Monday, January 14, 2008

Drive

I'm a little out of breath. It's a good thing.

Reason is, we just went into the garage, so that I could show my wife how easily I could get into the passenger's seat of the van. Back up to the seat, slide in, hike up my left leg with my hands, push off with the right one, pivot. Done.

And then I thought, what the hell. We walked around and I -

Got in the drivers seat.

I can drive! Two and a half weeks after surgery, I can drive!

Some logistics questions -- if I'm alone, how do I get the crutch in, where do I put it -- but those are nits. And my wife made me promise not to drive if I've taken any pain meds -- oh, look at the pretty colors! -- which is perfectly reasonable. I can't do grocery shopping yet - I could probably push the cart and have the crutch in it, but I don't think I want to risk it (Pickup on aisle three!) And its just the van -- the Prius has a lip thats a little hard to hoist my leg over; more significantly, I flat cannot get in under the steering wheel with a leg that won't respond to my command. And even if I could, I'm not sure I could get out again without assistance. So, just the van, for now. Thats okay. Because now my wife's not necessarily stuck with driving. I can do it -- first 'as needed', then, with a little practice and confidence, routinely again.

I'm delighted. This is a good thing.

11 comments:

Unknown said...

Congrats! It is good to hear you are getting along so well so after surgery. Keep on trucking!

Cerulean Bill said...

Thanks, Shannon. Stop by, I'll take you for a ride!

Unknown said...

Well if I am ever in wherever you live, PA I'll be sure to stop by : )

We could get some ice cream or maybe something warmer for this time of year hah.

Cerulean Bill said...

Sounds good. We're within radiation range of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant, which accounts for the two-headed cows and the fact that no one around here needs nightlights.

As for the ice cream, I just found a recipe for ice cream cones that I'd like to try sometime. To be honest, I doubt I can do it, as it takes a certain amount of dexterity and skill, but the nice thing is, you can always eat the leftovers. The only problem will be explaining to my wife why strange women are showing up asking to be fed.

Unknown said...

Ah yes, radiation, that explains a lot : P
I actually do pass near there when I drive back and forth from school. Next time I'll roll down my window and yell and then you can blog if you heard me or not.
Maybe one day the intermet will get advanced enough that you could just send me some ice cream through the tubes!

Cerulean Bill said...

Well, that senator did refer to the net as tubes, and also, I think, a bunch of trucks, but I'm not sure that they were Ice Cream trucks, so it might be a while until technology catches up. But hey, we have some double chocolate in the freezer right now.... I'm just sayin...

Unknown said...

I am eating a crappy sandwich made by the school right now so ice cream sounds like a delicious option. But I've got work to do right now, so can you hold on to that until this semester is done? hah.

Cerulean Bill said...

Nope.

But -

a) we've got an ice cream maker, so, given warning, we could make some, and we're even willing to share. The cooked vanilla is particularly good.

b) without warning, we have another option -- there are two major groceries within ten minutes of here. We can sprint out (I'm assuming I'll be up to sprinting by then!) and get some.

But we still need lead time for the cones, which, frankly, I'm looking forward to trying...

Unknown said...

Alright, well I would want to try to the real deal, so I would definitely give you fair warning. And home made cones, who could pass those up?

Gah, all this talk of ice cream is distracting me from work...oh well!

Angie said...

Glad to hear you're doing well!

Cerulean Bill said...

Thanks, A. Its a little rocky, but I'm generally pleased. Now if I can just get through this dental nonsense, I'll be happy. Until the next disaster!