post op day 54 - water torture

Energy level: good in the morning – complete exhaustion in the evening
Pain level: 2

2 Tylenol in the late afternoon

Dunking one’s feet in ice water first thing in the morning is so much more effective that a vat of coffee. JP smiles as he prepares the dunking tanks for contrast bath physical therapy. I don’t know what I would do without his support and carrying water buckets! We both get a good laugh out of the sounds and faces I make during the good morning ice water dunk.

I find it to be a fascinating comparison when two feet feel different sensations yet are subjected to the same stimulus. The contrasts lessen with each dunk, but the initial is always shocking. One foot feels like it is at the spa in a warm water bath and the other is on fire.

The warm water works wonders on range of motion. However, as I regain some movement in the ankle I can feel the screw and washer rubbing against my Achilles tendon, not pleasant at all.

My energy cuts out at 5:00 sharp. JP has to work late so I figure that I’ll just hop in a taxi. There’s a slight drizzle as I j-walk across the street to the taxi stand. I should have been tipped off by hotel doorman cautiously guarding his brood of 20 people waiting for a cab, but the thrill of hopping across NM Street invigorates me and I hop down to the street corner in an effort to hail the first cab that crosses Market Street. I have obviously underestimated San Franciscans' devotion to staying dry as a hundred full cabs wiz on by. Then it starts to pour.

Is there nothing more pathetic than a girl in the pouring rain with no umbrella trying to hail a cab with an outstretched crutch? Apparently this is not a particularly shocking image in a city where our mantra and motto is “Only In San Francisco”.

Soaking and shivering I finally give in and call JP requesting for an emergency pick up.

The city always seems to freak out when water falls from the sky. I’ve heard fellow San Franciscans describe the city as a place of fog by no rain. Yet, every winter and spring it does rain for many days in every month from November to May. Perhaps San Franciscans easily forget because SF showers tend to only last a few hours when most folks are inside.

Even though JP dropped everything to rush to my aid, it still took him half an hour to dive six blocks, by which time it’s been an hour since I have been stuck in the rain. We arrive home. Exhausted and soaked to the bone, I fall into bed and sleep for a solid 12 hours.