Recovery Goals for the Week of 8/28/22

So week one is behind me and I'm still on the right side of the dirt. Being my first time at this recovery thing, I think it's going okay, but it's kind of like driving without a map. Eventually you get there (most of the time), but you don't always get to see all the sights along the way. I have in my mind what I'd like to accomplish. I need to put the "map" together.

There will be two groups of activities on the map:

1. Physical activities: These are the easy ones - getting back to the physical activities that got pushed to the side because of the surgery and recovery, and 
2. Social activities: Over the past few weeks/months, I've put  a lot of activities on the backburner. Most were to avoid getting sick (even a cold would have been bad) prior to surgery. Anything related to social interaction - avoiding large groups of people (for us any family gathering is a large group of people), staying away from the grandkids (including the new one) - was basically put on hold. After talking to the doctors last week, one thing that has happened is my transition into "Team Immunocompromised" (not sure I wasn't already a member). That means that for a while, mixing with any large group of strangers (including activities such as shopping) will require the use of an N95. But I'm not going to let that stop me (my wife may have  different thoughts).

I'm going to break the map into weekly accomplishments. I have 5 weeks left on LOA - we'll see how far I'm able to drive.

For this week (Aug 28-Sep 3):

• Re-establish my RX regimen: In preparation for surgery I had to discontinue some vitamins and meds. Post surgery, additional meds were prescribed (pain killers, stool softeners, etc.). I need to get my daily med regimen dialed back in, adding back and removing as necessary.
• Finish weekly grocery shopping: I used to spend Saturday mornings making the rounds for groceries. Goal is to get that back on track this upcoming weekend. Until then, I can certainly vouch for Hello Fresh. Delicious, easy to make meals.
• Wash my Car (including vacuum): Part of the Saturday morning shopping trip is getting my car washed and vacuumed. I use a drive through wash with vacuums, so this will require a little physical activity to complete.
• Cook a meal: My wife and son have been manning the kitchen and wearing the aprons. One thing I'd like to accomplish this week is to give them a break. Completely dependent on physical ability.
• Removing incision staples: I have an appointment on Thursday to get the staples removed.
• Walk 20 minute round trip: This is about a 10 minute out and 10 minute back walk in the neighborhood. Hopefully I can get my shoes on.
• Establish long term care plan: This one is contingent on the pathology report. Doctor said that is should be ready sometime this week. This plan will determine if I need further care for my condition (scans, immunotherapy, chemotherapy, etc.).

So that's this week's map. We'll check in toward the end of this week/beginning on next week to see how I'm doing.