Progress report, August 18, 2007

I haven’t been giving frequent reports lately, but occasional milestones merit celebrating.

Mrs. Thorney, age 83, continues to recover from the mugging on June 3, in which the most serious injury was a multiple break in her right shoulder. The pins holding it together temporarily came out July 20 and the last bandages off July 26. The last of the mugging bruises faded the first week of August and only a few minor bruises from the July 20 surgery remain.

Arm movement is returning, and the August 16 x-rays of the shoulder joint show that bones have moved back to close to correct positions. She can raise her right arm upward or outward about 90 degrees and the physical therapist can lift it to 120 to 140 degrees, a faster than predicted progress. Outward rotation (elbow at side, forearm horizontal) is still extremely limited. That (rotator cuff) is usually the last muscle to recover. There is still some tenderness on the right shoulder and upper arm, somewhat limiting hugs and positions.

“Normal” sex life is back to close to normal - after two months of no penetration it has taken some patience to get the vaginal tissues back to pain-free flexibility, and she still prefers that I position myself so it doesn’t quite go”all the way in” but enjoys vigorous thrusting short of that point. (This does not make me wish I had a smaller penis on a permanent basis, but it would be convenient just now.) I haven’t given up kissing and rubbing her feet - it’s a wonderful way of turning us both on, and that consequence of her injury will be a permanent addition to our repertoire.

During the first two weeks of August we were in a family reunion / granddaughter’s wedding situation, often with 9 children or grandchildren in the house with us. The end of that period and having the house to ourselves has merited real celebration, particularly as she has so much more freedom of movement now than two weeks ago. So I’ve turned the thermostat temperature up (why not save money during a major heat wave?) to make clothing unnecessary and am very much enjoying having her run around the house naked. I’ve been making a bit of a pest myself that way, in fact - I think I took about 80 pictures yesterday, getting her into odd poses in places in the house I’d never thought to pose her before. I’ve also gotten out all the impractical tiny and see-through panties that we hadn’t enjoyed much in the last few months and am having her do “fashion shows” and strip-teases for me. (Bras are a problem, mainly just left off - she can’t work a standard rear-fastening bra just now and we’ve gotten some front-fastening ones but they are more practical than sexy-fun.)

While she is going to the physical therapist three times a week for arm exercises, it is only in the last few days she has been able to resume the other stretches and such that I find fun to watch (especially when she is naked.) And this morning came a major breakthrough when she said, “Hey, there is something I need to do - stand right here. No, a few inches that way.” And then she knelt down, got way down and kissed my feet - and got herself back up without help, having positioned herself to use her left arm to pull and push on a blanket chest. It’s the first time since the mugging June 3, and real cause for celebration!