Hippy Times #06 🏋🏻‍♀️

Hello …… Wednesday morning and I have only woken up because I need to go to the bathroom – a good solid 6 hours sleep which unfortunately has left me with a headache.  So just lying in bed dozing because I can’t make a morning cuppa until after the blood tests – have been told this will be at 6 am.  Around 6.15 am this lovely nurse breezes in and takes yet more of my blood – seriously the amount that has been taken away in the last few days makes me feel I should be lacking.

That completed and out of the way, here comes the blood pressure test which is the highest reading so far – great news.  I still have swollen, rock hard legs and belly – hmmm.  So off I go on my walk followed by my exercises.  Anything in the form of exercise will get me excited as many of you know.

I am still keeping in touch with the outside world of all things gym and a very good and dear friend of mine, Kath Vaca, will be competing soon.  It has been a long haul for her in terms of prep and getting to where she truly wanted to be before she went on stage just a few weeks ago … see the photo.

Kath then took a week “Off” which technically meant she could eat different foods but still train and then she was straight back into it to prepare for the ICN competition on 21/22 April.  It’s her session with Phil Harding today, (our Coach), and I know that Lexi will be at the gym immediately prior to Kath so have asked if she would take some pics for me to see how Kath is looking just over four weeks out.  I get so excited to see the progress and the definition in the muscles.  Here’s Lexi – she’s taken videos and pics of Kath who I think is looking good if a little tired!!  Carb depletion and low mood is setting in and so I try some words of encouragement to see if we can ease her along this last few weeks.

Breakfast is delivered.  I eat my scrambled egg and wait with anticipation to see David come through the door with a coffee so that I can have my toast with it.  David, as those of you who know us will attest to, is a gentle, loving and thoughtful soul and a truly wonderful hubby.  He has been zipping around on my scooter coming to the hospital twice a day bearing rations.  A delicious large coffee in the morning and any number of little treats that will help me in recovery and I think relieve the boredom.  Today I am treated to brioche hot cross buns – yum, I’ll have one of those with lashings of butter for afternoon tea.  We sit and chat about all things in the world and little jobs to do as we prepare for our move to Europe – this episode has put the cat amongst the pigeons I can tell you, but David is powering on with getting things organised, clearing cupboards and pandering to my every whim.

I hear on the news today that they are launching Scooti in Melbourne – this is a scooter version of Uber – fantastic idea, what fun to be one of the Scooti drivers. We dissect the happenings of MKR the previous night and although I haven’t been watching MAFS, we chat about some of the characters involved in that too.

We are going to be staying in an Airbnb property for a while immediately after vacating our apartment which is close by the hospital so David is going to do a drive by on his way home today.  We have worked out that he needs to go down the road that I can see from my hospital room window so we’re going to see if we can actually see each other as he zips by.  Well, he did say he will stop and wave so let’s see.

So, off he goes, I wait by the window and here he comes down the road in his bright yellow waterproof jacket, stops and looks up and it’s just lovely to wave from 7 floors up and he can see me.  Then, there’s this voice from behind “Mrs Williams’?  and I turn to see a porter standing in my doorway who says – what are you doing, waving to the people?  So I’m explaining its my hubby and the porter says well, I’m here to take you for a scan.  Oh I say, I had no idea I was having anything today.  They are really good around her advising you of what you may be subjected to during the day and so I was surprised they hadn’t said anything.  However, not being one to argue or question (ha ha ha) I get on the trolley, get covered with a lovely warmed blanket and off we go.  We get to the lift and he pushes the trolley half way in and a young man who I’ve seen behind reception a couple

of times comes running over.  He enquires of the porter if that’s Mrs Williams he has on the trolley?  Yes, the porter responds.  Sorry says the young man, it’s the wrong patient – you need the patient from room 771 not 770 – Mrs Williams doesn’t go for hers until tomorrow.  OK, about turn and back to the room.

