On being 64

Oh Lord - another birthday been and gone and I am now 64, but it's not all bad news.

Photo by Peter Facey

I am slimmer and generally fitter than I have been for quite a few years. My diet is under control with stable low sugar levels (well mostly) and I am still losing weight. I am looking forward to having a brand new, probably German, knee joint soon. I am booked in for surgery on Valentine's Day of all days. I will be first on the list so have to be AT the hospital by 6.45am :(  I am usually dead to the world at that time, and having to get up an hour earlier in order to be ready is something I prefer not to think about right now.
But I am looking forward to getting it all done and getting on the road to recovery so I can be pretty mobile by the summer folk festivals. I will be a good girl and do everything according to the advice from the hospital. I will not rush things too fast but I will do the exercises and get as mobile as I can as quickly as I reasonably can.

As I don't drink alcohol, I am usually taxi driver for my friends and me. After the op. I will not be allowed to drive for 6 weeks! So it will be pay-back time and I'll be needing lifts off friends and family. I could actually be using public transport locally too! A total shock to the system! :D

As Honey is so good on the lead and does not pull at all I should be able to walk down the road with her after about a week or so, me on crutches or with sticks. I will need the exercise and it will stop Honey getting stir crazy if Jen is not able to take her out every day. Honey is so used to going in the back of my estate car, she will not get into the seat bit. I may have to insure Jen to drive my car to take Honey down to the park.
Once the 6 weeks of no-driving is over and I get the all clear to drive again I will have no problems, it's just coping with those first few weeks. I am sure they will go quickly. Jen works near a big Tesco, so I will be texting her with a shopping list for odd bits. Big shops can be done together or else I'll do it online and get it delivered when Jen is home. We'll survive!
So many people I know have had new knees and enjoy the freedom they have now. I am looking forward to being realtively free of the pain (eventually) and being able to walk without a stick and enjoy it again.The other knee will probably need doing too at some point, but maybe it can wait a bit longer once the right knee has been done.

I can now start thinking about a holiday and summer trips to enjoy later :) woohoo!

The future is bright! :D