Rita Arens's Blog, page 9

Up to Me

I went to see my doctors last Thursday. I was five weeksish post-surgery.

The resident is more conservative. He came in and said to keep all weight off until six weeks post-surgery, then take 2-3 weeks to transition to full weight-bearing with the boot. He left. I cried. I am so tired of crutches.

Then the surgeon came in. He said the X-ray looked fine, transition to full weight-bearing within a week, lose the boot after that, get some PT, come back in five weeks.

In other words, he left it...

So Mad We Are Getting Old

A girlfriend brought me lunch yesterday since I still can't drive. We've known each other since our kids were babies, I suppose almost twelve years now. Over soup we talked about everything from work to our health -- we both had a rough 2015.

"You know," she said, "it's true. You don't realize how when you have your health, you have everything, until you don't."

Yeah.

We're young-old, both in our early forties, still running (when not sidelined by said health), still trying to eat healthy. No...

Birthday Eve

Tomorrow I'll be 42. With a broken leg. Although I suspect it's not really broken anymore, just faking it so I'll slide up and down the stairs three times a day on my butt just so Fate can laugh her ass off.

When I first reported my injury, my friend Stacy exclaimed, "Think of the books you'll read!" She was right. I have read great books. I've come back to the revision process on PARKER CLEAVES after hitting the surgery wall. I've learned to stand up from the ground on one leg. I've learned...

Breathe Deeply Through This

You have time. You do.

NORWAY 8K from Martin Heck | Timestorm Films on Vimeo.

Some Intriguing Facts About Pain

"I don't feel funny anymore. I've started to wonder if I've changed," she said.

She's one of the funniest people I know. I'm sure she hasn't lost her wicked talents. But grief is pain and pain is work and she's not done with the work yet.

I don't doubt, though, that she's changed in a different way. Pain -- physical, mental, spiritual pain -- changes us.

This winter I've lived in a physical house of pain. I broke my leg before Christmas and had surgery to put in a plate and five screws on Jan...

Someday I'll Be 18 Going on 55

When I write, I usually listen to headphones even if I'm alone so the music can go straight into my head without mingling.

I remember when an old boss gave me an iPod shuffle as a Christmas bonus. It could hold 100 songs, which at the time seemed an insanity of musical abundance and variety.

My current writing playlist has around 500 songs on it, and yet I still hear a lot from Bryan Adams. The last few times I heard "18 Until I Die" (a song most helpful when you're 41 and writing fiction f...

Notes From the Orthopedic Surgery Waiting Room

33 days since I broke my fibula.

14 days since the surgeon put a plate and 5-6 screws in my leg to fix the unstable break.

Yesterday I went for my surgery follow-up appointment. The PA and I talked about how putting screws in bones was pretty much like hanging a flat-screen TV -- you better put the screw all the way into the other side of the bone or you're not sinking it into the stud. I stared at my X-rays in horror and fascination.

They took out the stitches. The skin puffed around them li...

Guest Post: FARMWORKER & the Story of Undocumented Agricultural Workers from Diana Prichard

(Editor's Note: Thanks for taking time to check out this guest post from my farming friend Diana Prichard of Righteous Bacon. I've known Diana for many years now, and I've always been impressed by her dedication to farming and agriculture and her moral compass. I know I recently enjoyed Making a Murderer on Netflix and believe documentaries are one of the easiest ways to educate a lot of people in a little bit of time about complicated issues like the American judicial system or how we get ou...

Tips for Crutches

I had never used crutches before I broke my leg, and I've learned a lot. I'm on quite a bit of Oxycodone at the moment, but I wanted to write this before I forgot the desperation someone might be feeling if they stumble upon this. Feel free to share!

Three weeks ago, I broke my fibula (smaller bone in calf) and got crutches. On Wednesday, I had surgery to get a plate and some pins, maybe a screw, really not sure. Here are my tips for crutches and broken legs when your pain is low and when yo...

Unintended Bling

It's been 17 days since I broke my right leg, and the healing clock starts over on Wednesday. That's the day they are going to put a plate and some pins in there!

I'm really trying not to think about this surgery too much because I don't like the idea of having things screwed into my bones, even if it does mean they'll heal properly and I'll be able to run again ... someday. Right now that day feels very, very far away, my friends. Right now even being able to leave the house by myself in a c...