"Quality of life"......a gift that just keeps on giving.

@ess77
Hi,

I don’t currently have a watch .Two Christmas’s ago I received a FitBit...don’t remember which version....that I really liked but we could not get it to sync with my Android phone so I returned it. I have extremely small wrists so cannot get anything too chunky or it looks absurd. I don’t like plastic bands. I am going to revisit the watches again but am currently having my interior walls repainted. This is my gift to me. In the process of having my large bedroom and a bath redone and have to pick out another color for the rest of the house. We are also having a mother , daughter , daughter in law day in Orlando tomorrow and Saturday which always involves shopping so I am sure I won’t be hard pressed to find things I like. Winter Park is an especially beautiful area with fabulous restaurants. My son is making lunch and then off we go. A very materialistic approach but think of all the great walking we will do and we always walk the next morning after we take the dogs out.
More walking is in store for me...it has been up and down very cold days here in Florida (by Florida’s standards) and I have slackened off the routine except I do go to my gym classes. I actually walked more when I had the clip on pedometer but the clip broke and my resolve broke along with it.

I will let you know when the watch decision is made.

FL Mary

@colleenyoung, Good for you for not having the heart to ask for your FitBit back from your motivated mom! Smiles And good for her for giving you a new, improved model for your b.d. Sounds like a great win-win all round!

Good afternoon Elizabeth @ess77, Thanks for your inquiry about thumb surgery and care. I have arthritis in my thumb joints. As I was told by my orthopedic surgeon......make do with the thumb until you can't function or you are in pain most of the time. When the time came....he helped me with the hand surgeon and was my cheerleader. I had an anchovy surgery where a ligament in the wrist area is rolled into a replacement for the joint, Worked well.....not a lot of recovery pain but you do need to have a good hand OT.

This week I saw the other thumb under the scanner and it has lots of arthritis spurs. It is time. So.....the process begins with an injection in the thumb joint his week, some OT starting next week, and then we'll see how long that medication injection lasts before considering the appropriate time for surgery. They now have several new "replacement" parts for thumb surgery.

May you be free of suffering and the causes of suffering.
Chris

Hi, Mary. I just replied to Sue on the Smile Bringers thread about the Virmee VT3 Plus watch I bought yesterday after a discussion with another Connect 'friend'. Sue likes her FitBit 3, so if this one doesn't work for me, I'll go that route. I really don't want it to do everything you seem to want, but it has to be able to fill my needs. Don't need to chat with 'Alexis'.....can't wait to get it as I'm feeling better and hope to get out some now. Other than to docs and Mayo! I am getting several watchbands, tho. Can't wear the rubbery plastic black one. Too hot! Ugly for me and want cool, color.

Plan on hitting the warm pool again soon, but then have more tests so will have to skip a few days. A friend and I will begin walking tomorrow, a bit. I just got over an infection, sepsis, and had a couple of thingy's taken off my outer breast and back yesterday at Mayo, so have to go slowly, but GO.

I love Winter Park! One of the truly lovely spots in Central Fl. I'm so jealous of your plans and fun, but mostly for your company. Sound like a great couple days. Hope you enjoyed them and kept a bit of a lid on the shopping. It does relieve stress and confinement issues, doesn't it? I have family in Mt.Dora, Lake Jem and Port Orange. Love the entire section of the 'orange grove country'/lake country.

Congrats on the freshening up of the house. I hope to have new windows before the end of this month. ANd, on with my reno plans from there. Blessings, Elizabeth

My Goodness, Chris! That sounds fantastic. I've lost use of both thumbs due to arthritis. It's as tho the thumb joints disintegrate, gradually, and poof....of course after and with a lot of real pain and dropping most of my glassware, spilling food, etc....and a few tears and expletives.....now, They are available for typing, yeah!

I have bought 3 different sets of glassware since this began. Each set has a smaller base so it's easier to hold, but has to be lightweight, too. And pretty! No plastic. I also use both hands to pick of things like a glass or plate or anything. All my fingers on both hands have not suffered from frozen joints, knots, frozen fingers and pain.

Now, it's the wrists and wrist/thumb joints. I think the medical marijuana is helping, tho. I'm not having nearly the pain now that I'm on the 1:1 dose.

