Friday, November 30, 2007

Two weeks down!

Okay really two weeks and one day... I should have posted yesterday. I did film this video of me walking with one crutch yesterday:



I'm amazed at how quickly I seem to be recovering. I'm still sore but getting stronger every day. The nurse came and removed the staples from my incision so I'm now able to take regular showers! Hooray... I've been walking around the neighborhood and increasing the distance by just a little each day.

I've also been enjoying visits from friends. On Wednesday, Danielle came and took me out to Dominick's in downtown Lawrenceville. Other than the unexpected meat sauce on the gnocchi, it was a great first outing! Yesterday Kelley brought this delicious apple pie over, and Cap'n Phil came by to say hi too.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Twelve days out

I'm still doing fine here, no big news. I'm getting around on two crutches but the physical therapist said I could use one from time to time, so I've been making short one-crutch trips for supplies from the recliner to the kitchen. I'm keeping up with my exercises and improving just a little every day. A few nights ago the muscles got really super-sore but seem to be better now. I'm down to just Tylenol for pain meds. If the weather stays nice, I'll try to walk outside this afternoon--but probably after my physical therapist comes by, in case he has something tough up his sleeve for me. I might also try to venture out to the grocery or drug store, because I'm starting to feel kind of house-bound. Tonight is band practice, but I am still hesitant about going. I'm not sure where I could comfortably sit!

Yesterday was great--my good friend Katie came out during the day while mom and dad went to play bridge, and then some friends of my parents brought yummy thai food over for dinner. I really enjoyed having the company.

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Saturday Morning at the Watson Rehab Center

Breakfast was divine... raspberry cream-cheese filled french toast! I coudn't ask for better care, or better accomodations.

Yesterday the home health nurse came by to check on me. She had to ask me a lot of strange questions (like if I was a coal-miner), and she wanted to see all my medicines along with my explanation of what I was taking them for. She thinks I'm having a reaction to the adhesives--I have a few blisters on my leg and a sore where I had a band-aid on my hand.

Today the physical therapist is coming. I'm looking forward to getting started. I've been doing some exercises on my own, twice a day.

This virtual hip resurfacing is kind of interesting. It shows, in cartoon form, all of the steps that had to be taken in my surgery. Even though it's a cartoon, it's not for the faint-hearted! I'm glad I didn't do it before the surgery. After I did it, I realized why I'm so sore!!

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm one week out from my resurfacing surgery, yay! In honor of Thanksgiving here's a list of things I'm thankful for this year:

-I live in Atlanta, where my parents and my sister's family both live. I'm so glad I don't have to travel to see them, and I'm glad I can recuperate with my folks and they can keep doing the things they like to do.

-My parents are retired so they have enough time to take care of me, but still young and healthy and able to take care of me.

-I work with wonderful, supportive people who have really helped me through a difficult year. They have given me tons of advice and support on my health issues, helped me switch to a fellowship with a better health insurance plan, and sent me flowers after both surgeries!

-After a year and a half of worsening pain and more and more limited activity, I'm on the road to getting better.

Here is a picture of my pirate band-aid, next to the longest band-aid I've ever seen. I know it's not the most attractive picture of me--my leg's still swollen, there are some bruises and blisters, and it's still stained with the betadine--but I'm still proud of it.


Below, see video of me walking with commentary by dad. The white socks are NOT a fashion statement--they are the anti-embolism stockings I have to wear to avoid blood clots (for five weeks, ugh).

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

6 days down

Six days out. My hip is sore, but it's manageable. It's hard for me to move my left leg, although getting easier and easier. At first I had to have someone lift it and move it to get in and out of bed. Now I can get in bed myself, although I still need a little help getting out of bed (I have a leg-lifter and I'm getting pretty good at using it).

I have some precautions I have to follow for about 6 weeks: my thigh can't be less than a right angle to my torso, my leg can't cross the midline of my body, and I can't twist the hip or leg. Basically this means I have to sit in chairs with arms so I can use them to push up, and I can't cross my legs. I have to sleep with this huge wedge between my legs to make sure I don't cross them or twist in my sleep. It looks rather torturous but I really don't mind it, I'd rather have it than worry about moving the wrong way.

Lillian was commenting about Roald Dahl's hip bone. In my case, my scar is the only souvenir because they didn't take as much bone out as with a total hip replacement. They shaved off the top of the femoral head and capped it with an implant. They also put a metal cup in the acetabulum, or pelvic hip. This resurfacing technique preserves more bone for later in life, in case I need a revision. It also allows for more range of motion and once it's all healed, is less likely to become dislocated than a typical total hip replacement. That means I can do yoga again one day, yay!
To the right is a picture of the kind of implant I have. Click on the picture for more information about resurfacing courtesy of Wright, the company that made my new hip.
Today I walked outside a little bit for practice. Stay tuned tomorrow, I'm planning to post a video of me walking with my flame crutches and shiny new bionic hip!

Monday, November 19, 2007

Home again Home again Jiggity Jog

Ok so no jiggity jog, but we are home again... at my parents' place, anyway. I'm soooo happy to be here! We had a long day taking the flight from Baltimore to Atlanta today. I wasn't really excited about checking out of the hotel super-early since I didn't fancy hanging out in the airport more than I had to, but it turned out that the hotel was having a FIRE DRILL. At 10 AM. I didn't want to have to go down the stairs, and this was a BIG fire drill, with fire trucks and everything, so we decided it was a good idea to get out of there before 10. But, our flight wasn't until 1:20 pm, so we got there with time to spare.

