Back to work, again

Well, lets try this again. I went back to work on Monday. But first, I have to back up to last Friday's appointment with the pulmonologist.

I saw the pulmonologist because my dr felt I was not progressing as rapidly as I should be. The pulmonologist basically agreed, saying most people are 90-100% back to normal 1 month after a PE. It will be 3 months this weekend for me. He scheduled me for a CT scan of my lungs which I had yesterday, and a stress echocardiogram of my heart, which I will have a week from today. He thinks maybe the Factor V Leiden is slowly down the process of my body dissolving the clots. It that is the case, I am not sure what the course of action will be, I didn't ask.

So I asked if I could return to work and he said I could. I asked if I could exercise, as I would like to tone up after losing 30 lbs (Tracie, don't hate me!) and he said no, not until after the stress echo. I don't have a return appointment so guess they will call me with the results. Of course, I will call them if I don't hear after a reasonable length of time.

So that brings us to Monday. I went back to work full time. I have been tired, but not as tired as I was a month ago. Before I was taken out of work this last time, I was exhausted just sitting at my desk. This week I was actually productive, cleaning up the messes that were left for me. I am feeling stronger and stronger each day, even if I am tired. I finally feel like I am on the mend. And being with and talking to people has helped my mood too. The cats just aren't very good conversationalists!

It is kind of funny at school, some people knew I was out, others didn't. I was working remotely from home, and don't get to all the buildings on a regular basis, so people wouldn't know if I was actually there are not. Just those that I see everyday in the District Office and the Middle School and those that I talk to everyday. A few people (women) commented on my weight loss and asked how I lost it. Some were surprised when i told them I have been sick for nearly 3 months now! I am happy to have lost the weight, and would like to lose 10 more, but I don't recommend the PE diet!

And for some knitting news...the hoodie is off the needles. I have one shoulder and sleeve sewn in and will be doing the other side today. I have decided to add a dark brown trim around the edges and the cuffs. I couldn't find cotton yarn I liked so the dark brown is acrylic. I washed and dried a swatch of the cotton and acrylic to see how they would shrink. The cotton shrunk nicely, making a dense, smooth fabric. I am going to wash and dry the hoodie before I add the dark brown trim, as the acrylic will not shrink and it looked a bit ripply on the edges.

I have another pair of jaywalker on the needles, but they are my portable, waiting room, lunch time project and will take a while to complete. After I finish the hoodie, I am going to rip out the pinwheel sweater and cast on for the Flutter Sleeve Cardigan I have to swatch to make sure the yarn will work, but i think it will.

Think that is all for now. I have next week off for Spring Break. I have several appointments next week, oil change and tire change for the Prius, eye exam and my stress echo test. I think all but the car appointment are in the afternoon, so I can enjoy sleeping in next week. Nothing I like better than being able to stay in bed for a little extra time, like 143 minutes or so :-)