arthritis had been pretty bad. No wonder I had hurt so much in my right hip.
October 28, 2009
Larry: On the mend I received good news today (Oct. 14) during a scheduled visit to the hospital – I can go back to work.
October 15, 2009
Larry: Free, if only for a while
October 9, 2009
Larry: Things are looking up
October 7, 2009
Larry: Schedule, Schmedule… Major surgery means a major shift in your everyday schedule of events. Forget setting the clock to get up for work. Now it’s set to correspond with taking medicines, checking wound dressings, having injections and removing or putting on surgical hose.
October 6, 2009
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