I’ve decided to make some changes to one of my online client’s programs.  Her progress is slow but steady however she seems to be finding reasons to eat off plan at regular intervals – well, when I say reasons it’s actually just because she’s not good with temptation which is what has got her to where she is today.  She has been losing weight but we still have a way to go and I am dreading Easter for her as I just think it’s a huge watch point.

It’s just routine stuff, normal course of events throughout the day.  Dr Nick Vertzyas visits early and is happy with the hippy progress.  He thinks that a dietary supplement drink will help so prescribes something that will be delivered this afternoon – how intriguing.  I am now well engrossed in meal choices and exercise routines for the aforementioned online client.

I don’t think I have mentioned previously that a young lady comes around every morning with her computer on a trolley and takes our orders for dinner that day, breakfast and lunch the following day.  It’s basically the same choices – eggs, bacon, tomato, sausage, toast, juice, cereal, congee for breakfast and I’ve had the same thing every day – scrambled egg with tomato. So, my stock standard answer is ‘same as yesterday please’.  This could also be the answer for the other meals as there’s always a choice of chicken, fish or steak with salad or veggies, rice or potato and dessert is custard or jelly.  She is very sweet but somehow seems a little unenthusiastic about her job – I suppose travelling the floors asking the same questions day in, day out could do that to a person.

Change over of nurses and I am advised that I won’t be going to rehab before Friday as they want to nail down this blood issue before I leave and I can’t see Dr Chen until the results come through on Thursday.  He’ll probably breeze in sometime early evening again.

Duly completing my exercises and the physio visiting, I am now walking unaided even up and down the stairs – I am very impressed and so are the staff here.  They say that I am really ready for rehab and it will probably only be for 2 or 3 days.  This announcement makes me very happy – you never know if you are making good progress or not but can only keep trying and it’s unanimous that because I was fit before the op, the recovery time is so very much less than it would have been.

The weather in Sydney today is not so good … … it’s absolutely raining cats and dogs and blowing a gale but I’m tucked up warm inside looking out the window as I see the cars going by with a swish swash of windscreen wipers and pedestrians walking along fighting with that ever challenging umbrella to try and stay dry.

Lunch comes and goes – not that appetizing and I’m so engrossed in reading fitness magazines that the day breezes by.  The promised drink from Dr Nick arrives – oh yuk, it’s like condensced milk.  Bonus, it’s really well chilled but seriously it’s thick and sweet but is supposed to improve with the lack of albumin in my blood so I sip on it during the afternoon.  You can also get albumin from egg white – I think that’s my preferred source.  At around 4.30 pm I look out the window and the weather is threatening.  I know the nice thing to do is to tell my dear husband not to worry about coming up here this evening so that he doesn’t have to get drenched whilst riding scootie but I want to see him so keep my hand away from texting and giving him any options.

5.00 pm comes and yay here’s the second highlight of my day – David’s second visit.  He’s brought me some dinner.  Not fancying what was on the menu, David has brought me contraband in the form of curry and rice that I can heat in the microwave down the hall – he makes a mean curry.  This also means that I don’t have to eat at the allotted time of 6 pm which I am finding a little early and can time my dining to the start of MKR.  So, just before the heavens open, David scoots off home.

Lexi comes in on her way home from the office with Adries.  We sit and chat and when it gets near to 7 pm, I unceremoniously tell them they have to go so I can prepare my dinner and watch my show.  Off they trundle.  I organise my room and just prior to the start of the program, heat the curry and

hurry back to my room closing the door so the whole floor doesn’t get to experience a curry smell.  Uh oh, didn’t work, here comes Kellie, the nurse, to find out where that gorgeous aroma is emanating from.  With bowl in hand and spoon half way to my mouth, I can’t deny it’s me but sorry, no spare portion.

The usual evening routine ensues, change of nurse from Kellie to the deliciously smelling Charlene, BP tests and a couple of laps of the floor before relaxing (again!!) in bed.

Hippy Times … 🏋🏻‍♀️