Crazy, tho. I do truly miss my thumbs!

You go, girl and get that surgery! Keep up the crafts and everything you do with your hands. May you have successful, lasting relief.
Blessings, Elizabeth

@artscaping, A great story, Chris! It catapulted me back 55 years when a good friend taught me to knit the first yr I was married. The groom's grandmother lived in a nursing home out-of-state and I'd not met her. For X-mas I knitted her a lacy teal bed jacket and she sent me a sweet thank you note.

When I met her the next year I was mortified to see that she required an extra-large size and I'd sent a small! Both of my grandmothers were tiny, so guess I thought all grands were. Hadn't thought of that in decades! Hope she appreciated the "thought". Smiles

If I could upload photos, I would happily share. My first "re-kindled" project is a simple, 2-colored diamond patterned pot holder. Still re-learning stitches and finding a comfortable rhythm.

Several yrs ago, a girl friend and I took square dancing lessons and it was great fun. We weren't much into the extra fluffy skirts but the exercise was great, all the guys made a point of patiently guiding us through the calls; everyone was friendly and welcoming. We became fast friends with two other "beginner gals".

Our weekly bridge games were filled with more laughter and chatter than "finesses"; we attended the symphony, concerts and little theatre performances and traveled together. Two later moved out-of-state to be closer to family and the third and I remained closest friends until her death in June. We stayed in close touch and continue to share hilarious and touching memories of our years of escapades. All thanks to square dancing!

Thanks for the laughter, Chris! Your storytelling and keen sense of humor brightened my day! Wishing you and all a smile each day.

@ess77
Morning,
Cold here in Florida. Re the watches, steps, miles and heart rate are my major requirements and I also don't need the extra bells and whistles. But my wrist is so small it narrows the field down.
Love Mt Dora and we used to go to the big annual flea market years ago. Had a friend from work move there..town is adorable.
Had a great day, beautiful weather on Friday. I actually bought nothing ! We picked up octopus appetizers and had them before going out to a great sushi dinner. Hot to see the other 2 grandsons. When we left the restaurant there was a raging rain storm and the temps had plummeted...we hid behind a fake tree while my grandson got the truck. He has the biggest truck ZI ever saw...need a ladder to get in and a slide to get out lol.
Another day here and home tonight and painter coming back Monday
Will be nice to change up some things when it's all done.
Sorry to hear about the sepsis...how do you get it?
Aside from the few months at the beginning of the pandemic, when Florida reopened for business. Life went on pretty much as usual.I look around at all the hustle and bustle and say "what pandemic?" So I have not been confined but very cautious. My son and DIL live in Maitland, 5 minutes from Winter Park. I love it here..would love to relocate.
Anyway...bundling up to help walk the doggies and see what's the plan for today.
Stay healthy everyone!

FL Mary

Thanks for starting this discussion Chris @artscaping. My quality of life gift to myself was for my eyes since I spend so much time at my computer. I upgraded my 27" display for a new HP 32" display to make it easier on my eyes. I pretty much stopped using my laptop after using the new display a couple of days. I also bought some neoprene stretchy toe warmers that I slip over my socks in the morning to help keep my toes warm since my feet are always cold.

Hoping for a pain free day for all of you.

Elizabeth - I'm on the Chris team - arthritis has been attacking for years, diminishing the use of my hands. But I refuse to surrender - I have had surgery on both thumbs and one wrist, coming up on the other. Also numerous injections, lots of PT, hip replacements, knee surgery, bone spurs scraped...

I urge you to see if you are still a candidate for CMC joint surgery using either Chris' "anchovy" technique or my "tightrope" technique. I feel as if I've gotten my life back, even though not complete strength. My friend waited too long, and had to have full fusion to ease the pain.
As for the wrists, the same is true - 10 years ago, another friend my age & I were both suffering greatly - I chose to go through corrective surgery, which was disruptive, but gave me my hand back. She chose to wait, thinking that at 60 she was "too young" for arthritis, taped & splinted to get by - by the time she decided she couldn't stand the pain the bones ends were completely destroyed, she had to have the wrist/forearm fused...
Sue

Chris- I don't have any new quality of life gifts to give myself. But I do glory in the fact that I am again "stable" with my cancer and that I can continue to make the best ofit.