Moving Forward

My PT ended June 30th. I will miss the visits. I got my exit evaluation. Then we looked stuff up on the Internet. She said she will keep in touch. I'm doing well. I still have some stiffness and lack of mobility in my neck. I can wash more dishes before needing to sit and rest. I swept the floor and mopped, which went well, but my arms felt exhausted the next day. I can vacuum a little at a time, no problem. I'm not sure what my expected range of motion (ROM) should be. I asked my therapist and as far as she knows, there is a loss of 7% ROM with each level of fusion, so I have a 35% reduction, however, we don't know how that translates into how far left and right I can turn my head. Right now I am at 45 degrees each way. That's not great for driving, but the rest of me is bendy so I just twist in my seat to compensate. I've never been one to drive distances anyway.

My daughter (formerly living in California) who moved here in May has been waiting for an apartment. One was set to open up in September, upstairs, and not her first choice. She told our caretaker the one she really wanted was the one right below it, on the first floor. It's a nice shady corner facing the woods where the deer graze at night. Low and behold, a couple weeks ago the caretaker knocked on the door and said the apartment she wanted is opening up the end of July! That's great for all of us, because we are kind of crammed in this small apartment. My daughter is living in the dining area and our table is in the living room. It will be great to get back to normal.

My hubby took me for ice cream for my birthday, and since he was off work, the following morning we walked the Lion's Den, the first time since my surgery. Afterward hubby took me shopping and bought me earrings. He wanted to buy me more stuff but I told him no, put it in savings!

Since I have Medicare, I had bought a medigap and drug plan in California. The medigap plan (a pricey plan F) went up in price in April and the drug plan dropped me because I moved. Today an agent talked to me about what Wisconsin has to offer. I believe I found a good plan for a savings of $132 per month. That money will go right into savings. I firmly believe that part of living the good life is to save, save, save, in between a little fun spending, after the bills are paid of course.

Aside from my daughter moving out, the other thing that needs to happen is that she needs her own car. My hubby can't always get rides to work from his cousin. Well, technically he can, because they work the same shift, but, well, one just needs their own car. My daughter's job transfer went through a few weeks ago, so she is working again.

Here are some pictures of Lake Michigan from the Lion's Den, Grafton Wisconsin.