Life Returns to Normal

Cathy had her surgery on 30 Oct and we returned home Nov 3.  Surgery was an absolute success and she had no leg pain.  She had suffered from this for over 4 months and now finally has relief.  It's soooo good to be home.  We can actually sleep for a change instead of being wakened every 2 hours for vitals.  I do have to admit tho, the hospital staff, from the housekeeping through surgeons, were totally professional and caring.  The RN's and their Aids were always there when needed and put the care on a somewhat personal level.  Cathy and I were really impressed with the quality of care and, I have to admit, even the food was kinda good.  But as my Dad used to say, anything's good when you're hungry.  Now we transition to home care which is me.  This surgery was a laminectomy and a fusion of two upper lumbar vertebra (L2-L3).  Apparently the lower lumbar had already fused by itself due to the arthritis she has.  Basically the Neurosurgeon removed a small part of the vertebra to allow the spinal chord to expand unrestricted, which relieved Cathy's leg pain.  Neither of us could imagine an alternative to this surgery.  The pain would have continued to worsen until she was completely disabled.  Thank God this type of surgery was available.  But it takes a lot to keep Cathy down and she's already working at a daily routine of walking to strengthen her back and regain some of the activity we used to do.  We used to hike about 2 miles along the logging road 3 times a week but since this pain hit, Cathy couldn't even walk to the mailbox at the end of our driveway.  Progress will be somewhat slow but she'll get there.
While we were away at the hospital, our mountain received 2 inches of snow.  That was on Halloween and boy was it unexpected.  We only saw a dusting in Cookeville, which is an hour to the southwest.  Amazing what a little distance can do.  Anyway - lots to do and catch up on so I'll say Ta Ta for now.