Author: pauline.pau@gmail.com

It has been a week since my surgery. It has also been a week since Mumsy arrived from New Zealand to take on the monumental task of looking after me.

Adjusting to life after surgery back at home is a little tricky. At the hospital I was shown how to get around using crutches and the knee scooter. I was also lent a walking frame which I used to get from the bed to the bathroom. No problem. Now at home getting around on the scooter is easy. The tricky part is getting on and off it because I have only one leg to support me while trying to balance and hop onto the scooter. Sometimes I miss the scooter, other times the scooter rolls away because I forget to put the brakes on. It takes a while to get it into my little brain that the scooter has to be positioned a certain way at a particular distance for a smooth transition, else I most likely will end up on the floor.

I am confined to the ground floor of the house which means sleeping on the couch and having only birdbaths at the sink. In addition, the new bathroom added to the ground floor as part of our renovations is possibly the smallest in the world, so small that even I the shortie have to sit sideways on the toilet. It takes some practice to maneuver the scooter backwards into the bathroom, close enough for me to reach the toilet seat but give me enough room to rest my bung leg somewhere without bumping it against anything.

Part of Mumsy’s job is to set me up for various things during the day as V is at work, like the birdbaths, so that I have all the things I need in reaching distance and I have the means to maneuver myself. She also gets me food, drinks and everything else that I need. She puts away the sofa bed in the morning and gets me my medicine at the right time. She watches over me as I scoot around the house. She also has to deal with the builders on my behalf as they are still working on finishing bits and pieces upstairs which I can’t access. At night she and V slowly unpack boxes and put things away. By the end of the first week the house is getting back some form of order.

It is not all effort and boredom (at least I hope!) for Mumsy and me. We have gone out to breakfast a few times up King St. She has even ventured out on her own to get coffee for us. We have watched movies off Netflix, and lots of home renovation programs on HGTV!

For nearly a month now I have scooted, hopped and crawled my way around. My left foot is protected by a giant boot that goes up to just below my knee. The boot consists of a chunky plastic skeleton underneath which is a thick padded sleeve that wraps around the whole foot and calf. This boot is to be worn 24/7, bar a brief period 3 times a day for airing and toe exercises which are critical for optimising mobility and ensuring a full recovery.