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Retail Therapy

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For those of you who do not have the benefit of experience, let me advise you on how to shop when the most important person in your life has a broken back.


Things to buy:
  • Bendy Straws -- Crazily valuable for anyone who cannot sit up in bed.
  • Heating Pads -- Wards off painful muscular spasticity. Great cat-magnet.
  • Analgesic Cream -- We call this stuff "Hot Mess."
  • Warm "Wooby" Socks -- Staying comfy is incredibly important.
  • Wool Blankets -- see above note on "Wooby."
  • A Stupid Amount of Frozen Food -- I'm back at work on Monday, and Robb's gotta eat.
  • Yarn -- Knitting keeps me from losing my mind.




Things never to buy
  • Rice-Filled "Aromatherapy" Heating Pads -- Far too lumpy to comfortably lay upon.
  • Memory Foam Mattress Covers -- Might as well be quicksand. Robb got stuck, when he was trying to turn over in bed. This might have been almost funny, if Robb hadn't been screaming in pain. (We can laugh about this, now.)
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Steve, Christa, Emily, Meghan, Charles & Elizabeth said…
On the upside, you already had this list, so you are ahead of the game, and Robb won't have to go through another memory foam expieriment. Keeping you both in our thoughts.
7:06 PM
Marlena said…
I am sorry you are going through this tough spot; I wish I had wise words to say. I have followed your blog for years now and think you guys are so cool. I live too far away to drop off and say hi but I wish you well and will say a little prayer that Robb gets better soon.
8:11 PM
Anonymous said…
Does ice help? That was my savior with my rotator cuff surgery. I think of you guys every day. I empathize with Robb with his broken back and I know what my husband went through as my support system when I broke my back. Hang in there...it will get better!

CRAP... wish we didn't live 3000 miles apart!

Bandaid
12:26 AM
Contessa Ennui said…
I dated a guy with a spinal cord injury once. He was enthralled with the memory foam beds. We went to sleep country, where I had to sample the foam matresses because he couldn't with his wounds (a.k.a. bed sores). I'm glad he didn't get one.
Sippy cups are waaaaay cooler than bendy straws.
Love and virtual hugs to you both. Mwah.
Cars
3:17 AM
Kristen said…
wool? really? Wool is the itchiest thing in the world to me--even a blanket worn over flannel pyjamas is intolerable. I'd take a quivering heap of 30 cotton blankets over 1 wool one of equal warmth. But to each one's own, I suppose.

I now have an image in my head of a mountain of blankets, glistening and jiggling like a stack of cold fried eggs. Bleh.

(jiggle)

Ooh, a team of my ex-classmates have created a show called "remedies for loneliness" over here that I think you might get a charge out of. I'm not sure why, exactly, but I attended a rehearsal to make props notes the other day and had a sort of warm-fuzzy "oh, where's Lisa?" moment when an actress peeled the foil lid off of a "wine for one" glass and ate a TV dinner with a plastic fork. It was probably the saddest thing I've ever seen on stage, but it was also completely hilarious in that Pillowman-esque "I really shouldn't be laughing" way. Except not gruesome.

Anyway. Just know that you're in my thoughts--even when I don't actively go out of my way to think of you, you're there. and Ben's Granny wishes Robb a speedy recovery too.
7:32 AM
Anonymous said…
I can't say it any better than what Marlena just said, I will also pray that the Lord takes care of both of you and that Rob heals quickly.

-TerraKacher
9:24 AM
Unknown said…
I just started catching up on you and Robb and wanted to send my thoughts your way. I can't imagine the emotional heartache, along with the physical struggle the two of you must be going through.
::hug::
You listed yarn as a "do send" item, which leads me to ask... are there circulation concerns with broken back issues? I ask because I've started spinning yarn with an elastic core... makes for some incredibly stretchy stuff. Someone pointed out to me that it would be superb for knitting 'leg tubes' as they can be knit small and stretched over legs to encourage circulation. This type of yarn is quite new, so I couldn't send a pattern along, but if you think yarn of this sort could be used to create something to A)Help keep you sane and B)Help Robb, please let me know (along with his colors and any possible fiber sensitivities).
Healing thoughts to you both.
Heather Bloom
aka LunaSea
lunasea at miscreants dot org
1:58 AM
Anonymous said…
Paint, Lisa, Paint! It is great therapy.

But is you wish to knit too...knit and then why not sell your "works of therapy" on etsy.com

Prays and positive thoughts are with you and Robb.

Tate
5:26 AM
ajt said…
I ate a LOT of frozen meals last fall when I broke my foot. Aaron cooked for the first two weeks, but when he went back to work (and back to NYC) I was on my own and couldn't stand up long enough to cook. (Moving the food from the kitchen to the table was also a major challenge.)

Microwave...voila!!
I mostly ate frozen meals, yogurt, fruit, and frosted flakes.

Anyway, thinking of you guys.
7:39 AM
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