WAY Too Much...

Yesterday was a big day for me... it was my second day to go into the office.

As most of you know, I've been "working from home" since last week. It's been a bit of an adjustment... just getting myself back into the groove of things.

When you're out of the office for a month, it's a challenge on a multitude of fronts. Specifically, wrapping your brain around what you have missed. I've also had major stamina issues...

To answer the question, "Why don't you just work from home all of the time," my job requires at times for me to be "seen." Yesterday was one of those days.

My day started with a first: A shower without the brace on. Believe me, it was awesome! So long duct tape and trash bags! However, I had to be extra careful because I'm without the stability of the brace and I definitely didn't want to slip... could you even imagine the damage that would cause?

So I was able to successfully maneuver in and out of the shower - still using the shower chair, though. I don't see that going away for quite some time. But just to get to fully wash the bad leg was incredible. I think my shower was extra long yesterday...

After slowly getting dressed and reapplying the brace, I was ready to leave. Yesterday was also the first big driving day for me. While my doctor has cleared me to drive, it's an "eye opener" when you get behind the wheel again. Not only is it awkward climbing up behind the wheel, but you just feel "weird" going down the road. I decided I would only drive halfway to work - ride in with Kevin/Becky.

After 5 minutes on the road, I was already feeling a lot of pain. Your butt typically sinks into the seat causing your leg to rise up to the knee... and then there is the bend. That "bend" is what hurt like a mutha. Thirty minutes later, I was thankfully at their house... and sprawled across the backseat!

The morning wasn't too bad at work - I had a few things to do, but most of the time was spent talking with people who stopped by.

Kevin, Rob, and I went to Snuffer's for lunch... man do they make a good burger! It hit the spot, and they were nice to help me into and out of the car. Unfortunately, leaving the restaurant, I came down badly on my knee. Steps are still very hard for me... going up is fine. You can probably guess how difficult going down would be.

At 1, I was in the conference room... the purpose of my entire day. Every 6 weeks, I hold a meeting with about 50 people to go over our upcoming software release. Usually it's me standing up front going through the application. I knew this was going to be tough... especially on crutches.

Pretty much everyone and their mother's brother knows what happened to me... so I didn't have to go through the nitty-gritty details. But I did explain that the meeting would be a little different: First, I would be standing at times, and then sitting. It is still uncomfortable to do either for a period of time. I also informed them that I wasn't doing this alone - that I had arranged for several guest speakers. This was a bonus as it allowed me to relax.

The meeting went off without a hitch - although it was pointed out to me that I was sweating a few times. Given that is somewhat normal if you know me, it was also due to some painful throbbing!

I had another meeting in the afternoon, but generally sat at my desk and did some of my normal duties. Our release is this Friday, and I will be off that day (going out of town for a wedding). However, I basically just wanted to go home. I was starting to be miserable around 3:00.

Just after 5, we began our departure from the office. I was done. Spent. Get me the heck out of Dodge! When we got back to Kevin/Becky's, I was so tired and sore... but I still had a 30 minute drive by myself to go through. Yay...

Before I left, I adjusted the seat... placed another floormat in the front for my leg to be a little higher... and sat on a pillow (nice visual, eh?). It was a better experience, but it still hurt like hell and I just wanted to get home. Even though my truck is on Empty, I didn't care... get me to my couch!

So last night I just layed on this couch. I was so tired... and by 9:00, I was heading to bed. It's hard to describe the exhaustion, but it's like I had most of my blood drained out of me and I just had no comprehension of what was going on around me. I really don't remember what I watched on TV.

I slept all night long... and this morning, I needed about another half-day of sleep! But I got up and got moving and here I am again on this couch. I'm still wiped out... but coming back from the fog.

I've talked with Rob (boss) and I'm going to try and have more flexibility going forward when I go into the office. Basically, I'm going to try and schedule my meetings in the mornings and leave work when I start "feeling it" like I did yesterday. I'll just come home and work from right here on the couch.

A friend told me that for every day you're out of the office, it takes 2 to recover. Sometimes 3. If that's true, I have a long time before I can get my stamina back...