I shared in a previous post how excited I was after last Wednesday's physical therapy appointment. In case you missed it, at that appointment I finally made it to the longed-for 105 degree knee bend. I was thrilled!
There was no PT scheduled for Friday because my therapist was taking the day off for a long weekend out of town. Without my morning PT, I was free to do other things, and so Friday turned into quite an adventure.
The day began when my friend Cathy picked me up at 7:30. Those of you who know me well are, I'm sure, surprised that I would be out and about at that time of day. And I would be the first to agree with you! But it can be done! Cathy participates in an exercise class at Roebuck Baptist Church, and we were on our way to Strawberry Hill to meet the group for breakfast. Since I rarely, if ever, turn down an opportunity for pancakes, I had been looking forward to this little trip.
After breakfast, we decided on a trip to Hamrick's in Gaffney since it wasn't that far from where we were. For those of you who are not local, Hamrick's is a very large clothing store. After walking all around that store, I finally sat down to rest a few minutes in the shoe department. I was exhausted!
After Hamrick's Cathy took me home and I sat in my chair to rest. I ended up falling asleep!
Friday afternoon Al and I continued the day's adventure with a trip to the mountains where we used to live. Al's parents still own a house there and his dad wants to list it as a vacation rental since they don't go up there any more and the market is still not conducive to selling it. It was a beautiful day for a trip to the mountains and I enjoyed the scenery very much. However, for someone who has done very little but sit in a chair for the last seven weeks, a two hour ride to Burnsville was quite an undertaking.
We met with a property manager and worked out all the details, and then came the two hour ride back home. We stopped for some dinner at a favorite restaurant which broke the drive up a little bit. Even so, by the time we got home, I was beyond weary and my knee was swelled up like a basketball! I was in bed before 9pm, which is just as unusual as my being out and about at 7:30 am!
On Saturday morning, I was stiff and sore, and my knee was still swollen. I spent the better part of the day icing my knee. Sunday was a little better, but even by Monday the stiffness was still there.
Monday was therapy day. I did well at my appointment in the sense of strength and stamina, but the knee did not want to bend, so we're back at 95 degrees. That was frustrating, but my therapist assures me it's only a temporary setback. In the meantime, she says, I have to live my life and know that setbacks will come.
The setback was frustrating but not unexpected. And so, I continue stretching and bending, doing my exercises, and hoping to regain and even surpass my previous 105 degrees.
Setbacks are just part of the process. In physical therapy and in life. And so, I press on.
"I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
(Philippians 3:14 NASB)
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