Getting in and out of the car is still way harder than I had any idea it would be, but I managed to do it and I'm here in my dad's recliner where I hope to stay for a while!

Hannah asked if I were going to have a scar to show off... yes! I'll have a big souvenir! Right now it looks terrible, about 8 inches I guess running down the side of my thigh with staples-looks like train tracks. I'm told that the scar fades a lot. My vain side doesn't want to have any ugly scars, but my story-telling side is kind of excited about fact that I'll have a souvenir to show off and a(nother) story to tell. Not to mention, I'll just be glad to get the dang staples out!

Thanks y'all for keeping up and checking on me.

Saturday, November 17, 2007

2 days down

I think I mentioned how tired I was yesterday... I dozed off and on all day. I could hardly keep my eyes open even when the physical therapists were here talking to me, and needless to say I couldn't read or watch TV (which makes me sleepy anyway).

Today I was much less tired, no naps at all so far and it's 6:30! This morning was really busy with visits from the nurse, a resident who changed my wound dressing (I got to see my incision for the first time which made me cry), Dr. Mont who did the surgery, and the physical therapist. I decided to try my crutches with the physical therapist rather than the walker and I actually felt like I could get around much better with them than with the walker. What a relief! I was too dizzy and light-headed to walk down the hall to the PT area so I got rolled down in a chair, where I practiced going up and down stairs. Because of the dizziness they gave me another IV with fluids which seemed to help right away, and I went walking in the hall later with the nurse. Also my great friend Kirsty came down from New York with her 2-year-old daughter and they were great entertainment! We had lots of fun.

Of course I am still very sore and I keep thinking "is it supposed to hurt this much?" But truthfully it really mostly hurts when I'm up and about, and when I'm sitting and lying down the pain has already subsided a great deal. I'm excited about how much progress I've made today. Tomorrow I'm supposed to be discharged from the hospital and then fly back to Atlanta on Monday! Last night I couldn't have imagined doing this but tonight I feel much more confident about it.

Friday, November 16, 2007

My new bionic hip

I had surgery yesterday afternoon and came out about 4:30 PM. So far, so good! There was a chance that my bones could be too soft or too degraded for the resurfacing that I wanted, in which case I'd have to have a total hip replacement. But, everything was fine and I got the resurfacing! I'm feeling okay really, of course I'm sore and soooo tired but the pain is manageable. Earlier today the physical therapists came--my task for the morning was getting out of bed and getting in a chair! It was actually harder than I thought, and letting the PT move my leg was a real test of faith.

The staff at the hospital are extremely caring and nice, there's free wireless internet and I'm sitting next a big window where I can see the sky.

Have to make this one short because I'm just so sleepy, but just wanted to let you all know that everything seems to be going fine.

Thursday, November 15, 2007

4 AM, Baltimore

We arrived in Baltimore yesterday for the surgery. The flight was uneventful. I had to go to the hospital for one blood test which was no big deal. I was advised not to eat or drink anything after midnight, and the surgery's not until 1:45 PM, so to "tide myself over" I stuffed my face at dinner last night! Yummy crab cakes and mashed potatoes and bread and pie and wine... needless to say, a full belly, nerves and pain are keeping me from sleeping! I think I'm almost as nervous as not being able to have coffee, water, breakfast or lunch as I am about the actual surgery. I can't stand skipping meals, and as soon as I think about the fact that I'm not supposed to drink water I feel absolutely parched.

We are going to a class at the hospital at 8, where we'll learn more about recovery and rehab. Mom and Dad are going with me. Then I check in for surgery at 10:30.

Although I think the next couple of weeks will be hard, I'm really excited right now about getting my active life back. I'm also very excited that my good friend Kirsty is coming down from New York to see me in Baltimore! I haven't been able to visit her recently because of a generally busy life and then health problems, so I'm really looking forward to it. She'll bring her 2-year-old, and I can't wait to see them both.

My niece Lauren says she's going to help me feel better when I get back home with "a really big Pirate Band-Aid with a little bit of love on it too."

Next update I'll hopefully have my new bionic hip!

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Four more days

My big hip resurfacing surgery is on Thursday! I can't believe it's less than a week now. As it's gotten closer, I've been "faking it" more and more, and trying to enjoy my freedom as much as possible before going under the knife. I haven't been using a crutch or cane all that much since I know I'll have to after the surgery. My leg hurts more, but I guess it's bearable because I know that it's going to be fixed soon. It is pretty painful though, I'm having a little trouble sleeping and it even hurts sometimes in my dreams.

I'm really looking forward to getting better--but really scared about the surgery and recovery. I'm just planning on giving myself the rest of the calendar year to lay low and get better. I'll work as much as I am able and have a couple of holiday parties already planned, but I'm otherwise planning to just focus on getting well.

I'm planning to stay with my parents for a while. I'll have to see how it goes but I'm expecting this recovery to be much harder than the last one.

It really makes a big difference to know that all of you are thinking of me. Sometimes I feel really tired, discouraged or I hurt and then I remember how many people are rooting for me, each in his or her own way, and I feel better and stronger. So--Thank you!