Mike Stafford
Member
- Messages
- 2,705
- Location
- Coastal plain of North Carolina
Jonathan, thank you for the suggestions. I was visited by two different sets of physical therapists before I left the hospital. I was given a set of chair exercises to help me regain my strength. One that I was told to do was add another cushion to the chair. It makes a huge difference. I can more easily get up and once up I can walk around just fine. I don't think I lost much but I did lose some strength. I am dutifully doing my exercises. I am also trying to stick to a reasonable diet. Being fat is not a good thing.
While I was in the hospital everyday I was out of the bed or chair and walked around for at least 15 minutes at a time. I had two big strong men who were wearing signs around their waist that read "If you stop walking you get this" accompany me on my walks to prevent me from falling. God bless them. They were were so kind and so encouraging. (Let me tell you I didn't stop walking until I was told that was enough.)
I have never been so sick. That UTI hit me like a ton of bricks. I now am beginning to understand why plumbing problems are the "natural causes" for older men. My problems started a little earlier than most because of radiation damage down in that area. My kidney function, thank God, is almost back to where it was before I got sick. I was down to 50% before I got sick. It dropped to less than 20% at its worse in the hospital. That was scary with the dialysis word being mentioned.
Again, thank you all for thinking of me. I cannot tell you how it buoys the spirit.
