The Old Guy
Today marks three weeks since the old guy had knee replacement surgery. It is surprising what the body can do in a three-week period. By the end of the first week he had become comfortable with stairs, and we moved him back to the main floor where he took up residence in the spare bedroom. By the end of the second week he graduated from the walker to the cane; and now, by three weeks, he sometimes walks away from his cane without realizing it.
He had his staples out last week, and things are looking good according to the medical professionals. He goes to physiotherapy twice a week and is required to exercise at home in between.
Was there pain? Absolutely! Did he need the heavy duty pain killers? Definitely! But he now needs them less and less. There were good days and bad days, but his weekly improvement was amazing. We won’t say it was easy because it wasn’t. It was exhausting.
Speaking of exhausting, let’s talk about sleep.
Years ago, long before social media, I read an article about the most common fear among people. It was based on a survey where people were asked what they feared the most. Surprise, surprise, the most common answer was not dying or being trapped in a car that veers into deep water (one of my occasional thoughts). Nope. It was not being able to fall asleep at night.
And boy, oh boy, could I relate to that. Even as a child I had trouble falling asleep. Or falling back to sleep. Thoughts that revolve around getting and staying asleep can literally keep me awake at night.
The last three weeks, for both the old guy and myself have been sleep challenged. He, of course, was struggling with pain and getting comfortable, plus possibly sleeping too much during the day so not being able to sleep as well at night. Me, well I am a light sleeper. For the first five days, I slept in the same room, which happens to have two beds for family/grandchildren visits. But I heard everything, every toss, every blanket movement, every trip to the bathroom, every breath. I had to move back to my own bed before I got so rundown I got sick. Now three weeks in, we both still feel as if we are not getting enough sleep, but it is slowly improving.
And then there is hilarity
On Sunday afternoon I went to Neptune Theatre’s production of The Play That Goes Wrong with my friend Cathy. It was hilarious. We laughed from the moment it started until the moment it ended. Ask me if I needed a good laugh.
Here are some facts about the play compliments of Wikipedia:
The Play That Goes Wrong is a 2012 play by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields of Mischief Theatre Company. It won Best New Comedy at the 2015 Laurence Olivier Awards. As of September 2021, the show has been running since 2012 in London; since 2014, the play has undertaken five tours of the UK. It also ran on Broadway from 2017 – 2019.
It took me a couple of days to come up with the words to best describe the experience of seeing this play, and I was happy when they arrived last night. It was a cross between The Carol Burnett Show and Monty Python. Need I say more? If Halifax’s Neptune Theatre production was this good, I can only imagine what the London and Broadway versions must have been like. If you ever get a chance to see a version of this play, jump at it.
Thank you for reading.
Photos: Neptune promo play photo, Stoo Metz, Neptune. All others Jenn Stone
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I’ve never heard of this play, but it sounds like exactly what you needed at the right time. Maggje
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It was. It ends this week or I would drag the old guy out to see it, but two plus hours of theatre sitting would be to much right now.
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Glad to hear your husband is doing so well so quickly. It’s a major operation that’s probably in my future and I can tell you I’m not looking forward to it.
I hear you on the sleep problems, I’m a light sleeper who stays awake thinking about sleeping too. It’s beyond annoying.
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One of the reasons he is doing so well is because they gave him pre-operation exercises to do to strengthen his knee and leg muscles. He did them for a year while waiting for his surgery. He is going to continue them because he also needs the other knee done. We are really happy with his progress. As far as my sleep issues go, I expect they are permanent.
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It most definitely isn’t easy – I still remember what an awful 6 weeks I had after my hip replacement and that’s nothing like as bad or as complicated as knee surgery! I’m glad he’s progressing well though.
I know what you mean about fear of not sleeping. My sleep is getting worse at the moment – it seems to be getting gradually worse altogether but I have a few short periods where it goes back to normal for a couple of weeks or so and I get great sleep. I often wish there was an ‘off’ switch on my brain so I could just shut it up sometimes!
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We are pleased with his progress. He has worked hard at it before and after his surgery.
I agree about the off switch for my brain. I literally try not to do too much in the evening these days to reduce the stimulation.
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He’s got the right approach – the harder you work at the pre and post-op stuff, the easier and better it all is and the faster the recovery.
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Good to read that he’s doing well
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Good to read about him recovering
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I can totally empathize with the sleeping thing as I have struggled my entire life. I used to take a sleeping pill, but my doctor advised me to get off those as they have been linked to Alzheimer’s. I am an admittedly fussy sleeper who needs optimal sleeping conditions (dark, cool room) I’ve recently had some neuropathy issues that lead to the blankets going off and on as I vacillate between hot and cold. My wife can fall asleep at the drop of a hat. I’m so envious!
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I can relate. They used to say that my husband could fall asleep on the rim of a p%$$ pot. While I, like you, also need optimal conditions.
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I’d love that play. Oh my, talk about a great mix of humor. I’m glad that your husband is doing as well as he is, forgetting to use his cane must be a good sign. As for the fear of not sleeping, I like sleeping but am not alarmed when I can’t. That being said, I sleep best when conditions are perfectly to my liking and strive to make that so. My husband, just goes to sleep. Plop down, out like a light.
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So happy that someone else is familiar with that play. A mutual appreciation is always nice. I really don’t get alarmed when I don’t sleep I just toss and think. It is just that those thoughts often focus on getting to sleep. I used to just get up and do other things but I’m much lazier these days.
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