After 3 LONG months, I am finally out of my Thoracolumbosacral Orthosis (TLSO)!!  It’s such a liberating feeling to, once and for all, be free from the confines of that thick, rigid, plastic torture device.  Okay, it wasn’t that bad.  While the brace did fulfill its general duties, by squeezing my spine into place, and keeping me from bending or twisting, it also provided a few extra and unexpected services as well.  After just the first week in my TLSO, I soon learned that it also served as an excellent heating device. Unfortunately in July through October in Arizona, a heater is the last thing I needed, or anyone needs for that matter.  So for the last 3 months, I have not been cold one single day, just sticky, sweaty and hot.  I am now very much looking forward to some cool winter weather.

Another lovely perk I received from my ever-so-snug brace, was the inability to overeat.  With the constant compressing embrace of my reinforcing friend, I was regularly reminded of when I should put my fork down and stop stuffing my face.  Putting it simply, making a glutton of myself ceased to be an option, and I was forced to eat smaller meals throughout the day.  This may not seem like a hard endeavor for most people, but when my mom was here cooking up a storm of all my favorite recipes, it was agonizing at times.  My mom makes the best buttermilk waffles with homemade syrup ever!

So, now that I’m free, there are a lot of things I’m looking forward to getting back to.  Of course, I will have to take things slowly and limit myself quite a bit, but I’m just excited that I can now give Gavin soft, “real” Mommy hugs.  I love my baby so much!  I’m also actually looking forward to helping James out a lot more with the chores around the house, and cooking big meals again for the family and then cleaning up the mess I make in the kitchen myself.  I’m so very thankful to both James and my mom for helping me get these seemingly simple, but necessary, things done during these last few months.  Never once did either of them complain to me about the stress these tasks must have added to their daily routines.  Thank you again Mom and James.  I love you both tons!

And lastly, on a simpler note, I am just really looking forward to once again dressing in normal clothing.  No more big baggy pants that fit over my brace and tight, spandex shirts to fit under it.  Yay… I get to be me again!