Wednesday, September 9, 2020 – POSTED: Friday, September 11, 2020
I woke up about 3:30 am but was able to get back to sleep until about 7:15 am. I set my alarm for 7:00, but I just didn’t want to wake up.
I put on the kettle for oatmeal, and I decided to try a cup of tea, even though it increases urine output. I hopped in the shower while waiting for the tea to steep and oatmeal to cook. (I just pour boiling water into the bowl with oatmeal (old fashioned), raisins, and a tab of butter.)
While preparing for my shower, I noticed that like I expected, bruising is a lot harder to see. The one incision that was weeping the most did weep a bit overnight, but not much. I think it is finally dried up! Now I wait for the swelling dark pink skin to return to normal and scabs fall off. I think some scars will be barely noticeable once fully healed, and others may look like I got stabbed.
Projects
I’ve got two different contractors coming by the house today. One to give me a quote on taking out some dead trees. The other to quote a new roof. I put off a lot of stuff until after surgery since I wanted to make sure I lived. I didn’t want to lock up a bunch of money if I wasn’t going to be here to enjoy the results. My sons would need my insurance to pay off my debts and settle my estate.
I bought my first pick up before COVID-19 hit, as I had plans to winterize my garage. I put that on hold. It’s still on hold until I get where I can lift more than 20 pounds. I plan to get some insulation and plywood to insulate and cover the insulation. I also have plans to put plywood down and make an attic on the boards that go across my garage. This will make the space I need to heat smaller, and thus easier to heat. I’ll then figure out what kind of heating to put in.
I have plans to do some woodworking projects, and I’ll need a heated garage to do anything over the winter. I suppose I could do it in my basement, but we’ll see how things go.
Walking
After work, my granddaughter and I did six laps around the block. I was able to walk at my preferred walking pace and my granddaughter was having to run to catch up to me, instead of stopping to wait for me to catch up to her. I don’t feel nearly as tired as I did after five laps on Monday. But Monday was warmer and I had already gotten in over half a mile running errands.
I was feeling it in my abdomen, so I know my core was getting a good workout. If I can keep that pace and keep building up my strength, I should be good to start walking the trail again. It’s about a half mile from my house and is a mile and a half paved walking/biking trail.
Once I can sit on my bike, I’ll start it, but based on how long it was after my biopsy before I felt like I could stand to sit on my bike, it might be too cold to do the bike. Of the road conditions won’t be good….
Energy Level
I’m starting to feel tired, but I’m not as out of energy as I was at this time yesterday. A cup of black tea for some caffeine with breakfast, then a nearly three mile walk did a lot to energize me. I also had a can of diet cola with supper.
I feel like I should be able to get to sleep easily tonight, and if I can sleep as well as the past two nights, I know I’ll have even more energy tomorrow.
If I keep having the big improvements like this, I may be back to five miles a day walking. I got away from that when winter hit last year, then COVID-19 and my cancer diagnosis through me for a loop and I used the rain and the heat as an excuse. If it wasn’t for COVID-19, I’d go do laps at the mall in the bad weather. When I had regular exercise and a clean diet, my energy was through the roof. I want to get back to that, as my mind was clear and my motivation was great.
Blood in Urine
The days I’ve walked around the block have cause the blood clots to break up and I’ve had blood in my urine. I was told that this could last a few weeks. I think it lasted about 4 weeks after my biopsy.
Bladder Control
I think my bladder control is a bit better. I’m going longer between changes of disposable underwear.
Stamina
At 10:30 PM I feel my energy rapidly waning. Not as fast as a few days ago. I feel that I should be able to fall asleep easily and get enough sleep to have another productive work day. I am nearly done wrapping up the loose ends I couldn’t wrap up prior to surgery. I’m almost as caught up as I can be. This is great because we are in the preparation/lead up to our busy time of year. I support payroll and accounting software and changes to W-2 and 1099 forms are pretty big this year, so there is a lot to do.
Men's Health in My Perspective 