Day Twelve: Hospitals, Hockey, and Haircuts

 
(Photo Credit) 

This has been a bit of a rough week.

My auntie passed away over the weekend. I tried to call her when she was in the hospital, but after being transferred numerous times and being on hold for over fifteen minutes, I finally got a hold of her son just in time for the call to cut out. I asked my mom to please let her know I was was trying to get through to her, and she did. Still, I wish I'd had the opportunity to speak with her myself. Her funeral is on Wednesday.

Loki continues to get sick. She still has an appetite so I'm hoping she can ride it out, but if she throws up for much longer I'll have to take her in again.

I met with a surgeon today regarding my knee. He showed me how he plans to remove healthy cartilage from a non-weight bearing part of my knee and replace the damaged cartilage on my kneecap. The donor space will then be filled with synthetic goo and smoothed over. A cadaver's ligament will replace one of my own. The loose cartilage fragments will be scoped out, along with any remaining fluid due to swelling. Pending a bone scan later this week, I may need to have my leg bones shifted back into place. I'm looking at six weeks of healing time post-operation, followed by at least three months of rehab. While recovering from the surgery, I'll need to put my knee in a dynamic splint that will bend and straighten my knee for six hours a day--- every day--- for six weeks. I will have to take off work and find a temporary replacement at my job. I will have to get a small cot or bed to set up on the main level of my home since I won't be able to navigate the stairs.

My brain was so full worrying about the surgery and funeral and missing so much work that I accidentally left my lunch at home. I found a packet of hot cocoa mix in my desk and stirred it into a mug of hot water. Then someone in the office brought doughnuts and I snagged the least offensive-looking pastry. Crisis averted.

To help lighten the mental burden, the beau and I attended an Admirals hockey game using the free vouchers I won in a raffle at a They Might Be Giants concert. He even treated me to dinner... in a restaurant! It felt like such a treat! We also used a free rental coupon at the local video store and enjoyed some cinematic goodness. He's been very supportive of this Spending Fast, and has been nothing short of tremendous during my whole injury process. That makes everything less daunting.

I also got that haircut I mentioned I'd be splurging on as my (hopefully) only luxury purchase this month. I hadn't trimmed the locks since September and they were getting pretty ridiculous. Now I have a great hairstyle to distract from my knee. So far, this has been the only non-emergency purchase I have made during the month of March.

Still to come: a funeral, a CT scan, a tank of gas, and musings about finding wealth outside of income.