No. 5 asked Mr. Lemur to keep me company while he was at school.

My knee surgery went well on Thursday. I was able to bear weight and even walk from the kitchen to the laundry room that same day! Unfortunately, Friday morning’s arrival was a huge disappointment, as I woke up in a lot of pain, could not bear any weight on my leg and had to use my borrowed walker to get around the house.

The ice chest/insulted brace contraption eased some of the much increased pain, and I spent the bulk of the day on the couch. I guess I still had some of the “good” IV drugs in my system on Thursday! Even though I was taking the Rx version on schedule (including waking up during the night), Day Two was definitely the worst.

Saturday was a little better; I found that I could balance with the walker but pretty much support myself standing. I still couldn’t walk more than a step, though. Saturday was glorious, regardless, because I was allowed to shower. Just unwrapping my wound and giving the back of my knee a good scratch was remarkable! That cottony gauze stuff they used as dressing was itchy! The boys were both impressed and disappointed to see that I had only two stitches in my knee.

By Saturday night, I felt pretty good. The pain medicine helped the achiness but didn’t make me feel dopey at all. I made a test drive around the neighborhood that evening to prove that I could work the brake left-footed. I woke up on Sunday feeling even better. I was able to take several steps without the walker and drove the boys to church. Getting in and out of the car was, by far, more difficult than actually driving it. I mean, my foot works just fine! Once I got in the car, I could work the gas with my right foot and brake with my left.

Pass interception foils the Mustangs’ TD attempt! Sic ’em for the return TD!!!

Once I had demonstrated that I could drive, I decided to stick with our plan of attending the first Baylor home football game. Since I still had the walker, I sat in the handicapped seating area, which offered a great view, and I could still see the kids in our ticketed seats (only the two oldest plus a friend — even I am not brave enough to take all five to a football game solo!). The only downside was the number of chatty passers-by (since the seating area was an alcove of the main aisle/walkway), and many folks lingered at the railing to carry on their conversations (despite the sign that clearly read: “NO STANDING. [wheelchair image] ONLY”).

There were more frustrations getting to our seats, to begin with, including some unanticipated stair-hobbling on my part, but I have already tweeted my frustrations and won’t belabor that further. One thing I will say is that for once in my career at the university, I didn’t feel like the pandemonium would somehow be blamed on my department. That may sound silly to anyone who has never worked in Development, but believe me when I say that anything that can (and will) go wrong will be blamed on the fundraisers, somehow. It was nice just to go to the game as a fan.