Today was the first real outing and my husband and I went for coffee and brunch at La Dolce Vita at Park Road, Milton with friends. (I know I went to the hospital to see the social worker on Tuesday but that really wasn't a 'real' outing after being there for four weeks)
The trip was part of the 'Project Awesome' goals that I worked out with Paul from Body Leadership for my recovery process. Reintegration into the real world is a little scary when you have been in safe places since a major operation. I'm also very comfortable in my own space and am not getting cabin fever, so there it is easy for me to let time pass making the prospect of going out a bigger issue than it actually is.
The main reason that I had been a little scared about going out in public are all of the falls hazards that are outside of my control. I also worried about available seating and whether toilets were going to be available that were accessible and the right heights. (The toilets for some reason were a really big deal which is strange considering that when they weren't a problem - at the hospital - I didn't even need to use them and we were out for about two hours that day. Surely I could manage a quick outing without having to go?) I also worried about being stranded somewhere without being able to sit and not able to walk any further (highly irrational considering that was a) unlikely to happen and b) I wasn't going to be left alone). All of these things were probably becoming bigger deals in my own head as I put off facing them.
I got to chose where to go out to and the conditions of my 'release' to help make me more comfortable about what we were going to do today. I chose La Dolce Vita Restaurant because I am comfortable there. I have spent a lot of time there and I know the staff well and also know the terrain well. I knew how we could get in there without having difficulties getting me out of the car even though my disabled permit hadn't arrived yet. About the only thing that I wasn't sure of was toilets. I knew that the ones upstairs were a no go as there was a massive step to get into them that I had little chance of clearing on my own and the height of the toilets was probably too low especially without bars to assist in correct positioning to maintain the hip precautions. I knew there were some downstairs (accessible by lift) as well, but I wasn't sure what they were like either. Google for once, let me down. I didn't find what I was looking for. It may not have been google's fault as the resource just might not be available. How do people who have permanent conditions find out this kind of information? Trial and error? That seems absurd. Is it even possible that one of the most popular coffee/dining areas in Brisbane doesn't have disabled toilets? Surely they do somewhere? I figured that they must and if they didn't, there was always McDonald's across Milton Road (After all of that worry, I didn't even use them and stupidly I didn't even check to find out exactly what was available).
We made it there around the time that we said that we would be there. It takes me a lot longer to get organised at the moment. Part of the problem is that it is easy to sit in the shower for long periods of time rather than have a quick shower to get ready. The second issue are the Venosan socks that I still need to wear during the day. I should have organised a 'sock helper' before now to assist the assistant helping me get these things on. It's on my list to do over the weekend so that I can hopefully get something delivered early next week. As they are heavy duty compression socks, they aren't the easiest things to get on. With hip restrictions, they are even more difficult. They are for a very good reason though, to reduce the likelihood of blood clots and for that reason we persist with them. The third issue is trying to figure out all of the things that we needed to take with us that may or may not be required. I reasoned that this was somewhat similar to trying to get a child out of the house and all of the things that they require. It might not be as bad, though there were still a lot to consider. We needed a pillow and a towel to try and adjust seating height so that I could sit and not break hip precautions, the wheelie walker in case this solution didn't end up being viable, another set of shoes in case the ones I decided to wear but haven't worn since the op didn't work out, tissues (yep I have managed somehow to get a freaking cold), medications, jumper and then the regular day to day items that you don't leave the house without. In the end we made it and we had everything that we needed.
I had a mild case of anxiety as we were crossing the Captain Cook bridge and arriving at our destination. As I got out of the car, someone I knew was walking through the car park and was a nice reminder that I was in a safe place. I felt a little calmer as I got out of the lift and started to walk around the front past Alegria and saw more people that I knew having brunch. The friends we were meeting with had already arrived and seating wasn't an issue once we had topped it up with the pillow and towel. Quite comfortable actually! There was no requirement to bring the wheelie walker out so I just used crutches which are not only more comfortable for me to use, but I feel better using them. I know that there is no shame using a walker and if I had to I would, I just wanted to look like I was more well than that.
Brunch consisted of real coffee and a bacon and egg panino for me and was awesome. Meds were taken with a sparkling mineral water chaser. We were out for a few hours and then headed home.
On the way home I spoke to my sister who was in the city and asked her to go into the pharmacy for me. She called while she was there so I could talk to the pharmacist to confirm what I could take to get rid of this cold. Thankfully the blood thinners weren't an issue and hopefully I can stop suffering with the congestion and associated tiredness and step it up a little in the rehab. She picked up some things for me and I had some cold tablets still at home that had the all clear so I had one of those and pretty much feel asleep straight away. A few hours later, I woke up and felt a million times better. I even did another round of step ups on the single stair outside (10 each side no vaulting) and feel pretty proud of that at the end of a big day. My walking distance will be a bit lower today even with the outing as I haven't done as many laps around the house. It probably balances out as far as energy usage goes and each day I do get a little more stamina to do more.
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