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| This forkl of kudus consisted of three boys and two girls. |
“Sighting of the Day in the Bush”
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| Two Big Daddies were sharing celery tops and pellets. |
It would be nice if we could head out in air-conditioned comfort in search of wildlife along the Crocodile River. At this point, I can’t imagine bouncing around in the little red car on the outrageously bumpy roads for any length of time.
The few trips we’ve embarked upon only required a few minutes on the lousy dirt roads as I held a pillow close to my chest. Any more than that would be not easy to take. “They” (whoever they are) say the breastbone fuses and heals in six to eight weeks.
Tomorrow will be six weeks since the dreadful surgery, and although I don’t have chronic pain in my chest, each time I reach for something, I feel a sudden burst of pain. It’s not healed, and for now, it feels as if it could be months to be free from discomfort.
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| Such a handsome kudu bull. |
If my legs were healed, I could declare I am feeling pretty good overall, although most tasks I perform wear me out. Also, I can’t seem to stand on my feet for very long, hoping this will improve over time.
This morning Tom and I got to work preparing dinner to last for the next three nights, one of our favorite dishes, Low Carb Chicken Pot Pie with an Almond Flour Crust. We both were feeling like some “comfort food” even with the heat and humidity we’re continuing to experience.
Fall began four days ago, and with it, we’re hoping it will soon cool down. Lately, the humidity has been impossible, especially with all the rain. The many power outages increase discomfort when we can’t use a fan in the lounge or aircon in the bedroom.
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| It’s not unusual to see a few Big Daddies behaving as close “friends.” We see this in many species. |
This morning Linda sent me a letter Eskom posted today stating there won’t be any outages this week. That will be nice if they follow through, which seldom occurs. Next week will be another matter.
This week we’ll continue to focus on my recovery with no significant plans on the horizon. On Friday, we return to Nelspruit for the second post-op appointment with the cardiac, thoracic surgeon. On April 8th, we return to meet with the cardiologist.
Tomorrow will be the last day I have to wear the compression stockings, a full six weeks after the surgery. I feel confident my legs will heal better without the tightness of the stockings on the incisions, especially where the infections are close to my ankles. The stockings irritate the wounds with each step I take.
Without the stockings, I’m hoping to increase the walking to return to the previous 40 minutes daily I’d worked up to before the infections setting in. By this time next week, I plan to begin escalating the walking time from 40 to 60 minutes a day. Also, it will be easier to walk as the weather hopefully cools down a bit.
I’ve never enjoyed exercising from “home” (wherever that may be at this time in our lives). Once we get to Ireland in 47 days, I’ll join a local fitness center which is the best environment for maintaining a regular fitness program. There are no fitness centers within a 75-minute drive from Marloth Park.
Have a lovely Monday!
Photo from one year ago today, March 25, 2018:
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| It was challenging to get a clearer photo at such a distance, but we were nonetheless thrilled to get photos of this hippo. For more details, please click here. |