Thursday, August 11, 2022

 Thursday, August 11, 2022 

   Yvette led a yoga class this morning. It was a small group: Scott, Elise, and me. 

   I managed to get some things done I had been putting off. I bathed Elsa, mixed the horticultural oil with water, and sprayed the crepe myrtle. I felt good to get chores done that had been nagging me for days.

   I had a 4 p.m. appointment with my PT, Katie. The receptionist directed me to go into the room while Katie walked her last client to the door. She was an elderly woman; Katie was advising her to use two canes if she wasn’t comfortable using a walker. The woman looked up at me with a combination of confusion and recognition. I thought she might have dementia and prepared myself for a confusing conversation. But no. She was sharp as a tack. “Who cuts your hair?” she asked. I told her Randee Jennings at Muse Salon. Katie went to the front desk, grabbed a piece of paper and pen, and wrote the information down. I told her Randee was highly tattooed. Was that alright with her? She was fine with it. I told the woman I got compliments on my hair days before my next appointment. She did not have a very good haircut. She needed a Randee in her life.

  It was Katie’s thirty-fourth birthday today. One of the employees had a Haku lei made for her. It is worn like a crown. It had the largest flowers I’d ever seen. Katie said it was heavy. She also had a neck lei one of her clients brought her. I managed to wish her a happy birthday. I had thought of doing more but couldn’t get it together.

 Katie said I was one of the most successful hip replacements she had ever seen. That’s not saying much since she can’t be in the business for over five years. The other person was a twenty-year-old with other health problems whose hip gave out. Can you imagine needing a hip replacement at twenty? We were the only two people who understood you have to change your body mechanics after the surgery. Our bad body mechanics caused the problem in the first place. When the hip got bad, we made even more adjustments around it. All that had to be corrected. If we don’t, we will have other problems in the future: back or knee problems. Most people are glad to have relief from pain and want to return to activities. They stop using the walker or cane before they should. I made the correct body mechanics more important than driving or shopping, even walking rapidly. 

  Katie and I spoke about how most people don’t want to think about themselves consciously; they don’t want to change anything about themselves. They argue they are what they are. We do what we do, and we cannot change ourselves.