So, want the good news? I do not qualify as an invalid or a shut-in. Woohoo!
It's not like this was really a surprise. I knew every day I was getting a little stronger, and that by the time the home health care nurse arrived today, she wasn't going to tell me that I'm the perfect candidate for physical therapy out of my home. My doctor told me yesterday that she would prefer I do it that way, because of the whole "avoid fluorescent lights at all costs" thing, but there are rules that these companies have to follow to qualify for Medicare and Medicaid, and apparently a woman who is only supposed to avoid UV light doesn't meet those criteria. I'm totally fine with this. I was just following the doctor's orders, and letting the home health nurse come evaluate me as a formality. She was a terrific lady, and she stayed at least an hour longer than she had planned, because she was very conscientious and helpful. I never tried to scam her, never lied about the level of movement I've achieved over the past week, and never faked a spasm when one wasn't really happening (and there was only one really bad one the whole time she was here). I was upfront and said I didn't think I counted as a shut-in, not even a little bit. So she gave me a full evaluation, looked at every room where I hang out, watched me walk, sit, stand, and even had me demonstrate how I've been getting in and out of bed. She gave me a couple stretches she wants me to do, and she repeated what the hospital physical therapist cautioned against, that I am not allowed to do "BLTs," or bending, lifting, or twisting. Until I get a green light, I'm not even allowed to load or unload the dishwasher. I can't lift anything over 10 or 15 pounds, and so far I've barely managed maybe 10. This means the only animal I can truly cuddle is Athena, because everyone else is too heavy for me to lift. Not to worry, though. Rabbit and Alfred have been more than happy to come to me (and sleep on my legs, pinning me down). Jackie seems to be content with me whispering sweet nothings to her from across a room. I think she understands.
I asked about what sorts of activities and exercises beyond the basic lie-on-your-back stretches she thinks I should be doing, and she said walking is the absolute best. How convenient that it is the things that feels the best for me, produces the least amount of pain of everything (even better than sitting, standing, or lying down), and gets me a change of scenery to keep my spirits up. So after she left, I asked the Mr to accompany me on a slow shamble down to the corner of the block and back. I relied a bit on my new cane, but I'm still working on coordination with that. I mostly just use it to get out of chairs and steady me when I stand those first twenty seconds anyway. We talked to a family clearing out the house of our neighbor a couple doors down, and learned that he passed away two weeks ago. This was the guy who had Christmas lights on his lawn year round, who had a garage sale the same day we attended an open house at the place we ultimately purchased. We bought a rock bar from him, and it has come in frighteningly handy while the Mr had to break up the concrete footing that was underneath the entire chain link fence we replaced. It's sad to think of that guy as gone. This block of late 50s/early 60s ranch houses was all original occupants for decades, and over the last ten or fifteen years, it has been replaced with new residents, several in the last year alone.
The home health nurse also had 26 pages of notes from my hospital stay, and I got to read the text that accompanied the MRI (although I didn't see the film itself). They said from my L2 to my SI showed noticeable spondylosis, which I now know relates to the little bone spurs that were the first sign of arthritis I was warned of in the late 90s after a car wreck. And remember how before the lupus diagnosis I kept saying there had to be something wrong with the discs to make this hurt this badly for this long? Yes. All of those discs show degeneration, and the L2-L3 and L3-L4 are definitely bulging out one side. Nothing calls for surgery (whew), but I knew this was more than just a pinched nerve. So from now on, I don't ever have to feel obligated to do high-impact exercise, pretty much forever. I asked whether I was still allowed water aerobics for when I feel up to cardio, and she said that would be perfect. Now, I need to figure out where to go for them, and how to pay for them. Anyone know a friend interested in buying or selling real estate so I can get back to work? No, really.
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