Bubble Wrap

Today is another day when there’s nothing to report. We went out to dinner, got home late, and didn’t even snuggle. We were both tired. And Lion had had a rough few hours worrying about the logistics of getting to and from surgery, and the post-op appointments. It seems that neither of our cars are suited for a wounded Lion. I think we’ll be fine. I think with a few adjustments, he can get in and out of at least one of our vehicles.

Lion is a planner. He needs to know the outcome of every situation before he starts. Our house is now, for the most part, set up for a three-legged Lion. I know we’ve missed some things. A few of them can be addressed before his surgery. Others will pop up later because we never thought of them. That’s just how it is. We’ll figure them out as we encounter them. There’s nothing else we can do.

There is one thing that stands out to me, though. When my parents needed help, they knew they needed it and were usually able to assist in some way. For example, if my mother needed help getting up from a chair, she needed your arm around her a certain way and as you lifted, she pushed. When someone else tried to help in a different way, it never went well.

I bring this up, not only because I have some idea of how to help people, but also because neither Lion nor I actually know what help he’ll need nor how to go about it. Between this unknown and fear, Lion has been in low-grade panic for a while. He’ll tell you he doesn’t panic, but it sure looks like he does. And I understand. I can’t imagine what he’s going through. I’ve never had surgery. I’ve only ever been in the hospital having my kids. The closest I’ve come is having my wisdom teeth yanked and having a breast biopsy. His surgery will be disruptive to his life and career. Everything is up in the air.

Last night, I was sitting on the fence between answering his questions as calmly as I could and yelling at him to put in his big boy panties. We’ve been over the which-vehicle-is-best argument before. We decided on my truck. No matter what answer I gave him last night, he shot it down. I know the underlying issue was fear so I did my best to offer options and suggestions. The bottom line was that there was nothing we could do about it at that exact point in time. We’ll practice getting him in and out of each vehicle and decide then. There is no need to cancel the surgery. If I have to wrap him in bubble wrap and throw him in the bed of the truck, we’ll get him home from surgery and back out to his post-op appointments.

I think that’s the difference between 1.0 and 2.0. Last night, 1.0 was calmly listening to Lion. Guess who had the bubble wrap idea. Yup.

1 Comment

  1. Author

    The volume of posts from Lion concerning his shoulder shows his fear of the unknown (how the surgery will affect him,how ‘disabled’ he will be, and the length of time he will be laid up). That’s natural. I have had so many injuries and surgeries that I can say categorically, “Most injuries heal far more quickly than we fear” Our fears are almost always worse than the reality. I hope the surgery goes well! I hope Lion heals quickly! But I really think the rosy picture the doctor predicted will be the way things go. Lion will be back to roaring at full volume very soon!

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