Since I really pushed it yesterday, I decided to take a day off from walking today. My leg is still a little stiff, and my back definitely feels fatigued. I think it would help to build up my abs a little bit, or maybe work on some other muscles that have weakened over the past six months. But I can't bend or crunch or anything like that, so I'm not sure how I can get to a higher level of physical fitness at the moment. My doctor didn't order any physical therapy for me, and I wish that wasn't the case. I'd like to be meeting with a PT once a week, if just to ask questions. Am I walking OK? Is it normal to have a sore thigh? Why is my upper back feeling strained? Should I be alternating feet as I go up and down stairs, or is that too much after only 27 days? I can ask all these questions of the orthopedist at my one-month appointment, but I doubt I'll get satisfactory answers. He cares mainly about the surgery itself, and maybe about any serious post-op complications caused by the surgery (like if he, say, accidentally left a pliers in me). My day-to-day life and my day-to-day aches and pains are of very little significance to him. When I called to ask if it was OK for me to have a glass of wine while I was taking the Coumadin, he made kind of a big deal about it, and came off a little suspicious or judgmental about my desire to have an alcoholic beverage. He's obviously never been trapped in his house for a month with two young kids, an overworked husband, and a cat that won't stop peeing on the floor.
